An upgrade, and a soon to be fixed problem
 

I finally found these photos. Over the summer I installed mid lenght headers on the ol V6, and I went to put my lowering springs onto my car, but ran into a small problem. See if you can find what it is.


First, ym problem:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades003.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades004.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades005.jpg



And now for a small comparison of stock ,and better:


http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades008.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades009.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades010.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades011.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...pgrades012.jpg

I'd be careful with that wrap...

Do those have the custom wrap you made on them?

oh you mean using the nanogel? no, im still having adhesive problems, so they are running with just normal wrap. Im thinking of trying using a tack adhesive like the type used on fabrics, and when all is said and done, the heat form the exhaust will burn off the glue, but by that time they should be held in positoin with the exhaust wrap. they're coming off soon cause hte motors gotta come out so I might undo the wrap and start over again while im at it.

why so bro?

wrap holds the moisture in and tends to make the headers rust through quicker. id get them jet hot coated if it were me

are you speaking of internally or externally. Externally they were completely sandbalsted to bare, and then I applied about 4 coats of primer, and 5 coats of VHT's 2000 degree paint. and if they do rot through, Ill just grab another pair, adn have those JHC'd

A common problem I see people do is take them right out of the box and install, but the paint on them is shipping paint, and needs to be removed and new high temp paint needs to be coated on there to withstand the temperatures.

Anything that is woven, like header wrap, has pores that moisture gets into. As the temp goes up and down on the pipes you get condensation that the wrap won't let evaporate as it normally would.

-Tim

I forgot to mention I also used the silicone sealant that DEI makes on the header wrap to reduce the moisture absorbsion.

Yeah, the headers can rust out because of wrap- even with VHT's High temp coating. When you put that on, did you heat cycle the headers like VHT says to do?

The DEI stuff is supposed to be a big help, although I have never used it personally.

Are those shorty headers or later tubular manifolds?

-Tim

They are shorty headers.

- Justin

The rot on the strut plates is typical, bad design by GM, it must trap water in there.

Header wrap will cause the tube to rot.

looks like someone welded the struts

Yeah, which is a pain in the butt cause I dont have an oven to just bake them in. you gotta idle for 10 minutes, cool down for 20, idle for 20, cool again for 20 minutes, then od normal driving for a half hour.....which was the best part lol, cause I had to drive to my guys exhaust shop to have the rest of my exhaust installed, I.E the muffler. I want to go down to my local appliance recycling center and grab one so I can powder coat and bake stuff like this. Like I said the wrap, I could care less if it rots out my headers, My under hood temps stay lower, and it gives it a little pizzaz under the hood as well. I did all I could, and using such items like the 2000 temp paint and the silicon should prolong the life of them substantially. The only problem I encountered with them ,that I will properly address, is the no. 1 cylinder is rubbing the steering knuckle. It grabs just the lip of the knuckle, so I grinded a smiggen off, and greatly reduced the rub, but certain occasions like accelerating while turning, you can feel the vibrations coming through the steering wheel. its a flaw that Pacesetter evidentally has with these headers.

hey jeff, I dont know if anyone has told you yet, but that header wrap stuff will make your headers rot out. :lol:

Which is exactly what happens. all the road salt, and water get in there, and stay trapped. Im gonna use a type of wax put on blades at workshops to prevent that top from rusting out on my bilsteins incase I have to get to them at a later time.

Those strut plates are prime candidates for POR15.

blacdout- can i make a recommendation? when i switched to lowering springs, i got new shock mounts. i did extensive research and the Napa piece is good stuff. let me know if you want me to get you part numbers. its like $100 per side, but definitely worth the insurance and avoidance of aggravation when getting new springs.

Already purchased all new brand spanking hardware back in july-august. I got upper/lower shock mounts, and that rubber mount inside, so I shouldnt have a problem now lol. To me, using all the original 12 year old stuff, in which condition that that looks as it is, should not be reused, if your gonna replace something on your car, and your looking to upgrade, make sure you upgrade everything that is in connection with what your upgrading.

yea definitely lose the heat wrap. i pulled that stuff off a bradley GT i had and the header fell apart while it came off. its bad stuff.