<E36> Cracked exhaust manifold on 96 328ISC

["David R. Lefebvre" <drl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Has anyone experienced this? My immediate response was what caused this? I 
couldn't diagnose the problem, so I took it to my mechanic. He mentioned 
the manifold is aluminum and welded to an iron flange. It cracked at the 
weld. Comments?

The dealer price is $400; I obtained a used pair cleaned up & ready to go 
for $140. It's hard enough to find someone who can weld aluminum on 
aluminum, so I opted for the used parts, but I'd like to prevent this from 
happening again.

------------------------------