Headers - ??

[p7387]

an old school mechanic told me that headers on these old trucks can sometimes leak due to warped mounting areas,any opinions either pos or neg ?

will the overall benefit be that much different if i go with dual exhaust without headers?

as far as headers go i see there is a large price spread depending on the brand.
i was looking do do this as economically as possible, is there any one reasonably priced decent brand anyone could recommend?

thanks

[kfoz]

Check out Sanderson headers. They have a BIG selection and also have some really cool cast iron headers & manifolds!

kfoz

[75stepside454]

just like anything, you get what you pay for. If you want to avoid leaks & blown gaskets, but still want headers, youll have to buck up for some good ones with thick flanges.
 To answer the question are they worth it over stock manifolds? it depends. If the engine is otherwise stock, youll notice some increased low end pullin power, & a bit of an increase in MPG. But well it be enough to justify the cost of a good set of headers, the only way to know is try em, some well say yes, some well say no. But, if you buy cheap headers, dont be surprised with the occasional leak, blown gasket & possible rust out depending on your climate.
 Ive got Sanderson headers on mine that have been on there since 2003  & have never had a leak.  + they have no gaskets.

[eventhorizon66]

Look for headers with 3/8" thick flanges, use quality gaskets, make sure your bolts are the proper length and don't bottom out in the head, apply copper (high-temp) anti-seize to the bolt threads, and re-tighten them a few times during the first few hundred miles after installation.  You could also use a set of locking header bolts from Stage 8.

[GP3624]

 I used to work in a machine shop and learned early on to always touch up the mounting surface of the headers on the long belt sander, I was surprised at how warped some headers were right from the factory. Knock on wood- I have never had a leak on a set of headers I trued up before installing.  And yes, you do get what you pay for in most cases....

[campcrf]

for my truck i used hedman hedders.... they work really well after sanding them down to get the "lip" on the tubes gone.... i am going to install the new gaskets from RPC. They are really thick and I heard work great... and they are reusable....I'll let you guys know how they work.

[hilton850]

I'm on my second set of headman headers right now.  The first set broke one of the primary tubes on the passenger side header at the weld on the collector end.  I'm pretty sure this was caused from the engine torque moving the motor mounts more than they should move - lots of torque and stock rubber mounts = lots of movement.  Also the rest of the exhaust system is mounted pretty snug so I think that header pipe was flexing every time I got on the gas.  After it flexed enough times it cracked and broke.  I had some trouble with the headers sealing to the heads at first but once I started using fel-pro header gaskets and keeping a closer eye on the bolts and keeping them tight they quit leaking.  I never did anything to flatten the flanges, just use good gaskets and keep the bolts tight. The first set I had lasted about 6 years.  Second set is a couple years old now.

Another issue with these headers is spark plug clearance.  On stock heads they weren't bad, but on my AFR heads, the #5 header tube goes directly over the #5 spark plug.  A normal spark plug will barely go in because it's so close and when you do get the plug in, there's not enough clearance to put a plug wire on it.  I use accel shorty plugs and put fiberglass heat resistant sleeves on my plug wires and still have some trouble with burning the plug wire.  I should probably use the BFH clearance adjusting tool on that tube some day.   

My next set will be edelbrock elite series headers, they look like they are higher quality and probably flow better than the headman headers but they cost more too.  I also hope they solve my spark plug clearance issue.