I bought JBA headers for my '01 5.4L SCrew from Mike T a few weeks back, he was great, and so far, JBA's customer service has been great, but their product has not been. After 2 pairs of headers, they still haven't sent me a set that fits.

The problem I'm having is that the passenger side header has the collector flange welded on incorrectly, so it hits the engine and doesn't allow the header to bolt onto the head completely.

I've emailed them and offered to send my stock manifold in for comparison so they can correct their design...I'll have to wait till they reopen monday to talk to them though.

For what JBA wants for these headers, they should be designed better than this. If they can correct the problem, I will have done this 3 times (should be a pro when all this is done).

Here are some pics of what the problem is. 45-49 are on-truck pics, the rest are comparison pics - the headers to the stock manifolds.



















Anyone have any experience with this? I ordered these because of all the good stuff I heard about them...Surely my engine isn't different than all the other 5.4L engines out there...someone must have had this problem before?

At this point I think I could've ordered a set of pacesetters and got the same quality.

Just wanted to vent...

Robert

 

Deffinately looks like the flange is welded in the wrong position. The QA person at JBA needs some glasses.

 

That's what I thought about the first set of headers...now I've had two pair with the same problem, so I'm wondering if they screwed up their design somehow.

 

They probably have a jig that puts all the parts in position, then they weld it. The jig is probably off on the flange part. They basically have to retool that part of it.

 

So did you ever get it to work? What happened in the end? I would like to know b/c headers are next on my order list .

 

the jba's i got for my 4.2 fit to block perfect and to exhaust perfect. had alittle problem with the one flange had to grind part of the bolt head so i could get it in there but hasnt leaked yet. and i have to loosen my header to replace one of the spark plugs the one next to the oil dipstick tube which i also thought they could have left more room around. but i do like them better than my rusty manifolds

 

Mr Bentwrench,
When you put your headers on, did you hear a lot of clicking (almost sounds like the valve train) when you accelerate or when the engine is under load? I just put headers on my truck (4.2L) today and am now hearing the loud tapping.

 

Ticking with headers, in my experience, has always meant there is a leak. Good luck, Rich

 

I went back to the shop and found a couple of things that weren't quite tight enough. Yup, exhaust leakage, thanks Rich.

Some advice afterthefact - take off the front wheels and fender skirts. Makes a world of difference access-wise. Takes about 15 minutes total to remove both sides and probably would have cut the install time in half if I would have done it yesterday.

 

Gee, I guess we'll never know the ending..

 

sorry 'bout that - missed the posts.

I ended up grinding down the headers to fit - lots of grinding.

This was after the JBA rep I was dealing with told me they custom made me a set of headers to fix the problem & lost them!!!

Anyway, after I was done grinding (a week or so after), the JBA sales manager called me to see if there was anything they could do to help...they fired the guy who was "helping" me (appearently he screwed around quite a few customers).

I'm pretty happy with the headers now that they're on and fit...

 

Thanks Rball, although that doesn't sound too good. Why couldn't they just have replaced it for good. I'm wondering whether I should order from JBA now.

I'm quick to open my wallet and willing to spend more for quality but am extremely picky about details. If it's slightly not right it goes right back to where it came from until things are right.

I still remember when I shipped back 2 sets of stainless steel exhaust tips because of scratches. On the 3rd set they finally got it right and the guy told me over the phone that I was the pickiest person he's ever met LMAO. Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment.

 

what gains have you experienced with them?

 

Leancut:
I don't think the extra money was worth in in my case. Even if they had fit with no problems, there were other issues... weld splatter on the flange (the side that bolts to the motor, had to grind that down), weld splatter everywhere, and seemingly more welds than needed (they didn't look all that cleanly made).

The ceramic coating was definately a good thing though. These things are completely cool (after sitting awhile) when the bolts/block are still scorching hot. And, they look just like the day I put 'em on (no discoloration, no rust, etc. (after about 4 months).

openclasspro:
I already had a magnaflow catback on when I did the headers...they weren't the biggest gain I've seen, but it was noticable.

I've got a chip, the catback, headers, and airforce one intake. I'd rank the mods as:

1. chip
2. intake
3. headers
4. catback

dunno if any of that has to do with the order they were put on (catback, headers, intake, chip - heh, exactly reversed order of gains - I never noticed that )...but I'm happy with the combo.

I also ported/polished my throttle body & elbow, but didn't notice any kind of gain from that (nor did I notice a gain with the magnaflow, but love the sound).

 

Leancut:
I don't think the extra money was worth in in my case. Even if they had fit with no problems, there were other issues... weld splatter on the flange (the side that bolts to the motor, had to grind that down), weld splatter everywhere, and seemingly more welds than needed (they didn't look all that cleanly made).

The ceramic coating was definately a good thing though. These things are completely cool (after sitting awhile) when the bolts/block are still scorching hot. And, they look just like the day I put 'em on (no discoloration, no rust, etc. (after about 4 months).

openclasspro:
I already had a magnaflow catback on when I did the headers...they weren't the biggest gain I've seen, but it was noticable.

I've got a chip, the catback, headers, and airforce one intake. I'd rank the mods as:

1. chip
2. intake
3. headers
4. catback

dunno if any of that has to do with the order they were put on (catback, headers, intake, chip - heh, exactly reversed order of gains - I never noticed that )...but I'm happy with the combo.

I also ported/polished my throttle body & elbow, but didn't notice any kind of gain from that (nor did I notice a gain with the magnaflow, but love the sound).