help

[mfacello527]

Can anyone tell me what a "header" is in a car? My boyfriend is telling me that his "header' i messed up and/or making noise and he told me it was because ithasnt had its oil changed in along time. ( he just got the car). He said that a new "header" is expensive and he was mad. Please tell me what a "header" is and can this get damaged from driving "fast" and stupid? The car is a standard. I dont know if that helps but.. I am clueless.

[03mach1]

Re: help

A header is a collector. It come off the side of the block from the head. It is part of the exhaust system. The only way it can get damaged is from being old and it cracks from thin walls or just being old from rust eating at it. Other wise a header should not just give out unless like I said it is old. A header is a performance part for the exhaust system. If the car is a 4 cylinder you only have one header for the exhaust, but if it is a V-8 It would have headers (2). How does not having its oil changed in a while have to do with the header? you said the car is standard it should have an exhaust manifold not a header.

[the other pc]

Re: help

A “header” is type of exhaust manifold.

An exhaust manifold carries hot exhaust gasses away from the engine’s cylinders, combines them together and then routes them downstream to catalytic converters, mufflers and tail pipes.

Headers are formed from individual sections of tubing. Most cars come from the factory with exhaust manifolds that are cast as a single piece, rather than being formed from separate bits of tubing.

A very small number of high performance cars come from the factory with tubular headers installed. Headers are a very common aftermarket upgrade.

Here’s a set of aftermarket tubular headers for a Ford V8:


Hear’s a set of cast manifolds for a Ford V8:


I don’t see how not changing the oil would affect the exhaust pipes.

Headers have no moving parts so the only way you’d “hear them” is if they started leaking, from the gasket where they mate to the engine, from the flange where they mate to the downstream pipes or if they develop a crack or hole.


PC.