Dual downpipe conversion on A2

Greetz All,

I discovered a crack in the single outlet exhaust manifold of my '86 GTI
while I was replacing the head gasket.

Instead of repairing it, I decided it would be a good time to swap in a dual
outlet manifold and downpipe. No real problems here, everything seemed to go
in OK and it's up and running fine. The one small problem I do have is that
the downpipe has only about 1/8"-1/4" clearance to the steering rack. I
didn't notice this while I was putting everything back together. Now,
whenever I accelerate, the pipe vibrates against the steering rack. And if I
really get on it, the whole car vibrates pretty bad.

Has anybody else done this conversion and run into this problem? I can't see
any easy way to fix it. I can't relocate the downpipe like I could if it
were just the exhaust pipes. Did the later Golfs have a different steering
rack that had a bit more clearance? Or is this just something I shouldn't
have done and the only real fix is to go back to the single outlet style.

TIA
Ed
----------------------------
'01 Golf GLS
'86 GTI
(aka: Beauty and the Beast)


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MrEddy wrote:
> Greetz All,
>
> I discovered a crack in the single outlet exhaust manifold of my '86 GTI
> while I was replacing the head gasket.
>
> Instead of repairing it, I decided it would be a good time to swap in a dual
> outlet manifold and downpipe. No real problems here, everything seemed to go
> in OK and it's up and running fine. The one small problem I do have is that
> the downpipe has only about 1/8"-1/4" clearance to the steering rack. I
> didn't notice this while I was putting everything back together. Now,
> whenever I accelerate, the pipe vibrates against the steering rack. And if I
> really get on it, the whole car vibrates pretty bad.
>
> Has anybody else done this conversion and run into this problem? I can't see
> any easy way to fix it. I can't relocate the downpipe like I could if it
> were just the exhaust pipes. Did the later Golfs have a different steering
> rack that had a bit more clearance? Or is this just something I shouldn't
> have done and the only real fix is to go back to the single outlet style.
>
> TIA
> Ed
> ----------------------------
> '01 Golf GLS
> '86 GTI
> (aka: Beauty and the Beast)
>
>

Two quick replies;

- You'll want to presoak the manifold's nuts and studs (not w/ WD40 but
a true penatrant) prior to removal because due to galling they can be a
bear to get out.

- The downpipe hitting the steering rack might well be due to
worm/collapsed motor mounts. On an 86 GTI I would look to replace them,
partly based on pure age but also as a preventative measure to protect
the longevity of the new exhaust parts going in.


hth,
TBerk

T wrote:
>
> MrEddy wrote:
> > Greetz All,
> >
> > I discovered a crack in the single outlet exhaust manifold of my '86 GTI
> > while I was replacing the head gasket.
> >
> > Instead of repairing it, I decided it would be a good time to swap in a dual
> > outlet manifold and downpipe. No real problems here, everything seemed to go
> > in OK and it's up and running fine. The one small problem I do have is that
> > the downpipe has only about 1/8"-1/4" clearance to the steering rack. I
> > didn't notice this while I was putting everything back together. Now,
> > whenever I accelerate, the pipe vibrates against the steering rack. And if I
> > really get on it, the whole car vibrates pretty bad.
> >
> > Has anybody else done this conversion and run into this problem? I can't see
> > any easy way to fix it. I can't relocate the downpipe like I could if it
> > were just the exhaust pipes. Did the later Golfs have a different steering
> > rack that had a bit more clearance? Or is this just something I shouldn't
> > have done and the only real fix is to go back to the single outlet style.

Could also be due to a different engine being installed? I know on my
'82, w/ a 1.9 diesel engine, the 10mm taller block raises the exhaust up
the same amount, causing it to hit the steering rack brackets with the
stock 1.6D plumbing. My fix was to get a tall block dual downpipe from
Techtonics Tuning, its built with the added height to clear the rack.
Another option is to make up a spacer for the gap between the manifold
and downpipe. Not too difficult a machining job, but you'll likely need
to install longer studs to compensate.

--
Roger

"T" > wrote in message
. com...
> - The downpipe hitting the steering rack might well be due to
> worm/collapsed motor mounts. On an 86 GTI I would look to replace them,
> partly based on pure age but also as a preventative measure to protect the
> longevity of the new exhaust parts going in.

I agree. The A2 has only one dual downpipe shape that I know of. I did
this conversion on my '91 GTI and had no issues once everything was
installed however it is a tight fit under there. I agree that the motor
mounts are probably bad.

