RS2 exhaust manifold usable or junk?

[merlin's S4]

Seems to be quite a bit of talk about RS2 exhaust manifolds again recently and it reminded me of the one that I have boxed up here that I didn't use. I purchased this one in 2008 from monstereddie of Pogea Racing believing it to be as good a secondhand one as you were ever likely to find.... http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32684

It was only when I was planning to fit it in early 2009 that another S2Forum member pointed out the cracks to me. I foolishly hadn't paid too much attention to the manifold when it first arrived and I had left it in the box since receiving it. Needless to say I wasn't happy and attempted several times to contact monstereddie about it. When he finally replied to me he was extremely unhelpful and failed to see my argument that I had been mislead by his forum advert (note the "no cracks" and "perfect finish" in the ad).

Anyway I've been stuck with it ever since and after paying around £300 for this manifold I then went and purchased a Wagner item for twice as much as I knew it would be a better and safer purchase.

Point of this thread is (apart from not to trust monstereddie!) to find out once and for all whether or not this manifold is any good. I've heard a few opinions either way but would be interested to hear some more. Take a look at the original for sale thread above, then have a look at my close up photos taken last year and tell me what you think.

[Costash]

Mine has the same cracks but it is fine .No leaks and so.

[Jamo]

You bought that from MonsterEddie? His response seems to be the same when Tom had problems with his work

Has one of those gone all the way through in the 2nd pic?, it is repairable

Don't know looks usuable but for the money I'd expect A1

I sold one to Fitzy for less that was in way better condition

[Rusty]

What condition is the rest of it in? If the cracks are all the way through or the flanges are the same then it's of limited use, otherwise chuck me a PM or email me some photos please, I might take a chance for the right price... :mischeif:

[Knight Rider S4]

Is that the only cracks in it ?..I would channel the cracks with dremel or similiar ...then get some of these rods http://www.muggyweld.com/castiron.html

[monstereddie]

as you can see on the second picture of the ad, you can see the crack. also there is written clearly "AGAIN IT IS USED!", in the conversation before the sale and before any payment i told him that i think that it can be installed without problems and that it had no leaks. now to blame me on something is not fair. also i would have refunded all of his money after a short time, but he came up half year later or even more. the EM was not even my property and had nothing to do with the company, we sold it here for a client. now guess what the client said after six months calling him up and complaining that the buyer has problems with the conditions of the used part???

i learned one from this, i will never sell anything in my name for another person ever.

[merlin's S4]

Wow Eduard that response was quick!! It took me over a month of sending PMs and emails to get a response from you last time. I don't remember any such conversation between us where you said those things. Once again may I quote your ad... "has like no cracks and looks like brand new" Please don't tell me that as you were selling it for someone else it's not your fault. You were selling it under your company name as a forum sponsor in your own section of the forum, therefore you should take responsibility for items that you are selling.

Anyway the purpose of this thread is to get people's opinions on whether or not the manifold is usable. They can form their own opinion about whether or not your advert was misleading!!

My own opinion is that I paid top money for a part in poor condition. I also believe that as a forum sponsor you should have behaved better, but then you wouldn't be the first forum sponsor to have ripped off your fellow enthusiasts.

[UrS4boy]

Merlin: I doubt that your manifold is any different than any used RS2 manifold currently in service. It's like the AAN, ABY, and ADU heads, they all crack a little bit (around the sparkplug threads). So it's not whether there are cracks, it's whether they cause any leaks. From what I can see from the photos, I suspect the odds of leaking are very slim. I suggest that you install the manifold and then see whether it leaks or not. If is does, then you *might* have reason to go back to Eduard. Until then you are making too much out of nothing.

Just do it.

[Jamo]

Merlin: I doubt that your manifold is any different than any used RS2 manifold currently in service. It's like the AAN, ABY, and ADU heads, they all crack a little bit (around the sparkplug threads). So it's not whether there are cracks, it's whether they cause any leaks. From what I can see from the photos, I suspect the odds of leaking are very slim. I suggest that you install the manifold and then see whether it leaks or not. If is does, then you *might* have reason to go back to Eduard. Until then you are making too much out of nothing.

Just do it.

Ask Fitzy my RS2 manifold 2nd hand I sold had ZERO cracks.

I agree a lot have cracks but the advert clearly states no cracks in it so I can see why the buyer here is aggrevied

[merlin's S4]

@Urs4boy, Have you read the thread properly? I welcome your comment about the manifold being similar to most others and therefore a usable item. However I've got a Wagner manifold here so I won't get the opportunity to test this manifold myself.

