cast steam pipe bends

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i can provide cast pipe bends in various diameters in 45 and 90deg angles from ID 20mmØ 45deg at $AUS6.00 right up to ID 50mmØ 90deg at $AUS12.50. this stuff is pretty thick, about 3.2mm so it's perfect for turbo manifolds and rotary engine headers.

if anyone would like me to send them some i would require a direct deposit or international money order + freight.

PM me if anyone is interested.
 
Just out of interest, can you tell me what metal these are made of, and what wire to use to weld them with a mig?? Noone seems to be able to answer me :(
 
i'm pretty sure they're cast steel.

you could use a mig, tig, arc, oxy....anything you want.
 
i've seen steam pipe bends used before,and hear they make good headers. why are they better than common bends?
 
340i, The cast bends are more stable at high temperatures compared to mild and stainless, although a high grade stainless (321 etc) would be stronger but much more expensive.
 
OK so noone knows if they can be welded with a mig, and if so, what wire to use? Or what kind of steel they actually are? I don't think they are mild, because they don't rust.. so, what, some kind of high carbon steel or something?

I'd hesitate to weld them with normal steel wire, as it rusts and they don't - suggesting a different metal? Plus, rust is bad.
 
Mild from my personal experience. I would suggest mild steel. Stainless sounds good and its better, but in reality its a welding nightmare. The problem is not stainless to stainless rather stainless to mild steel. I was using stainless from the header flange stainless to 1.5" stainless pipes. The problem woudl be from the 1.5" stainless pipes to the 3" mild steel. Bad result.... never again... get all mild steel and u will the least problem with gas and wire.
 
welding cast steel is a bitch, depending on the material. possible with an O/A setup, a pain in the arse with a MIG, especially if you don't know what you're doing, like me.

the advantage of cast tubing over normal mandrel or crush bent stuff is that the cast material will generally have a much bigger wall thickness, which retains more heat. more heat retained is more heat (and energy) to the turbo, and the more energy the turbo receives the faster she goes "whoosh"...

got a MIG 240? try welding it. if you can, i'm sure you'll have a few interested parties...
 
I've been reading up on Lincoln Electric's site. Looks like with a good strong welder (which I have.. 200A), and with some info on the standard the steam pipe meets, I should be able to buy wire to match. Looks like the steam pipe professionals weld it with some type of mig. Possibly gas shielded, possibly flux cored, possibly a combination. It looks like it is mostly called "low alloy steel".. not mild. I guess that explains why it rusts less - different stuff in it.

In my experience, the thicker the stuff, the better. I got some sections of "black steel pipe" from the local steel merchant - it was 4mm wall. I think it was roughly the same kinda stuff as steam pipe. Welded great. Also, my father had some large bent sections of thick steel water pipe that had been used to make a pergola... sorta went directly out from the roof, then a 90 degree bend with about a 3 foot radius, then down to the ground. He picked them up for almost nothing, but some were shorter than others. We cut them and I welded some together just fine with mild steel wire... VERY strong welds with great penetration. Only thing was, the weld had to be painted or it would rust. The pipe itself did not rust though - it's water pipe. I guess it's about the same kinda alloy steel too or something. Mild, you leave it in the rain, BAM it rusts overnight.
 
Cast is used for exhaust turbo manifolds due to the increased strength at high temps over mild steel tube. Thicker pipe does not mean it keeps more energy in the exhaust, it merely means the exhaust is heavier and it takes longer to heat up to it's final temp as you push more hot gas through it. Heat conduction rate is very similar for cast and mild steel.

Cast is also much cheaper to crank out heaps of complicated shaped manifolds for lower cost than mandrel bent tubes hence why most factory cars have them.
Mild tube tends to crack from heat and having heavy turbos hanging off them.
 
^^^ which is why you brace the turbo flange to the head flange - stops sag under high temps.

i'll be welding mine with an ARC. turn up the amps and blow the slag away! not too good for sump pans though...

thicker pipes don't keep the energy in, they keep the heat in. the less heat that dissipates thru the pipe, the faster it expands IN the pipe. faster gas = more flow. more flow = more power.

that's my theory anyways.

the best bit about this stuff is that the bends are HELL tight compared to pre-fab'd sections of normal exhaust - which is what i need.
 
Miles B said:
Thicker pipe pulls more heat out than thinner pipe.

Very true. Most people get this backwards (including me at one time). Metal is one of the best conductors of heat, air is one of the worst. Why would anyone want more metal, to conduct more heat?
 
Well, I'd still make it out of steam pipe. Simply for ease of construction. I don't think you're going to lose *that* much more heat, and if you are really worried about it, get the header ceramic coated when you're done. Probably not a bad idea anyway, as it would stop any rusting of the welds, and help lower temps under the hood a little.
 
ah! of course... (derr...!) thanks for clearing that up!

yeah i'd love to ceramic coat my stuff, but budget constraints and all....i think heatproof paint will have to do me.
 
If you look at probably 95% percent, if not 100% of serious drag cars running 10secs and under you will find that their manifolds are made from mild steel steam pipe bends.
As the name suggests "Steam pipe" cast may be apprpriate, but maybe not so for exhaust manifolds. I believe mild steel is one of the greatest metals ever produced.
Its ductile, easy to weld, form, cut etc. Ide be more inclined to stick with it.
 
Huh? You say their manifolds are made from steam pipe bends, then you say it's not appropriate for exhaust manifolds?

Do you mean to say made from normal mandrel bent steel pipe? Because that **** will sag and rust when it gets really hot. I'd say most of them are made from stainless.
 
thicker pipes don't keep the energy in, they keep the heat in.

um... huh? what do you think heat is?

it's ENERGY! the more energy that passes into the hot side of the turbo, the more energy is present to spin the thing...
 


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