Headers

[Seth]

So my manifold is cracked and I figure I will put on headers if I am going to have to pull them.

What brand should I buy?

On summit they range from 175ish to 600ish.

Brands include Thorley, JBA, hooker, hedman, ford racing, flowtech, pacesetter, bbk, bassani, gibson, and summit racing.

What finish should I buy? I don't need bling, but I would like something that is not going to rust.

I am thinking shorty headers any reason why not?

Other thing that come to mind are flange thickness (5/16"-1/4") primary diameter (1 1/2" or 1 5/8") I am thinking 1 1/2" since my motor is fairly stock? Also primary gauge (18-14 gauge) and material (steel or stainless)

I just want a header that will not leak, and will not totally break me financially, although I am willing to pay some premium. Do you get what you pay for? Or can I run a 300 dollar header and be happy.

Something to get the all rolling here and I guess I can go from there.

[JB]

ill get you some prices today. But yeah, I think most headers eventually start to leak

[Seth]

sweet thanks man

[uglyota]

thedynoshop.com used to have the best deals on Thorley, which at one time were a great header for the money. I have heard that their quality has dimished in the past few years but they should still be a better header than pacesetter at the lower price range. You have to call thedynoshop and ask for their internet pricing

[stx4wheeler]

i am not a fan or headers at all, cause eventually they all seem to start leaking i would just find another manifold, and go down the road.

[Moose]

I had the JBA's nickel ceramic coated shorty's on my '99 F-150 w/5.4L. they kept the rust off and the under hood temps down (no real tests though). in 2002, i bought them from truckperformance.com for ~$600. thick flanges, i think 1.5" diameter primaries, 2.5" collector for stock exhaust, direct fit. everything bolted together, no problems. except for the tight spaces in the engine compartment. but you really can't beat summit's prices, tech service, waranties, and return policies unless anyone else is running a special.

[william_ace]

hey joel did your headers ever leak?

[agjohn02]

ive got hedman and they are great. they are the thick flanged ones. 3/8" i think, ceramic coated, and i just tightened the bolts for the first time a couple weeks ago. i thought i heard a leak but it turned out to be my collector flange loosened. they've been on there since jan 05.

[tigweld]

my pops had jba's on his last 97' f-150 for almost 290,000 miles, he even put them back on the replacment engine he put in it to sell it. they had seen a very high heat life due to him trying to pull a 28' enclosed trailer with a 4,000 lbs car in cross country with a chipped 4.6 detonating like crazy. I have seen them glowing red on several occasions and they never leaked will we had it. I've also have a friend with 4.3 s-10 with gibsons shorties, and they looked real nice were stainless and didn't leak. I can say that almost any thing late model I would try to find stainless header, because as you install them you will most likely scratch them. anywhere you scratch a coated mildsteel header it will rust and begain to peel

[tigweld]

we also just recently got rid of one of my favorite work trucks, one I affectionatly call greenie meanie, a 96 f-350 with 460, 5 speed, long tube jba's and a dumptruck muf. after two cracked manifolds before a 100k we intalled the stainless long tubes. we got rid of the truck with an estimated 330(speedo issues) , and they didn't leak when the new owner drove it off.

[RCcola55]

ive learned you get what you pay for. whatever you do dont buy the summit brand they leak like crazy and a a ***** to put on.

[StevenAg03]

i think i got flowtechs for my ford. they were around 150 i think and they sucked monkey ballz...always leaked at the head and i couldnt keep collector gaskets or collector bolts in them. also the spark plug wire boots rubbed the headers causing them to melt. the spark then went through the boot and to the header instead of the spark plug.

moral of the story....get good ones or none at all...

[agjohn02]

chevelle headers dont fit a scout without a little sheetmetal work.

[jerryg79]

A friend of mine at microage bought the ford racing ones. THey were crap. The first set he got had welding rod sticking out of all the welds and one tube only welded 1/4 of the way on. The 2nd set were fully welded but still had welding rod sticking out every where and had surface rust on them.....

[Seth]

Thanks for the input guys