ATS or BD manifold?

Hey guys..

My good friend decided to fix his leaking exh manifold after he found #6 was leaking like mine was. I told him how easy it was and he dove in to his only to find the OEM manifold is about a 1/4" shorter now on #1 & #6 so now he is thinking of going aftermarket,,. I was lucky on my 04, it was fine just needed re-surfacing but I was looking at the ATS 2 pc at the time... Let the brand war begin..... seriously tho, I said Genos sells the OEM, but it is listed as CHINA... at least they are upfront on it, that's why I love Geno's...

Truck details: 05 LBCC 325/600 HO manual trans, DDP 50hp injectors, Smary #5 and PRXB, remainder is Stock

 

I had an ATS on my 05 and liked it.

 

ATS 3-piece on my 12-valve.

 

I also have ATS, it's been good!

 

After first going with a one piece AFE and warping it like the OEM I went with PDI and really like it. Two piece with heavier flanges. I did use longer bolts with OEM spacers. Tried the studs but the nuts kept coming loose.

I believe this is the one: Dodge 24V Exhaust Manifold – Performance Diesel Inc (pdidiesel.com)

 

Pleased with my Pulse, had to modify the top mounting tab to clear my coolant bypass-

 

I also ran the ats on my 2nd gen. Had it for about 100k before I sold the truck. Only minor complaint was that the lockwashers provided were too small for the bolts, I just stretched them slightly and used them. I never had to touch the manifold after that, no retorquing, no bolts falling out, no leaks, nothing. Install it and forget it, exactly what you'd hope for in an aftermarket product.

 

Same experience here, except for the washers. I don’t recall mine were too small.

 

BD 2 piece Pulse here. Lower EGT’s

 

Thank you all for the replies, he went with the ATS 2pc

 

Maybe a silly question. whats the advantage of a 2 piece vs single piece? Or three piece vs 1 piece for that matter?

 

It’s known the head on the 5.9 elongates (?) during the heat/cool cycles, causes stress and ultimately cracks. I took my stock manifold off at 120K miles. It was not cracked but had no belief I would be able to reinstall without some machining because of this condition. I was also looking for better flow, particularly out of 5 & 6 and lower EGT’s. I think I was able to check all the boxes I was expecting.
Thanks!

 

Thanks for the reply Silver Tex. So the advantage of a 2 piece system is easier install or it allows the exhaust manifold to flex with the engine?

 

ATS Diesel says 2 or 3 piece manifolds to allow thermal expansion.

 

Using BD, perfectly happy. Bought through Amazon was delivered within 3 days.
2 piece Manifold is standard on many HD I6 commercial Engines, but not on ours, guess why..

 

Cost

 

Well, I guess you hear something new everyday..... Never heard that one. If this was true, replacing head gaskets would be a regular maintenance item.

It IS well known that the factory Exhaust Manifolds SHRINK, especially the 12-valves and 2nd Gen 24-valves.

 

Guess I just put an exhaust manifold on my list of things to do. Getting an MM3 tuner this weekend...

 

I was always wondering how a stainless steel manifold in this configuration can hold up as it has almost twice the expansion rate of common steel when heated up.

 

Without looking, I think my BD 2pc Pulse was about $350, maybe $400 in total with the new manifold bolts.