[YVEYANT]

I just got my new 67 Ram Air manifolds today from PY. They were $400 because they come ported fo better flow and are 2 1/2" compared to the originals being 2 1/4". I noticed they are noticably heavier than stock.
When I went to put on the flanges also bought from PY, the three holes did not line up they were off a bit, I had to pull out the trusty Dremel and open up the holes on the flanges. I would have thought they would of worked perfectly being that they came from the same place (the main reason I bought them from PY, cheaper elsewhere). Anybody else have this problem?
The port holes are noticably bigger than stock, but some of the openings are not precise. I have to look at them again tomorrow, but as I am writing this I am not feeling to good about them, not having any exhaust leaks is very important to me. I also bought their 2 1/2" PYPES exhaust made for the Ram Air manifolds and where the pipe meets the manifold it the meet almost flat against each other, I am not sure if they are supposed to be like that, I thought the pipe would sit over the manifold a bit, it does slightly but not much. Any input would be great.

[engineer]

my three hole flanges mated up fine. they are not symmetric so there is only one way they fit on. Also tried the flanges on the manifolds when everything was off the car to be sure I got the correct ones. mine are cast.

[YVEYANT]

Yes, I know which way they line up, both of them were off quite a bit, took a minute to make them work..

[YVEYANT]

I went to fit my PYPES exhaust up to the manifolds last night and as I began to tighten the flanges down, one side cracked in half while the other side has a hair line crack in them. These are the new style flanges, they are made from aluminum, not cast iron like the old one's. I am waiting for PY to call me back, they went to see if they had any cast iron one's left in stock. They said they had this happen a few times before. I know for sure I had them on right and I did not overtighten them, I would even dare to say they were still somewhat loose when they cracked. I had a friend look at them last night and he said the cast iron one's are like night and day compared to these.

[LPete]

That's crazy that they'd use aluminum for something like that. Somebody's not thinking.

[YVEYANT]

I asked PY to look for a set of the original cast iron flanges that they used to sell.
They looked in there warehouse and they found a set. They sent them to me on the house. That made me feel good. I will post how they fit once I get them.
I have to say though, if for some reason these new flanges do not line up like the old one's I going to return the entire exhaust, from R/A manifolds to the PYPES exhaust and go to the Ram Air Specialists because I have spent big money on this stuff and I should not be having these problems.
LPETE, you are right I have never heard of such a thing either. When I showed them to my machine shop when I first got them there first response was "Aluminum?? They will never last" and they were right.

[66GTO Jim]

Two years ago I isntalled the same setup except I went with the hogged out 67 HO/RA manifolds from R.A.R.E. and used the Pypes mandrel bent exhaust system from PY. All fit fine but I had cast iron flanges. Went with R.A.R.E. on the exhaust manifolds after a side by side comparison. No regrets. Jim

[form74]

I second R.A.R.E as I also had no issues with their manifolds, bought the 2 1/2 inch ones and had them cerimac coated along with the flanges. That is their main product they produce. Actually bought their complete exhuast system.

[YVEYANT]

Well,
The verdict is in. I got the cast iron flanges from PY today and not to my surprise they do not line up either. They will go on the end of the studs where they are tapered, but not where the thread is, just like the aluminum ones, no better. Stacy has me on hold at PY while I am typing this. I am waiting to see what they say. I am ready to return everything. Paul from Ram Air Restorations told me he has had a lot of complaints about the flanges from PY as well as the R/A manifolds.

[YVEYANT]

Just got off with Stacey and she asked me to send her digital photos of the manifolds. She thinks they might of pulled the wrong manifolds off the shelf and I might have the wrong one's. I really hope it is something simple like that and not poor castings because I do like to deal with PY. I usually get my order the next day which is great and I like to stick with the same people.

[Tim john]

Anthony, Try this...install one stud or perhaps two then install the head pipe with the flange and then install the third stud. Maby they are drilled and tapped a little off and will assemble in this fashion. I know not the greatest technique but worth a shot and will provide good feedback to PY. At a minimum remove all three studs and hold the flange up against the Ram Air manifold, do the holes line up now ? install one stud, do the other two line up now ?, now install the third stud and what do you see ? Again good feedback for PY and us.