"Roger Brown" > wrote in message
...
> T wrote:
> >
> > MrEddy wrote:
> > > Greetz All,
> > >
> > > I discovered a crack in the single outlet exhaust manifold of my '86
GTI
> > > while I was replacing the head gasket.
> > >
> > > Instead of repairing it, I decided it would be a good time to swap in
a dual
> > > outlet manifold and downpipe. No real problems here, everything seemed
to go
> > > in OK and it's up and running fine. The one small problem I do have is
that
> > > the downpipe has only about 1/8"-1/4" clearance to the steering rack.
I
> > > didn't notice this while I was putting everything back together. Now,
> > > whenever I accelerate, the pipe vibrates against the steering rack.
And if I
> > > really get on it, the whole car vibrates pretty bad.
> > >
> > > Has anybody else done this conversion and run into this problem? I
can't see
> > > any easy way to fix it. I can't relocate the downpipe like I could if
it
> > > were just the exhaust pipes. Did the later Golfs have a different
steering
> > > rack that had a bit more clearance? Or is this just something I
shouldn't
> > > have done and the only real fix is to go back to the single outlet
style.
>
> Could also be due to a different engine being installed? I know on my
> '82, w/ a 1.9 diesel engine, the 10mm taller block raises the exhaust up
> the same amount, causing it to hit the steering rack brackets with the
> stock 1.6D plumbing. My fix was to get a tall block dual downpipe from
> Techtonics Tuning, its built with the added height to clear the rack.
> Another option is to make up a spacer for the gap between the manifold
> and downpipe. Not too difficult a machining job, but you'll likely need
> to install longer studs to compensate.
>
> --
> Roger

Sounds like the opposite problem from what I have. The downpipe is on top of
the steering rack, so it need to be raised a bit, not lowered.

And this has the original 1.8 RD engine, so the others guys thoughts of worn
motor mounts could be the problem.

Thanks
Ed

>
> Two quick replies;
>
> - You'll want to presoak the manifold's nuts and studs (not w/ WD40 but
> a true penatrant) prior to removal because due to galling they can be a
> bear to get out.
>
> - The downpipe hitting the steering rack might well be due to
> worm/collapsed motor mounts. On an 86 GTI I would look to replace them,
> partly based on pure age but also as a preventative measure to protect
> the longevity of the new exhaust parts going in.
>
>
> hth,
> TBerk

I wasn't really planning on removing the manifold again unless absolutely
necessary. I've only had it back together for about a month, and I used new
studs and nuts with a good amount of anti-seize, so hopefully if I do have
to, I won't have any problems.

Bad motor mounts didn't occur to me. I'll look into that. Is there any easy
way to check them, or is it just as easy to replace and see what happens.

Thanks
Ed

Just wanted to post an update so it's archived.

I changed the motor mounts and tranny mount and it did fix the problem.
Those old mounts were really bad, dry rotted and cracked. I now can
feel very little vibration from the engine. It almost feels like a
different car. Well worth the small investment of time and money.

Ed


MrEddy wrote:
> Greetz All,
>
> I discovered a crack in the single outlet exhaust manifold of my '86
GTI
> while I was replacing the head gasket.
>
> Instead of repairing it, I decided it would be a good time to swap in
a dual
> outlet manifold and downpipe. No real problems here, everything
seemed to go
> in OK and it's up and running fine. The one small problem I do have
is that
> the downpipe has only about 1/8"-1/4" clearance to the steering rack.
I
> didn't notice this while I was putting everything back together. Now,
> whenever I accelerate, the pipe vibrates against the steering rack.
And if I
> really get on it, the whole car vibrates pretty bad.
>
> Has anybody else done this conversion and run into this problem? I
can't see
> any easy way to fix it. I can't relocate the downpipe like I could if
it
> were just the exhaust pipes. Did the later Golfs have a different
steering
> rack that had a bit more clearance? Or is this just something I
shouldn't
> have done and the only real fix is to go back to the single outlet
style.
>
> TIA
> Ed
> ----------------------------
> '01 Golf GLS
> '86 GTI
> (aka: Beauty and the Beast)

"Mr.Eddy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Just wanted to post an update so it's archived.
>
> I changed the motor mounts and tranny mount and it did fix the problem.
> Those old mounts were really bad, dry rotted and cracked. I now can
> feel very little vibration from the engine. It almost feels like a
> different car. Well worth the small investment of time and money.

So this also solved your downpipe clearance issue too?

"Matt B." > wrote in message
news:yclfd.80217$cJ3.32159@fed1read06...
> "Mr.Eddy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Just wanted to post an update so it's archived.
> >
> > I changed the motor mounts and tranny mount and it did fix the problem.
> > Those old mounts were really bad, dry rotted and cracked. I now can
> > feel very little vibration from the engine. It almost feels like a
> > different car. Well worth the small investment of time and money.
>
> So this also solved your downpipe clearance issue too?
>
>

This did solve the clearance problem. There's now about .5" between the
downpipe and steering rack. So far I've not had any problems with the pipe
hitting the rack.

Ed