Cast iron manifolds price at the iron rate, roughly a seventh of a dollar per pound, while stainless headers and cast stainless manifolds pay around four times that. A manifold with the catalytic converter still attached is worth far more than either, and is priced by the converter's stamped code rather than by weight.
Same name, three metals
Ask for an exhaust manifold at a parts counter and you could be handed any of three quite different objects.
Cast iron manifold. The factory default on most petrol engines, and the one the cast iron manifold price applies to. Thick and heavy, deliberately so, because the mass resists cracking under heat cycling. An inline engine has one; a V engine has two, one per bank.
Cast stainless manifold. Common on truck engines. Lighter than cast iron, more resistant to cracking depending on age and nickel content, and considerably better paying.
Tubular header. Also called an extractor manifold. An aftermarket or performance part made from thin-walled stainless tubing, with individual pipes running to a collector.
They do the same job. They are not remotely the same scrap item, and the exhaust manifold scrap value swings by several times depending on which one is in your hand.
Today's rates: the manifold scrap grade ladder
Route or component Basis Notes Value today (USD) Measurement What the figure is based on What changes it Computed from the live rate unless marked a reference 321 stainless header (aircraft, motorsport) 12 to 25 lb Titanium-stabilised; $0.47 to $0.49 per lb quoted $5.60 to $12 304 or 316 stainless header 12 to 25 lb Nickel-bearing; magnet will not stick $6.84 to $14 409 or 430 stainless (OEM exhaust stainless) 12 to 25 lb Ferritic, no nickel; magnet sticks. $0.40 to $0.60 per lb $4.80 to $15 Cast stainless manifold (truck) 20 to 40 lb Common on truck engines; heavier than a header $11 to $23 Cast iron manifold, car 15 to 30 lb The default on most petrol engines $2.16 to $4.32 Cast iron manifold, truck or V8 pair 40 to 70 lb Two units on V engines, one per bank $5.76 to $10 Manifold with catalytic converter attached Per unit Priced by converter code, not by manifold weight $50 to $300
The gap in that table is why this page exists. Stainless runs several times the cast iron rate on the site's tracked benchmarks, and one recycler puts the general case starkly: around $0.12 per pound for regular steel against $0.60 or more for stainless.
A note on published stainless figures, because they disagree and it is better to say so. One recycler quotes 304 stainless at $0.32 to $0.35 per pound, another quotes the same grade at $0.60 to $0.80. The 304 stainless scrap price you actually get therefore depends heavily on the yard, so it is worth two calls rather than one.
The magnet test, manifold edition
Here is the correction that matters most, and it contradicts a lot of general scrapping advice.
The usual rule is that stainless is not magnetic. That is true of the 300-series grades such as 304 and 316, which are austenitic and non-magnetic.
But automotive exhaust stainless is frequently 400-series, and the 400-series is magnetic. Grade 430 is specifically noted as confusing people for exactly this reason: it contains chromium but no nickel, which makes it magnetic and cheaper while still being genuine stainless worth $0.40 to $0.60 per pound.
So on an exhaust part, a magnet sticking proves nothing. Cast iron sticks. Mild steel sticks. Automotive stainless often sticks too.
Use these instead:
- Weight for size. Cast iron is dramatically heavier and thicker than any stainless part of the same dimensions.
- Surface and corrosion. Cast iron goes orange and flaky. Stainless stays grey or discolours to a bronze or straw tint from heat without scaling away.
- Construction. A single thick casting with short branching runners is iron or cast stainless. A set of separate welded tubes is a stainless header.
- Sound. Tap it. Cast iron thuds; tubing rings.
The muffler page covers the same test on the rest of the exhaust, where mild steel rather than cast iron is the thing you are separating from.
Dating your manifold
Material choice tracks the vehicle rather than the decade as neatly as people hope, so treat this as a guide rather than a rule.
Cast iron has been the mass-market original equipment choice throughout, because it is durable and cheap to produce. Manufacturers have not abandoned it.
Cast stainless appears more often on truck engines, where the manifold's tendency to crack matters more and the operator's tolerance for replacement cost is higher.
Tubular stainless headers are almost always aftermarket rather than factory, fitted by owners chasing less back pressure. Their presence usually tells you something about the previous owner rather than the model year.
Aftermarket headers: the premium case
If you find a header, treat it as the good outcome.
Thin-walled stainless tubing is a clean, high-grade non-ferrous item, so the header scrap value sits at the top of this page, and there is a second market beyond the yard. Headers are performance parts, so a serviceable set can be worth considerably more to another owner than to a scale.
One specialty grade is worth knowing about. 321 stainless, which contains titanium stabilisers to resist carbide precipitation at high temperature, is common in aircraft exhaust systems and brings roughly $0.47 to $0.49 per pound. If you are handling aviation or motorsport parts rather than car parts, ask about it by name.
A turbo manifold scrap sale follows the same logic, with one addition: check whether the turbocharger itself came with it, because that part is worth far more as a core than as metal, as the turbocharger page explains.
The 500 pound problem
A practical obstacle specific to cast iron, and one that catches people out.
Many non-ferrous focused yards impose a minimum of around 500 pounds before they will pay out for ferrous material such as steel and iron. A single 20 pound cast iron manifold is well under that.
So the cast iron scrap price per pound may be academic if nobody will weigh in your one manifold. Either add it to a larger ferrous load, or accept that it rides along with the vehicle if the car is going whole.
Stainless is different. It is non-ferrous for grading purposes and yards that decline small iron loads will usually still take stainless by the pound.
If the converter is still attached
Many manifolds, particularly on modern engines, have the catalytic converter cast or welded into the assembly.
