2003TL-S

Just be forewarned, the gaskets suck, and so does DC Sports customer service. If you order the DC sport headers, once you get them go out and buy some better gaskets so you don't have to deal with the leaks, and make sure you really work the flex pipe, bend it, loosen it up, so you don't have to deal with the minor resonance. Other than that these headers are great!!!

Jakester

Yeah the gaskets suck big time. I'm considering buying some of that liquid gasket sealer and trying it. Are there others that I can look into that someone may have used before?

-Jake

ProvidenceLeaf

I too have gone through my 2nd set of gaskets! There are people suggesting O-ring type metal gaskets. One guy who I talked to said he changed his to that type of gasket over a month ago and hasn't had any issues yet. I guess we should go to a muffler shop with a DC gasket so they can match it up as best they can with a metal O-ring type that they may have.

I would like to try to use exaust form-a-gasket too. The type we need is 1372 PERMATEX HIGH TEMP #80088. Does anyone know where to get this? Autozone, Pepboys, and Advanced Auto Parts does not carry this particular kind. They carry every other kind, but this one particular for exhaust is nowhere to be found.

This is very frustrating. I'm going to contact DC Sports AGAIN, but I'm sure they are going to send me the same crappy paper thin gaskets. They need to do something about this!

2003TL-S

I called DC Sports this morning, of course voicemail, complaining that they said they were sending the new gaskets out on the 25th of April, never showed, called early last week, said they would get them to me by the end of the week, still nothing, this is rediculous. So I left a not so nice message that pretty much stated that I know others have had this issue with these/their gaskets and unless they were going to send me a better quality metal type gasket, to not even bother wasting my time with the paper crap, just to send me an email with the dimensions of the gaskets so I could go out and buy one on my own that will actually work. Just a little fired up right now.

brado

how do you guys know your gaskets are gone? i have the DC's too right now and i have that vibration at about 1900 rpm's when the car is cold. i thought it was just the flex pipe that i'll have to bend more when i have time...but what are signs of the gaskets going bad? thanks for the help.

fsttyms1

Those with exhaust gasket problems Simply pull one out and take it to a muffler shop or parts store and get one thats better there. They will have one. I can tell you that if DC had made a 3rd bolt point on the flange it "probably" wouldnt be a issue

ProvidenceLeaf

That is exactly what I was thinking. I don't understand why DC went with the 2 bolts. Every other aftermarket header has the 3 bolt setup. Plus if it was a 3 bolt setup it wouldn't be such a bitch to tighten one of the bolts. You can't even get a socket in on one of the bolts to the front. That bolt is right at the bend. I have to use a crows foot in order to tighten it properly. It's a total PITA!

Anyway, I went to a muffler shop today and picked up a gasket with a metal ring. I will have to modify it a little to fit (bolt holes don't line up) I will be doing this tomorrow night and hopefully this will solve this issue.

BTW...Should I use a high temp gasket maker along with the new gasket like this?

http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...sket_Maker.htm

Would it help, or will I compromise the new gasket? I just want to make this the LAST time I have to do this! Thanks...

2003TL-S

Thats what I am going to end up doing, I just am frustrated that they know the problem exists, but keep sending out the same gaskets, just trying to help everyone else out that wants to buy these by making a point to DC and hopefully start sending good gaskets

As far as the resonance issue, as I was told "thats just because the headers are mild steel compared to the OEM ones that are cast iron", when I said its coming from the downpipe, most likely the flex pipe, their reply was, "That has nothing to do with it, its just the mild steel" So on friday when I take my car in to have my pulley put on I am going to have them put different gaskets on and fix the resonance problem whatever way they can.

konigSTYPE

i have no problems with my dc headers and have had them on for 2-3 weeks.. a small rattle is all i hear when im next to a wall but thats about it.. Good Product

fsttyms1

Yea id toss some RTV hight temp gasket maker in there.

Yea Thats part of the reason comptech doesnt have the resonance is they use a thick walled SS, where alot of the others use a mild steel. its not as good at holding sound. I wonder what would happen with a header wrap? If that would eliminate alot of it.

When i order them i think im going to modify the flange for a 3 bolt setup

ProvidenceLeaf

Thanks for the suggestion. I may try some header wrap for the minor resonance issue. I want to resolve the gasket issue first to get rid of that annoying exhaust leak sound.

