hey guys, the leak from my manifold on my 01 5.4l 166k has gotten worse when it's cold it seems... and i looked at them and they're totally rusted, and when i stick my head in the passenger side wheel well i smell a lot of exhaust fumes. so, i'm ordering some pacesetter shorty headers w/ the armor coat from auto anything.

http://www.autoanything.com/exhausts...0A2606113.aspx

now what gaskets and bolts should i get? all input is appreciated guys, thanks!

 

Some grade 8 locking studs/nuts will probably be a good choice. Those headers already come with a supplied gasket, I would just use that.

 

The pacesetter gasket is terrible use a different one..fel pro, OEM, etc

 

Ahh I had no idea.. Sorry about that

 

I used Victor-Reinz gaskets from Carquest, works well so far. Also, I used Stage 8 locking bolts but OEM manifold studs and nuts would be fine.

 

okay thanks guys... so basically any kind of gaskets that are better the ones that come with the headers... got it.

just wondering, how much did the gaskets/bolts run you guys price wise?

 

I used the gasket that came with my Obx headers and reused by stock studs/nuts. So I cant help you there

 

okay thanks. I may actually get JBA shorties now since they're around the same price for their stainless, and it seems more people use JBA vs. The Pacesetters

 

My gaskets were like $17 and the studs/nuts would of been another $20. The Stage 8 bolts were about $50 on ebay. I'd go with the JBA if price is close, just because they are nice quality and stainless. Durability in all 4 seasons daily driver, I'd do stainless everything.

 

Okay thanks. I read about the stage 8 bolts so I was leaning towards those anyways. Lol. And yeah the JBA's are only like twenty dollars more so I'm gonna get those. It's all a direct bolt up including like where o2 sensors go as well? I would assume so, I just want to make sure.

 

I have the JBA shorties on mine and yes they are a direct replacement for the factory manifolds. The O2 sensors are in your factory exhaust pipes downstream of the headers, so no changes there. I had mine installed at a friend's shop and the mechanic had to slightly bend the dipstick tube to route it through the header primary tubes.

I used the Stage 8 locking header bolts the first time around, and the mechanic said they were a pain to get on. The shorty headers are so tight and convoluted that he wasn't able to put the retainer clips on a couple of the bolts, which defeats the purpose of a locking header bolt. The heads on the Stage 8's are also a huge 6 point hex head, so that makes it even harder to get a wrench on them in tight places. I also used the included JBA black felt header gaskets, but they ended up leaking. I should have known better since they felt pretty thin and chincy.

I learned from these mistakes the second time around when I had the gaskets replaced. I used the OEM Ford steel manifold gaskets. They are the best gaskets you can run bar none, and don't leak. Do yourself a favor and use the Ford gaskets the first time around. Instead of the Stage 8's, I opted to use Percy's Split-Lock header bolts which were a tad easier to work with. They have lower profile 12 point heads that give you 2x the area to get a wrench on them, and are locked in place with a center allen head set screw.
http://www.jegs.com/p/Percys/Percys-...81843/10002/-1

 

wow thanks a lot man. that's all i need to know! haha. i know you have more mods to complement the headers than i do, all i have is a dynomax bullet to y-piped duals SOTB and also did the gotts mod. did you notice any difference from the manifolds to headers? i know many ppl say shorties don't gain basically anything but a sound note, but i figured since my manifolds are leaking, they would obviously gain that power back and hopefully more? lol

 

And also what size bolts are the correct ones?

 

Depends what bolts u get. The pacesetter bolts are hex head 3/8'' iirc. The bolts I got with my LTs were pretty nice, much longer than the BBK bolts I used to run, so far no probs.

 

i think i'm going to get those percy bolts along with the JBA headers, so which size is the correct size to go with? lol