stainless 300 turbo header coming along...slowly

[Anonymous]

well..ive got some 3/8" stainless 316L plate and have traced out a header flange. I am going to a local precision cutting shop to have it cut with a water jet cutter.

I have a sample of 1 5/8" stainless tubing about 5 feet long that was donated for the casue of experimentation....i think it is 304, but not positive. The problem i have with the tubing is that it is 1/16" thick. I dont know if the stainless at that thin of gauge will hold up or not. My previous headers seem to be of the same gauge, and were mild steel.

I was looking at bending the tubing, not more than a 45 degree angle. I wonder how well it will actually bend. The thinner the tubing, the easier it will buckle on the inside bend causing a poor quality bend.

I also dont know how welding the stainless 316L to the suposedly 304 tubing will be. That 316L is tough stuff...the huge hydraulic shear at SteelFab would not shear the whole 26 inch length. It is extremely tough stuff. I am hoping to get enough penetration into the 316L to be able to make the weld strong and also hold the tubing to it as well.

Any comments on my whole stainless ordeal here?...Just would like any tips, advice, ideas, anything...

Adam

 

[StrangeRanger]

16 GA. (.062 wall) tubing is probably too thin for a turbo header, try Schedule 10 pipe (.109 wall) instead. The 304/316 weld is done all the time, but I don't know what special techniques are involved.

 

[JP]

The tube wall thickness is ok, most pre bent kits will supply .065 wall for the 304 and 316 series. Caution unless you have mandrel bend tooling forget about bending the straight tubing you will just ruin it. It may be possible with a low melt temp alloy plug but not worth the effort. The .065 wall pre bent u-bends can be purchased over the net at Burns and others. As mentioned the strongest and simple way is to use 304 or 316 SCH10 pipe and fittings from an industrial stainless piping supplier. For welding P8-P8 (304L to 316L) use ER316L filler rod with 50F min preheat and max interpass temp 350F. This is measured 1" away from the weld on the pipe not the actual weld. Preference is TIG (GTAW) but can be done with flux core electrode (SMAW) Arc welding. This is for ASME pipe welding procedure P8-P8 with 316L filler rod without backing if Electrode is used. Best to use Argon backing if using tig.
JP

 

[Anonymous]

Fill the tubing with sand and tack some plates over the open ends you'll be bending it fine. It'll take longer but it will work.

 

[Anonymous]

not a bad idea!..i will have to at least try....i dont know how much the pre-bent tubing is, but im sure it could get a little costly....id lke to do more bending and less welding if i can, but you cant ALWAYS get what you want..

Thank you!
Adam

 

[Unfalconbelievable]

This is exactly how i'm bending the pipes for my 250 turbo build. Make sure you use pure sand, buy bead blasting sand or similar as any impurities and moisture will aid in the crimping of the pipe. weld a plate over the end of the pipe, fill it bit by bit with sand and pack it progressively to make sure its tight. Then weld another plate on top and heat for the bend, the slower the better. Remember to allow for the welded ends in your measurement as u might have to discard a half inch or so for each end.

 

[Anonymous]

I think that method will work well. Sand is cheap at the hardware store here ($10 for 50lbs) i dont plan on any bends over 45 degrees. 6 pipes may take a while to build though. Ohh well...i have time.

 

[Anonymous]

Got my 3/8 stainless header flange back today, all cut. Those water jet cutters do a fine job at cutting. Will cut metal up to 4 inches thick, yes 4 INCHES.

Anyway, the AUtoCAD drawing that i made up for the flange must have been perfect because it matches up with the gasket holes (ports and bolts) perfectly.

The only problem is that when the shear cut off the stock plate to the size i requested at the steel shop, it put a tremendous amount of stress on the steel. When it was cut into the flange, it relievecd stress and made it bow a little. I should be able to bend it back wit ha little heat and some force though, its not real nasty.

Now, to design and bend...hopefully. I need a good way to square the ends of the pipe to fit inside the port holes in the flange. Some kind of expanding/contracting die to conclude in the shape of the exhaust port.

Lotsa work left for this major obstacle.

 

[JP]

Try using round bar stock equal to the tube ID then build up with weld metal on one end and grind the excess weld metal to match the rectangular port shape . The rectangle will be slightly smaller than the port for the tube wall thickness. You can cut pieces of tube about 5" long, grease up the tube and pound in the manrel with a big hammer or use a press if available. I had good success with a sledge hammer with only one tube splitting at the corners, the rest were able to stretch .065wall. Sched 10 even though thicker seems to form easier than the thin wall tube.
jp

 

[Anonymous]

here are some pics of my header..as well as my tone wheel and crank sensor mount and intercooler for the heck of it. Figured someone owuld like to see them..now that i actualy have a digital camera to use...

[/img]

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

for some reason your SS header looks strangely like it is cast AL

 

[Anonymous]

No no, you can see the beginnings of the header there, you just have to imagine it all hooked up the that flange is all

 

[Anonymous]

ive got some stainless pipe elbows now...jsut need to get it all set up and measrue straight pipe cuts to weld together...hopefully soon

im gettign the head redone soo ntoo...slowly but surely

 

[Anonymous]

It's a sin to hurry through something like this.

 

[Anonymous]

ohh yes...costs more money cause you just cant cut it longer!...measure 10 times, cut once...

the main problem is setting it up nad holding it so i know how long the straight sections must be, whcich depends on my collector placement, angles of tubes, and distances from the collector.

If i could remember how to draw 3D on AutoCAD, then i would do it...i might have to get back into it and figure it out. The header plate was created on Auto CAD, so i have that all done with the exact port spacings as what is on the metal.

 

[Anonymous]

new pics...now that im out of schoolf for the summer nad have time...

 

[myplague5]

More pics more pics please....

 

[Anonymous]

Those tubes seem way too big for primaries, not that your gonna loose backpressure or somthin like that cause in turbo backpressure doesn't mean a thing but it is goin to get hard when you try to tuck 6 tubes that size into the collector.

My advice. If it is for a truck there's plenty of space under the bonnet so get those bends away from the engine a little bit more.

 

[Anonymous]

Well i placed the turbo flange where i wanted it before i pulled the engine....theres not quite as much room as it seems there should be. Given, i have placed it a little close, I think some header wrap along with anything else I can think of will keep alot of heat away. If i can ultimately sheild alot of heat from absorbing into the manifold and injectors, i think it will be good to go.

As far as being too big...hmm...its only 1.5" schedule 10 pipe....the reason i shose the pipe size is that it covers the exhaust port adequately so that i dont have to do alot of weld filling.

Ive managed to get it all to fit in the AutoCAD drawing, which so far has become merely a direct replica of what you are seeing....it was the easiest way for me to figure out the angles and lengths without having to cut things longer....stainless is expensive stuff.

 

[Does10s]

1.5" for the primaries is fine.
We're using that size too. Although I moved up to 1 5/8 for the couple of headers that I made after the Kelly's original.
Will