And as for making too much out of nothing I strongly disagree! My issue with Eduard is not that the manifold is unusable, it is that his advert was deliberately misleading. Why would I pay £300 for a cracked manifold when all other cracked manifolds were selling for substantially less!?! I waited a considerable amount of time for a good RS2 manifold to come up for sale and only purchased this one as I believed it was "As New". I would guess that you may feel the same had you been in my shoes!

Anyway as I've said twice already, this is not the point of my thread!!!

[quattrostyle]

you could have used it, actually you still can. I had a cracked one aswell (even for about the same money ) and it was cracked worse than yours. It got welded by a local company and didn't have problems since. Maybe I would if I did trackdays or so.

[merlin's S4]

Some more pics...

[s2_bo]

I had one like this, which i bought from ross, It was also badly cracked.
I then spent another £100 having it welded up but i think the welder used the wrong rods so after about 10miles it was already leaking again...

I sold it on shortly afterwards for ~ £100 stating what had happend and what they were buying.

IMO, i wouldnt use that manifold as the amount of work and time and money that goes in to changing it again if its no good is just not worth the risk..

[monstereddie]

wait a second.

you say, that i treated you bad, cause i am a forum sponosor and have to take responsibility for a USED PART, in PMs said, that it HAS SOME CRACKS and you paid and bought it? ok, lets pretend, that i made a mistake from this point on, and lets forget, that i sold this for a private customer over here that took the money and that´s it.

Dont you think, that you should have complained about this days, or maybe weeks later and i could have fixed this? You came up 8 months later (check your emails) and complained about the quality??? i i would have sold this in ebay and you bought it, would you give me bad feedback 8 months later?? come on. the guy got his money and i told you that it is used and it has "like no cracks" that meant, that there ARE cracks, but nothing that is leaking, AND if there is a language barrier, you either should have asked twice or should asked other people about their opinion OR ask me for more detailed pictures. AND even that YOU did not do all this, i really believe, that i would have refunded all of your money if you would have said all this when it arrived in your hands. i got your money and about 2 weeks later i gave the guy his money. now - to be honest - what you want me to do?? i should take responsibility after what, 2 and something years`?? i dont even know if this thing is still the one i sold you.

[merlin's S4]

@ monstereddie

You seem determined to turn this into an argument, which in my opinion is very unwise. I have stated 3 times that this is not the purpose of this thread. Maybe we should start a new thread in your own forum section entitled "monstereddie ripped me off" or similar and then we can share our points of view there. If you want to talk about facts then I'd be more than happy as I have all the details here. I have the PMs that were sent and received as well as your emails to me when you finally responded to my messages. Lets look at some of these "facts"

I received this item on 9/11/08
My first PM to you about my concerns was 1/4/09
After further PMs and emails from me your emailed response finally arrived on 11/5/09

Now I have admitted that I was foolish not to have thoroughly checked the manifold on arrival but I wasn't particularly clued up at the time and I trusted you and your company. Yes it was a significant amount of time that passed before I contacted you about this but if you do the maths it was just under 5 months after receiving the manifold NOT 8 MONTHS as you wrongly suggest!! You took a further month before eventually replying to me!

You never once told me that the item had cracks! Why would I ask? Your advert already stated no cracks and like new! I simply wouldn't have purchased it if I had been told this and I don't believe anyone would have paid the money that you were asking had you made it clear about the condition of the item. The only question I asked you before purchasing was whether this was a 100% genuine item as there were a lot of fakes around at the time. You replied yes and I then purchased it.

Of course you should take responsibility for the wording of your advert. It was misleading at best if not completely untruthful! As for the comment about the possibility of this manifold not being the one that you sent me, well that's a pretty desperate argument. Now I would accuse you of being economical with the truth but you are not even willing to admit that this is the same manifold. I have no reason to lie or bend the truth. Until now I have kept this incident to myself and I have not attempted to tarnish your name all accross the internet as others may have done. I simply cannot be bothered with the hassle and I dont suppose it will get me my money back!

Once again my only wish for this thread was to find out whether this manifold was of any use to anyone. It is you Eduard that has sought to make more of it. I have now stated my point of view and provided my evidence and it is now up to each individual to determine for themselves whether or not they agree or disagree. Maybe we should start a poll.