Headers

Do you get a noise like an exhaust leak after installing headers

 

I did not.

 

Long or short

 

Mechanic said sound would go away
Also said there is no leaks
Sure does sound like an exhaust leak to me

 

Doug Thorley long.

 

Might be a gasket?

 

I paid to have my headers installed, if they were leaking I'd be upset.

 

The valves in our trucks are noisy, and after a long tubes headers install, the noise transfers into the tubes and can sound like a leak. If you had it checked and it is not leaking, it's probably the valves ...which is normal.

 

Does it go away when the engine warms up? Do you get popping on deceleration?

 

Gets louder under load
No popping though

 

Thanx for the info

 

A quick tip to locate a leak is to tape a piece of paper or fabric to a short rod and move it around any flanges or connections to the headers or mid-pipes with the engine running and look for exhaust pushing the paper or fabric... that would indicate a leak. The engine fan can make it hard to tell in some spots, so you might want to shield from that while testing. Check for yourself, don't take the installer's word for it.

 

Our trucks really do sound like an exhaust leak after installing long tubes.

Look at fuel trims. If one is way higher than the other then there is likely a leak.

 

One way to surely locate a leak is to (with a cold engine) duct tape your exhaust tips closed. Take a shop vac and reverse the hose so that it blows instead of sucks. insert the shop vac tube in to your tail pipe (yes, you will have to make a small cut in the tape to do this) then duct tape the hose in place. Spray soapy water (dawn and water) around the exhaust flanges. If there is a leak, it will bubble up and you will immediately know for sure.

 

Good idea! Simple

 

Thanks man, it worked for me and didnt have risk burns or mechanical interference. I read that some people think this is a bad idea due to the potential of blowing junk back in the exhaust ports. But i dont think that argument is valid since you arent really creating flow, just slight pressure build.

 

I wouldn’t want to use compressed air. But shop vac’s don’t have that kind of flow/pressure. I doubt it would harm anything.

 

Brilliant!