SO the heat riser is busted on our exhaust manifold and the repair kits on ebay are WAAAAAAAAAY expensive......

So looking at new Dorman #674232 units.....$233 on Rock Auto.

WOndering if these new ones are less likely to warp/crack than a used one if I can find one local with no cracks and the riser working?

At this late date, it's a real fluke if you encounter a "good used" exhaust manifold that's truly good. All of the new aftermarket exhaust manifolds are cast in China. Some of them are better quality than others -- you know how it goes, they might all come from one foundry, but the good ones go to the high bidder, the decent ones go to the next-highest bidder, the passable ones go to the third-highest bidder, and the rejects go to everyone else...then they all get sold on the American market where buyers get no more than what they pay for. The Dorman items tend to be the good ones.

So options are:

• Buy a used one: spend less money, but you have to hope you get one that isn't warped, cracked, or otherwise faulty. Hope it stays that way long enough to make the work worthwhile.

• Buy a cheaper-than-Dorman new one: spend middle money, but you have to contend with poor casting quality and accuracy. Makes it a (literal) pain to install.

• Buy a Dorman new one: spend a little more money, but "done in one" and you can move on to thinking about things other than exhaust manifolds.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

LOL,..I decided to go with the last .....got a Dorman thru Summit......."its only money"..........sigh.

Actually I didnt see any other options but one, and it was the same cost as the Dorman part number.....so.......