1997 Genesis LX manifold issue


 
Steve Hoch

Steve Hoch

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I wasn't going to deal with this until it got a little warmer out but JimV posted a thread about the knobs bottoming out on a grill he was working on and it reminded me of a problem I have on my daily driver. As you can see by the picture, the knobs go from high to low on the grill. The problem is that the front knob (one on the left in picture) bottoms out on the control panel now. It appears that the manifold is somehow bent down in that direction. I decided to take it apart and it does not appear to be bent or installed incorrectly. There really can't be much up and down play the way it's installed. The manifold bracket was in place, so that's not it. The only other thing I can think of is that the valves are sticking to various degrees and not fully releasing up when pushed down. I sprayed all the valves with penetrating oil and will now let them soak for a day. I'm then going to clean everything up and take the valves apart if needed to restore full function, which I have done before. Anybody else ever have a similar problem? Let me know20220304_145300.jpg20220304_152831.jpg
 
Actually, as I look at my own picture of the grill before I took it apart, the manifold does look like it's hanging down lower on the left, or front side.
 
It could be the arms that mount the manifold to the cookbox are bent slightly.

Presumes the mounting holes in the cookbox are in the right spot, not ovaled out.
 
I would move the grill to a flat surface like a concrete pad and take a look at it again. It it still looks wonky, check the frame legs with a square. Then check the firebox for warping since the manifold mounts to the firebox on 2 points. Check the manifold arms for rot where they mount to the firebox as they are dissimilar metals.

If all the other stuff looks ok you might be able to add another support bracket to “level” the manifold.

I would be reluctant to bend the manifold arms. You could put the lean on the other side.
 
Steve, what you can try:

I used ss aircraft safety wire, but Bruce says zip ties work as well...but lift up the cookbox up so it's sitting maybe a 1/16" above the frame on the RH side and secure the manifold with the safety wire/zip tie so the weight of the cookbox is held up by the manifold. Just do it a little at a time and you will eventually get it pulled back into place. Larry's experience with shattering a cookbox makes me leery so go slow if you do this but it worked for me.
 
I am pretty sure the front of the manifold is bent down. Move the manifold support bracket to the front of the manifold and see if that helps. Otherwise, just remove the control panel and pull up on the front of the manifold a bit to bend it up a little. I know someone is going to chime in about breaking the cook box or something like that, but I have done it on several grills with no problems. Just be careful and don't overdue it.

Also, make sure the control panel is sitting level flush on the frame front and back and also make sure the cook box is sitting level on the frame.
 
Everything on the manifold looks pretty good. There is very little rust and the arms and manifold tube are pretty straight and even. I suppose the firebox could be slightly warped.
 
Thanks Bruce and Ed, both excellent suggestions. I have the manifold off and soaking already so I'm going to go ahead and "restore" it to like new condition before I put it back on. The valves were sticky anyway so I might as well.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Thanks Bruce and Ed, both excellent suggestions. I have the manifold off and soaking already so I'm going to go ahead and "restore" it to like new condition before I put it back on. The valves were sticky anyway so I might as well.
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Oh, crap, Steve, no polishing the valves this time! Don't be so OCD meticulous, you're gonna make it too nice to cook on! :ROFLMAO:

There's a lot to be said about having a beater for a daily driver. It's one of the reasons I quit driving the Nomad.
 
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Ed P said:
Oh, crap, Steve, no polishing the valves this time! Don't be so OCD, you're gonna make it too nice to cook on! :ROFLMAO:
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Ed, I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm going to do 😀. I'm still going to cook on this one though, maybe. Oh, and then the tank scale is looking a little dingy. Crap, it's starting again!
 
Steve Hoch said:
Ed, I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm going to do 😀. I'm still going to cook on this one though, maybe. Oh, and then the tank scale is looking a little dingy. Crap, it's starting again!
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Whew! I was so worried you were going to take that the wrong way!

I know exactly how that goes...one thing leads to another and then another and the next thing you know...trailer (garage) queen!
 
Ed P said:
Whew! I was so worried you were going to take that the wrong way!

I know exactly how that goes...one thing leads to another and then another and the next thing you know...trailer (garage) queen!
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Nope, I knew you were kidding. This grill needs a little work, but I really still want a Skyline. That's the one that would more than likely end up in the garage.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Nope, I knew you were kidding. This grill needs a little work, but I really still want a Skyline. That's the one that would more than likely end up in the garage.
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Are you willing to hold out for the right one, or just going to scratch that itch with the first one that meets minimum requirements? Are you a native Chicagoan?
 
Ed P said:
Well, that's one way of going from a 3/8" female flare to a 1/4"NPT female pipe when you buy the wrong regulator, I guess...gotta give him points for creativity, at least...
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Yep, he did make it work. I can see doing it with one of these:Screenshot_20220304-174739_Chrome.jpg
 
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Ed P said:
Are you willing to hold out for the right one, or just going to scratch that itch with the first one that meets minimum requirements? Are you a native Chicagoan?
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I am from Chicago although I've lived in the suburbs most of my life. I am holding out for the right one, it needs to have a pretty nice lid to start and I'm not willing to pay very much for it to begin with since I'll replace every part I can with new and that gets expensive.
 
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