ProvidenceLeaf

I'm glad to hear that someone has had no problems with this, BUT you've only had them on for 2-3 weeks. The gaskets start failing for most after about a month of driving. This also depends on how much you drive as well.

Hopefully you won't have the gasket problem, but the gaskets are so poorly made I'm afraid you will have a problem at some point down the road.

Who knows...you may be a lucky one...

brado

using a crows foot will not give enough torque i thought to tighten the bolts. i could get a socket for all my header->downpipe bolts, and just had to use extenders to reach them. you should maybe try another brand of sockets to get those bolts properly tightened. i use craftsman and they worked fine to reach it. anyways, that might be a better idea after you fix your gaskets this next time to properly torque the bolts. well good luck however you do it.

ProvidenceLeaf

Why wouldn't a crows foot not give enough torque? It's essentially the same as a socket. I used a crows with an extension because that was the only way to get at it. The socket with an extension will not work because of the bend in the pipe. Maybe you have a super shallow socket that will fit, but I can't justify buying a socket when the crows foot does fine. Plus I did get the proper torque when I checked it with a torque wrench.

2003TL-S

Well I had my car into the shop today to have my pulley installed, which by the way is an awesome mod, and I also had them look at my header leak and resonance issue. After going through it they don't believe the headers are the cause of the leak or resonance!!!! The one place they felt was suspect was the cat due to the large amount of rust on each side where a possible hole could be as well as they believe that the heat shield around the cat may have busted a couple rivets, which is causing the resonance. Very interesting, something for you all to look at. So now I may purchase the Random Tech cat and see if that fixes the problem, plus everything will be nice and new from headers all the way back!!!!

Phesto

I noticed after I bought the RT high flow cat the resonance was greatly diminished.I only heard it after when I really gunned the car hard.Eventually I welded a st8 pipe into my megans and now I am resonance free.I also bought my Cat so I would have a complete new exhaust system from front to back..................Good Luck hope this helps

Phesto

My exhaust guy told me the same thing about the heatshield causing this problem...........maybe just remove the heatshield since the oem cat is pretty high flow already.Might save you some coin.......?

Jakester

Hey all. I talked with DC sports tech support and they are 'surprised' to learn there is such an issue with their gaskets. I am supposed to receive my second set soon and they asked if I could at the very least send high res pictures of what the failed ones look like. I think I'll send the actual gaskets back and hopefully thier R&D team can figure this out.

2003TL-S

"Suprised"??? Must not pay attention to their vociemail, still haven't gotten my 2nd set that were "sent" on April 25th!!!!!

ProvidenceLeaf

Jakester...I wouldn't bother with the second set that you are getting because more than likely they will fail again. When you receive the new gaskets take them to an exhasut shop or parts store and get a gasket with a metal ring insert that is close to the DC ones. Also I would recommend some hig temp make a gasket sealer to use with it.

That is what I did. It's been over a week now and there have been no signs of a leak yet. (usually in the first couple of weeks is when mine started to go)

I can't take credit for the different gasket or the sealant suggestion. I just took the advice from a couple other members and it looks like it will fix the problem.

Once again I would try this first before you put one the replacement crap that DC will send you. They are the same exact gaskets! Trust me I've replaced the DC gaskets twice and both time they failed within a couple of weeks. Hopefully the 3rd time is a charm for me. I don't feel like taking my headers apart ever again!

Jakester

I hear ya. Do you have any ideas of where I could go to get a metal version of the gasket? I may just send the damaged ones back and do your approach instead. I hate taking that front header pipe off due to that damn nut and angle.

ProvidenceLeaf

I got mine at a Mineike muffler shop around here you can also find them at an Autozone, Advanced Auto, or Pep Boys. Just go into the shop with the new gaskets that they send you and have them try to match one that is close to the DC's. You will have to make the bolt hole a bit bigger because you won't find an exact match.

The important part is that the metal ring inside matches the diameter of the DC's. I believe it's 2 1/4", but just use the DC's as a guide. Here is an example of what I used...



BTW...if you go to Sears you can get a shallow 14mm flexable head socket, or use a crows foot socket. If you use this socket with an extention it will make your life MUCH easier when you are trying to get at the bolt you are talking about.

