Thread: 276 Desoto hemi exhaust manifold

Tweet

Originally Posted by akrateffil

I have always had horrible header experiences

I don't know the reason in your case, but in most cases it's because guys cheap out on headers. They buy ones with the cheezy thin flanges and thin pipe material, then the flanges curl up like a potato chip from the exhaust heat and leak.

Even the best 3/8" flanges are too thin in my opinion and I wish someone would step up to the plate and make headers with a 1/2" flange and 14 gauge pipes. I would pay the difference to get a quality product and I'm pretty sure others who have had the same problems would also.

At any rate, the best you can do for now is to choose headers with a 3/8" flange and buy the best gaskets money can buy. Dead soft copper works pretty well and these were highly recommended on another forum.....
http://catalog.remflex.com/CHEVROLET...t_p/rf2004.htm

The other trick to keeping leaks to a minimum is to secure the collectors to the transmission in whatever fashion you can as a hot rod fabricator. Maybe make some brackets that come up off the pan bolts. Whatever you can do to keep the weight off the header bolts at the heads.