I've had these XS headers on for about 3 months now. Had some pretty bad resonance at about 1600 and 2300 RPM so I loosened all the bolts and then retightened everything back up about a month ago now and it made it a lot better. A couple days ago the resonance got REALLY bad at the same RPMs again and I figured that a bolt just loosened itself up somehow. I took my car to meineke to just see if they could tighten the bolts back up for me and the guy told me that my front header was cracked. He told me that it got too hot because my car was running too lean because I didn't reflash my chip. I've never heard anywhere on here that you need to change your chip when u put on headers and I haven't heard anything about them cracking so I'm kind of confused. I thought that if it was cracked my car would just sound like ish at all RPMs, not just at those certain ones again. The car sounds normal above 2500 RPM. So pretty much I'm just asking if this sounds right. I don't have tools or access to a lift or anything so I can't really check it out myself. I felt all around the front header and felt nothing that felt like a crack. Also, anybody here from westchester county NY that could help me out? even if they aren't cracked i think I want to take them off. They've been nothing but a problem for the 3 months and didn't really add too much power.

 

if he was able to see the crack from under the car then so can you. Jack the car up, crawl underneath with a flash light, and check all the welds. You will be able to see if there is a crack.


Or maybe that dude just wanted your money, so hes telling you that shit. I dunno, but I havent heard anybody running to lean from headers.

 

Was it the normal resonance sound or a more metallic resonance sound?

 

I guess it's more metallic. Definitely worse than the slight buzz I had before but its still just at 1600 and 2300 RPMs. I even get the noise when I'm slowing down for a traffic light and the RPMs drop thru those 2 points again. If the headers were cracked wouldn't I hear like an exhaust leak at all times?

 

I would think so. I think ya get what ya pay for too. The mechanic who put my XS headers on said they might not hold up as well as the comptechs. I really hope they hold up but I guess for 100 ya can't complain and have to buy another set if they break. But I don't remember hearing other people on here having them crack nock on wood.

 

Here's some background on these headers that might help. I put them on myself in early July. I really have no mechanical know how but in about 6 hours I got them on(sucked). There was a lot of tension between the front header and the downpipe and i think that was causing the resonance i first had so about a month ago i loosened everything up and retightened it back. Oh yeh, for the first 2 months i didnt have the hanger hooked up either. I drive to work every day about 20-25 minutes each way. I've taken a few trips back home to rochester (about 5 hours) with these headers on. the roads around me blow so maybe all of the shaking had something to do with it? I know u get what u pay for but god damn 3 months? whats the chance i'll even get a response from ss autochrome? Also I got quoted $315 at meineke to get the original headers back on -- any suggestions on where I could get this done for cheaper? Any help is appreciated guys

 

Well i for starters jack up the car and inspect them yourself. If you were able to put them on yourself you can inspect them. Look for black soot around the welds.
2nd) Typically with cracks you will hear leaking or ticking from the gases leaking out.

3rd) if they are cracked its most likely due to you not having the hanger on. Its putting too much stress on the pipes and welds to not have it attached. I wouldnt put the stock ones back on for 315. I would do it myself or get a new set of headers (if in fact they are cracked) Ive had mine on for over a year now with over 40k on them and they are resonance and crack free. (XS headers)

 

I put the headers on myself at my parents house. I live about 5 hours away now and all i have is the jack in the trunk to put the spare on. Call me crazy but I don't wanna put my head under my car with that little thing being the only thing holding it up. Plus I'd be doing it on the street since i have no driveway or garage. thanks for the help fsttsyms, i think you've come thru on every question i've ever had. No one's heard of their car running too lean because of headers? all i have is a short ram intake and the headers so i didnt really think i needed to do anything with the ecu. the guy at meineke said that it looked like the front header had gotten so hot that it was glowing.

 

There is no ECU flash for our cars. Our cars will adjust enough for teh headers. I highly doubt it got that hot

 

I guess I'll just wait for this dude at work to take a look at it. I just got home and it does make that metallic sound more now. especially when i got on it a little bit. 5 hours of straight driving at 70-80 mph wouldn't get it too hot? It was just under normal driving conditions that it started making that noise.

 

No it wouldnt get too hot. The guy was giving you a load of crap. Forget every thing he said. (my car runs ALL DAY. It wont get too hot and do that)

Like i said. If it cracked, it was due to other reasons. (plus if your car was running lean to cause that you would have MUCH larger issues than a cracked header)

 

I don't even know what it means to run lean but what would cause this? the car seems to run fine to me.

 

Your car isnt running lean. and you cant tell by looking at the header.
Lean is too low of a Air Fuel ratio. Its VERY bad for the motor if run too lean and too long. You will burn up the motor. Like i said dont listen to any thing he said.

 

Check to see how the O2 sensor is bolted into the headers, I had an awful sound on mine around low RPMs and found that the O2 sensor wouldn't screw snugly in the bung and the washer was vibrating. If you get a second washer to make it nice and tight, your resonance may go away like mine did.

If it's cracked you'd notice a huge drop in gas consumption, so I'd check all the bolts again along with the O2

 

I got to listen to it today with the hood open and it definitely sounds like it could possibly be the O2 sensor or a loose bolt on the back header. Hopefully I'll get it checked out tomorrow. How would gas consumption go down if it's cracked?

 

It wont go down

 

got it checked out today. The guy said that there was a small hole around one of the welds -- like the weld wasn't complete(not a crack). He also said that the rubber from my hanger is worn out so I think thats where all of the noise came from. Is there some way to rig up my hanger so I'm not replacing the rubber every few months? I noticed when I put it on it really had a lot of strain on it. I'll have it fixed this weekend and see what it sounds like after that. Thanks for the help guys.