rusted engine block??

[briantech]

Went outside to spend a little quality time under the hood, and I noticed for the first time something odd. It seems that the entire engine block is rusted. Nothing else, however, is. The headers are fine, as are any metal hose clamps or connectors. Seems like everything is nice and shiny EXCEPT the actual block itself, which is pure rust. Is this a problem, or is it normal?

And either way, how can I get it off?

I took pictures but I'm at the parents house right now so I can't upload them till tomorrow.

[Joe 1320]

Um.... shouldn't be rust. The block is aluminum.

[N20LT4Bird]

.....Assuming your talking about the 98 Formula in your sig.....

[briantech]

Yeah I was refering to my car. But I'm an idiot and it was dark last night, I went out and looked at it in daylight and its clearly the headers and the exhaust thats rusted, the block is clean. But I'll be replacing the entire exhaust system from the headers back so it's not a big deal anyway.

[Mirroredshades]

Rust in Atlanta is as likely as Sherman....

But seriously, if they are headers...ignore it. If they are manifolds... may be worth replacing.

[briantech]

Looks to me like its just the headers. Here's a different angle, you can see the rest of the pipe where the headers all meet is a rust magnet too...



So at this point I'm kind of on the fence on what to get next. I've got about 3 grand to spend total, and I've already dropped 1100 on the tires and wheels. Should I go for the headers/catback next, or the hood+ram-air+intake? I wasn't expecting the headers to be $800 but I don't really see anything cheaper out there.

[Joe 1320]

I love the looks and performance of the Ram Air hoods. When you do plan on doing headers, make sure they are Ceramic or Jet Hot coated. If not, the'll rust just like what you have. Tough choice between the two. Then of course the obvious answer is to do both.

[Mirroredshades]

Yeah, always do both. And if you are going to be in there anyway, change the spark plugs while you are doing the headers. They are a major PITA.