Tim john---

[YVEYANT]

Hey Tim,
I tried all of that, if I put two studs in and leave the third out the flange goes on but I cannot screw in the third stud. I made the aluminum one's work by machining the holes on the flange. That took almost two hours to get that right on aluminum. I would not even try it on cast iron. Also, one of the holes on both of the cast iron flanges, the wall is paper thin being that they were bored out from 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" even if they did fit I would not trust them at all. I showed these to my machine shop and they said they are worse than the aluminum one's in that respect, at least the aluminum flanges had thick stud walls.
I am waiting for Stacey to call me back with a solution. I feel I have been put in a bad spot here because I deal with PY all the time. The aluminum and the cast iron seem to be made from the same mold. I am waiting for Stacey to call me back. She keeps saying that nobody has ever called about the flanges not lining up properly before.
Have any of you guys had this problem?
One of her tech guys told me to bang them on with a piece of wood, that's what he does.. lol
I told her I am not doing that, because that is a bandaid not solution, plus I could strip the threads on the studs by doing that, possibly break the studs off of the manifold, not to mention ever being able to get them off again if I need to.

[Pontiac signman]

DUDE,

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??????????????????

ADAM

[YVEYANT]

DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL
Having problems here big time...
I got that starter in a better postion than we were able to, guess that's what happens when we are not working in 90 degree heat right, lol

[Pontiac signman]

Well,

Just hope our host PY does the right thing? You've been spending a good chunk of cash lately, and I hope they can fix this problem?

If not, return everything and buy from Ram Air Resto.

JMO!

Adam

[Ccass]

The flanges are definitely NOT the problem. They are the correct dimensions. I could understand if you got one pair that didn't fit, but you got 2 pair from two completely different molds and manufacturers. Both of which have been tested and used for years. Your problem appears to potentially be the manifolds. It is possible that your stud holes were machined incorrectly although if so, this will be the first occurance of this problem to my knowledge. The only solution I can come up with is to send you another pair of manifolds and flanges that we have already pre-tested here.

Also, We are confused though about your installation. Stacey said you just tried to place the flanges directly on the manifolds. In your post above, you cracked the flanges so it appears like you attempted to test install the downpipes. Please give us a little more information about what made the flanges crack.

[YVEYANT]

As I stated,
I tried to test fit my new down pipes on the manifolds with the flanges, while tightening them down they cracked before they were even snug.

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by YVEYANT

Hey Tim,
One of her tech guys told me to bang them on with a piece of wood, that's what he does.. lol

This advise was given to slide the flanges over the downpipes. They get real tight about 3/4 down the pipe and tapping with a piece of wood alternating on each side will free them up to easily slide around the last sharp bend. We would not ask you to bang flanges directly onto studs that do not appear to fit.

It would really be appreciated if you wait until you give us a chance to figure out what is going on before you post 'play by play' here. All it does is spread hearsay and possibly false information. :( Thanks.

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by YVEYANT

As I stated,
I tried to test fit my new down pipes on the manifolds with the flanges, while tightening them down they cracked before they were even snug.

Then yes, that can happen with the aluminum flanges if the flare of the downpipe is a little too large. The ridge of the flare can bottom out against the studs giving the pipe no place to expand. The solution here is to grind a little metal off of the entire ridge of the flare(maybe 1/8"). That will allow the pipe flare to expand a little and seat to the manifold inlet easier.

[YVEYANT]

I just ordered 2 1/2" flanges from Ram Air Restorations with there bolts (they don't use studs). I am trying to give PY the benefit of the doubt. If these do not line up on my PY manifolds, I will insist on a FULL return for these manifolds. At least at this point it can no longer be said that there has never been any problems with these, like I have been hearing all day.. This is turning out to be nothing but a headache, this is supposed to be a hobby, not a hurdle.
These products should be tested before they are sold, if they have to be tested individually then so be it. No excuses.
Yes I am agitated and it takes a lot to get me to this point. I just hope this turns out right.