Do not price that by weight. A manifold with cat attached value is driven entirely by the converter's stamped code, and the manifold metal is a rounding error beside it. The catalytic converter hub covers how those codes work, and separating the two before quoting is the single most valuable thing you can do with the assembly.
Manifold prices around the world
Iron and stainless settle in US dollars, so the metal in a manifold is worth the same everywhere. Currency and local buyer depth are what change.
Market Equivalent range Local market note United States $2.16 to 22.80 Deepest buyer pool. Even within the US, state to state runs $50 to $60 per ton apart. United Kingdom £1.53 to 16.19 Strong processing capacity. Battery and PGM material reported 20 to 40 percent above thin markets. Canada C$2.90 to 30.59 Similar structure to the US; thinner in the prairies and the north. Australia A$2.85 to 30.06 Good coastal capacity, long hauls inland. Distance is the main discount. Germany €1.90 to 20.03 Dense processing and strict documentation. Good grades pay well; paperwork matters. India ₹187.88 to 1,983 Large volume, but black mass export restrictions have compressed local payables. Bangladesh ৳233.66 to 2,466 Ferrous depth is good. Specialist converter, PGM and battery buyers are scarce. United Arab Emirates AED7.54 to 79.55 Re-export hub with real processing depth. Among the better-paying markets outside the West. Saudi Arabia SAR7.53 to 79.52 Growing capacity; specialist PGM and battery buyers still limited. Turkey ₺108.86 to 1,149 Major ferrous importer, so steel grades hold up better than non-ferrous here. South Africa R29.30 to 309.26 Reported below UAE and UK on battery material; processing infrastructure is the constraint. China CN¥14.22 to 150.14 Aggressive bidder on imported battery material; 2026 recycling rules moved payables down.
Treat these as the metal-value anchor rather than a local quote. Ferrous minimums and stainless grading practices vary sharply by yard and by market.
Questions people actually ask
"The magnet stuck, so it is cast iron, right?"
Not necessarily. Automotive stainless is often 400-series, which is magnetic. Check weight, thickness and construction instead. A thin welded tube assembly is stainless whatever the magnet says.
"Is a header worth more than the manifold it replaced?"
As scrap, yes, several times over per pound. As a part it can be worth more again, since headers are bought and fitted by other owners.
"My yard will not take one cast iron manifold."
That is normal. Many yards set a ferrous minimum around 500 pounds. Save it for a larger load or leave it on the vehicle.
Common mistakes
- Trusting the magnet test on exhaust parts, when 400-series automotive stainless is magnetic.
- Weighing in a manifold with the catalytic converter still attached, which throws away the code-based value.
- Taking one cast iron manifold to a yard with a 500 pound ferrous minimum.
- Mixing stainless headers into a ferrous pile, where they are paid at a fraction of their grade.
- Accepting the first stainless quote, when published 304 rates differ by more than double between recyclers.
- Scrapping a serviceable header, which is a performance part with its own resale market.
Figures on this page are indicative buyer ranges, not offers to buy. Metal rows are computed from the site's tracked daily benchmarks; published stainless grade prices are cited as references and vary widely between recyclers. Weigh and identify your own part rather than assuming.
Frequently asked questions
What is the exhaust manifold scrap price today?
It depends entirely on material. Cast iron manifolds price at the iron rate, roughly a seventh of a dollar per pound on tracked benchmarks, while cast stainless manifolds and tubular stainless headers pay around four times that. A manifold with the converter attached is priced by the converter code instead.
How do I tell a cast iron manifold from stainless?
Not with a magnet, because automotive exhaust stainless is often 400-series and magnetic. Use weight for size, since cast iron is dramatically heavier and thicker; surface corrosion, since cast iron goes orange and flaky; construction, since separate welded tubes mean a stainless header; and sound, since cast iron thuds while tubing rings.
Why does the magnet test fail on exhaust stainless?
Because only the 300-series grades such as 304 and 316 are non-magnetic. The 400-series is magnetic, and grade 430 in particular confuses people: it contains chromium but no nickel, making it magnetic and cheaper while still being genuine stainless worth $0.40 to $0.60 per pound.
What is a stainless header scrap price?
Headers are thin-walled stainless tubing and price at the stainless rate, which one recycler contrasts against ordinary steel as $0.60 or more per pound versus about $0.12. Published grade prices vary widely between yards, so it is worth more than one quote.
Is a header worth more than the manifold it replaced?
As scrap, yes, several times over per pound. As a used part it can be worth more again, since headers are performance items bought and fitted by other owners rather than only recycled.
What is the cast iron scrap price per pound?
Cast iron is one of the lowest-value grades, running around a seventh of a dollar per pound on tracked benchmarks. The bigger obstacle is often access rather than rate, since many yards impose a ferrous minimum of around 500 pounds before they will pay out.
What is a manifold with cat attached value?
Driven by the catalytic converter's stamped code rather than by the manifold metal, which becomes a rounding error beside it. Separate and identify the converter before quoting anything, because weighing the assembly as scrap discards most of its value.
What is the 304 stainless scrap price?
Published figures disagree sharply. One recycler quotes 304 at $0.32 to $0.35 per pound while another quotes $0.60 to $0.80 for the same grade. That spread is wide enough that calling two yards is worth the time on any meaningful quantity.
How is a turbo manifold scrap sale different?
The manifold itself grades as cast iron or stainless like any other. The important check is whether the turbocharger came with it, since a turbo is worth far more as a rebuildable core than as metal, even when damaged.
Which manifolds are cast stainless rather than cast iron?
Truck engines frequently use cast stainless manifolds, since cracking matters more in that service and the replacement cost is more tolerable. On passenger cars, cast iron remains the common original equipment choice and stainless is usually an aftermarket header.