5.0 Exhaust Manifold Identification/questions

[Goldmaster]

Does anyone know if the pictured exhaust manifolds are OEM or some type of custom build? I was browsing Craigslist for parts and since they were such a great price, i hurried like an excited little kid and bough them for $25 for the pair, look like they were never used. I however, failed to notice there is no EGR tube port on the passenger side manifold. I bought them from an old timer who said he was an emissions engineer for the Ford truck division for 30 years. Haven't been able to find anything that resembles these (the heat wrap style either) but I have no idea. Maybe they are common stock manifolds and I'm just not seeing any like em. They seem to be extremely well put together and solid. I thought maybe they could be some special test manifolds used in the engineering dept? Any ideas?

Second question is, can I use these on my 98 EX 5.0 and easily eliminate the EGR tube with no major effects? We don't require emissions testing here in MI, so I'm not worried about passing any sort of inspection. They look like they should bolt up... Again they were only $25 for the pair, so I figure they are worth a shot Thanks in advace

 

[SoNic67]

They are awesome. Not stock definitely
About EGR, I think you will run in driveability issues without it.

 

[SoHK_alumni]

Those are/were box stock '96 and pre GT40P head '97 Expo 5.0 exhaust manifolds someone has taken the original heat shielding off and replaced with header wrap.

They don't flow as well as the later GT40P headed cast manifolds and as noted earlier, without the external EGR tube, won't easily work with the later Expo EGR system.

Not to say you could not make them work by adding an EGR port and routing it to the EGR valve, but it'd be a waste of time, money and effort.

 

[SWIGIN]

Those are/were box stock '96 and pre GT40P head '97 Expo 5.0 exhaust manifolds someone has taken the original heat shielding off and replaced with header wrap.

They don't flow as well as the later GT40P headed cast manifolds and as noted earlier, without the external EGR tube, won't easily work with the later Expo EGR system.

Not to say you could not make them work by adding an EGR port and routing it to the EGR valve, but it'd be a waste of time, money and effort.

Quoted for truth.

 

[Goldmaster]

Thans guys. Did the pre gt40 head engines use a different EGR system? That's what puzzles me about these (the no egr tube port thing). Nobody's done EGR delete on these engines? I'm more of a GM guy when it comes to my automotive knowledge, but I know EGR delete can be done without issues (with PCM tuning and blockoff plates) on a lot of their V8s.

Also the metal straps holding the insulation on seem to be the same as the factory type. Not sure why someone would go through the trouble of removing the metal heat shields and wrapping them, then never even use them. The weld construction seems to be totally different than the early original ones I've seen pics of on line too.

 

[Goldmaster]

Example of a pic of an early one without the heat shielding:

 

[1997XLTRollover]

Those are Factory Ford 96-97 Explorer manifolds (maybe early 98 too I'm not 100% sure on the 98 thing). The EGR on the GT40 headed trucks was actually internal to the head which is why you don't see any EGR port on those.

I hate to break it to you but sling those things in the garbage can and chalk it up to a learning experience. They're quite possibly the worst flowing exhaust manifold Ford ever built.

 

[Goldmaster]

Those are Factory Ford 96-97 Explorer manifolds (maybe early 98 too I'm not 100% sure on the 98 thing). The EGR on the GT40 headed trucks was actually internal to the head which is why you don't see any EGR port on those.

I hate to break it to you but sling those things in the garbage can and chalk it up to a learning experience. They're quite possibly the worst flowing exhaust manifold Ford ever built.

Thanks for the clarification. I was also getting confused because all the new manifolds available now for all 96-01 model years at various auto parts store websites showed the reproduction manifolds with the EGR ports on them. Wasn't thinking like a penny pincher lol I didn't consider the cost of reproducing them to sell. I suppose it's much cheaper/easier to have the ports on all of them (with an optional port cap in the box to only use 1 part #), - VS making different manifolds with/without the port. My early 98 has the original OEM tube style manifolds like the ones I bought (just with the port). I wasn't really concerned with their performance or how well they flow/don't flow when I bought them. I have read previously that the later style cast iron manifolds are a better stock replacement and cost less, and I'm not springing for headers. My truck is just a 223K mile beater that I drive to work with. I've had a small leak in the passenger manifold since I've owned it, and I thought I had found a cheap fix for it. Lesson learned At least they were only $25. Suppose I could ebay them and do better than what I paid for em anyway.

 

[delexploder]

Kinda look like the ford "headers" but they definitely look different from stock to me

 

[Goldmaster]

Kinda look like the ford "headers" but they definitely look different from stock to me

That's kind of what I thought too, or am I just crazy here?
Side by side comparison:

Perhaps there are only pics of aftermarket reproduction ones online that I am finding to compare it to. I haven't seen any actually listed as stock Ford OEM brand. But looking at the factory original ones on my 98, they look like all the others I've seen. I haven't yet seen an exact match to the new ones I just bought...

 

[1997XLTRollover]

Those are stock manifolds. No self respecting person who is designing an aftermarket header would use anything remotely close to that design. I wouldn't use those on my lawn mower.

 

[Goldmaster]

Those are stock manifolds. No self respecting person who is designing an aftermarket header would use anything remotely close to that design. I wouldn't use those on my lawn mower.

I get what you're saying, I know the design sucks (not arguing there). But if what I have are just regular old factory stock originals, why do they look so different from the stock one on the right in my comparison pic (aside from being laid out generally the same way)? The ones I have look like they were constructed totally differently (like they were hand built). Unless I really need my eyes checked and the ones pictured above are actually 100% identical lol I just don't see it that way. Not sure why someone would go through all the trouble to custom fabricate a copy of inferior manifolds that are readily available, but given that the guy I got em from said he was an emission system engineer for the Ford truck division for 30 years, I was thinking maybe they were a one-off set never meant for production, and just used in the engineering dept for test engines or something. I wish I could still contact him, or I'd just ask him directly. Only talked to him through the craigslist email redirect system, so I don't have a way of contacting him now that the ad is gone. Anyway, it's just a mystery to me...