I am not sure how but my exhaust header is bent, which obviously caused an exhaust leak. I tried to bend it back/flatten it out by heating up the header with a heat gun, then smashing the header with a wood block on top. No such luck. Anyone got any recommendations to possibly flatten out the header? Thanks
Best sander or a file, and check with a straight edge as you go. All you need is a flat spot that encircles the header entrance, you dont really need the entire flange to be flat. That and a good thick crush gasket should seal it up.
If the flange matches up square with the exhaust port on the cylinder along with the rear mount/frame, Its a good idea to make sure that you don't change the angle too much with sanding, because then even though you have a flat flange, it won't sit flat on the cylinder when you bolt up the rear mount
Heat gun a wood will do nothing, try a blow torch and metal. Wood is wayyyyy softer than your flange
Heat gun? Blowtorch and vice grips
I sanded it down a bit to where it is almost completely flat. I used a feeler gauge and there is roughly 0.30 mm of a gap between my flat surface and the exhaust flange. I picked up the 50% crush gasket, so the minimal gap should not be a problem? Should I be worried about the flange getting too thin to the point where it would crack under high temps?
> Rowan Vannier Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> I sanded it down a bit to where it is almost completely flat. I used a
> feeler gauge and there is roughly 0.30 mm of a gap between my flat
> surface and the exhaust flange. I picked up the 50% crush gasket, so the
> minimal gap should not be a problem? Should I be worried about the
> flange getting too thin to the point where it would crack under high
> temps?
As long as its still about 1/8th inch thick its fine. A 0.3mm gap will easily be filled by the crush gasket.
just hold the header and whack the ears with a hammer. 5 times each side, dont worry if it bends too far down as it just gives pretension when you snug up your exhaust bolts. You want the center to seal and this method will ensure that.
gaskets came and I went to reinstall the pipe and I wasn't able to because the header doesn't even come close to reaching the exhaust mount without touching the cylinder head fins. This was a problem when I first was trying to mount the exhaust, but I shaved a good portion of the fins off in the front in order to make the pipe fit. And it bolted up perfectly. I only messed with the pipe, so it must be where the problem lies. I'm super confused on wat the problem would be because the exhaust tube header looks identical to when I removed it. I guess it is possible I knocked it back when try to flatten out the flange but I am not really sure... Any guess as to what is wrong??
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