Hope this helps!

fsttyms1

When i buy mine im going to weld on 2 more flanges on each to make 4 bolt points to eliminate the gasket issue i think. Im going to have to send them in most likely after modifying them to fit the 6 speed engine mount to be re ceramic coated??





That is ofcourse after i get the car running right

Hockeyman

installed my DC's today...rattling at 2200 RPM, sounds pretty shitty.

fsttyms1

somethings loose or its touching something if its rattling

2003TL-S

Try taking off the sheild that is directly around the catalytic converter, that cured 95% of the what I thought was a resonance issue, ended up just being that. Just did it tonight took about 10 minutes.

Hockeyman

k i'll do it, i'll keep yall updated. There is a slight hissing as well, gaskets?

Rpappi

bad install job.

Hockeyman

grrr....150 not well spent.

Delirium

Yup thats the stuff, got myself a 14 mm shallow one works wonder,about that gasket mine is holding very well,and trust me its been tested the hardway.I was lucky the gasket that i've found had a double layer of gasket between the inner metal ring,giving more meat to squeeze.But those will do real fine.But the best would be fsttyms1 way its the best route to go imo,i'm a welder myself, if i'd knew it would crap on me,there would be a 3 bolt flange on thems.

2003TL-S

Not necessarily, I had a hissing noise immediately after doing the install as well, and fsttyms1 did the majority of the install for me, he's pretty good at this stuff , there was really no way to do a bad install. The garage I took it to thought it could have been my cat leaking a little bit, so thats the next thing I have to play with, or it could be the gaskets. But do make sure everything is torqued down properly. Just a ?, are the flanges on your cat really rusted?? Thats where they thought mine was leaking from

Hockeyman

Ok, went to another exhaust shop to get my magnaflows redone, and they found the cause of the rattling as well....the other shop didn't tighten the o2 sensor in so it was just banging around and also causing the hissing. I still have a slight hissing sound, but it's not noticeable above my v2 intake and magnaflows.

brado

just wondering if you guys ever discovered what that vibration/resonance sound came from. the more i search, the more i think it is the cat itself. let me know if you guys have found out what's going on with your DC's. thanks.

ProvidenceLeaf

I took off my DCs about a week ago. I couldn't solve the exhaust leak with the gasket problems. I finally found a solution to that problem AFTER I had already purchased my new headers. Damn...(Thicker METAL gaskets) The crap gaskets they send with the DCs are horrible. Oh well who ever buys the DCs off me will get a good deal plus they won't have the leak issue like I did.

Also the vibration was not that bad on my car. It was only between 1400-1900 RPM and was noticable only by me because I was listening for it. I know it's not the cat. Some guys have tried header wrap and solved the problem. Others say that it was a slight fittment isssue and have taken the headers off and reinstalled them and the vibration went away. Like I said it was hardly noticeable on mine so it never really bothered me after a while.

Good luck with that...

brado

thanks man. sorry to hear about that. yeah, my vibration is at the same time as yours and is barely noticable. well, good luck with your new headers. sucks the DC's didnt work out for you.

one more thing, what were the symptoms of the exhaust leak? thanks man.

Hockeyman

I have no rattling/vibration at all as of now, using the shitty gaskets too.

atanarus

Sorry to bring back an old thread but has anyone found a fix for the resonance yet? I have the exact same resonance problem between 1400-1900 rpms. Thanks in advanced.

TNelson

Wow. The OBX headers for Acura Legends just came out about 2 weeks ago. Yes two weeks. Yes the car has been discontinued for over 10 years. If people want them, someone, somewhere, will make them.


Can they be cheaper than the XS?

Phesto

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...=copper+gasket

here it is along with the summit online link...........all I did was a search under " Copper Gasket" and I found this quickly.Next time use the function and read the threads .

2003TL-S

The copper gaskets don't fix the resonance, they just fix the leaks with the crappy DC gaskets.

There are many things to try to fix the resonance, in the end you may not be able to get rid of it completely, I haven't. Remove heat shield on cat or over any piping to rule that out. Loosen up all nuts/bolts for headers and downpipe, let it sit where it wants and then tighten back up. Unhook the hanger that the downpipe hangs from, see if that helps. There is no one solution but these are something to try and see which one works for you.