Whats up, everything I read online says good things about headers, but any mechanic I've asked says only bad things about them (leaking, burning ignition wires, pain in *** to install, etc...). I was looking at hooker comp long tube headers but after all that I hear I'm thinking about sticking with the stock exhaust manifold, lemme know what you think, Thanks

 

Welcome to the Forum! First off they can cause problems if you aren't careful with the install. You are correct in saying they are a pain to install, but once you get them in, and you make sure your header bolts are tight every so often you shouldn't run into any issues. If you do the install make sure that you have a decent amount of clearance between any plug wires and the header tubes, I also suggest getting some heatshields for any boots that close to the header tubes(I actually have a heatshield on all but 2 of my plugs). If you go for Hooker Comp, get the ceramic coated ones so you don't have to worry about them rusting. If everything is done correctly you shouldn't have too big of an issue. You also need to pay attention to what you have to get for a Y pipe and emissions equipment if you have testing in your area. Good luck, let us know what you decide on doing!

 

The only other issue with long tubes is the lower ground clearance but as long as your careful about it youll be fine. There are a couple of speed bumps on my campus that I know i need to crawl over to keep from bottoming out

 

Well, my experience has been that yes, headers are sometimes a PITA to install. But, like 95slvrZ28 said, be careful. Make sure you take care to route your ignition wires so they wont get burned, use the proper size and grade hardware, bolts or studs, and be sure you torque them correctly with a torque wrench whenever you can. I know on my dodge with a magnum engine, that was next to impossible on all but 2 bolts on either side, F bodies are probably even more fun. Use good gaskets too, dont get the crappy ones from pep boys or something. Ok Im done ranting.

 

Good point on the gaskets, my first set burned through in a little over a month because I didn't keep up on the header bolts(the headers go through heat cycles and when they're new the bolts have a tendency to work themselves out). Needless to say I had to go back and replace a gasket because I had a horrible leak, I decided to go for Mr. Gasket Premium gaskets, they're made out of graphoil which is heat resistant up to 1000+ degrees or something ridiculous like that. I have an uncle that designs turbines and such for powerplants and they use graphoil seals for them, so needless to say it's pretty tough stuff. I'd more than recommend them, they've been on for almost 10 months now with no issues yet!

 

95, are they a multi layer steel (MLS) gasket, kind of like cometic? Thats what I was going to recommend. But I didnt check to see if they wefered by Mr Gasket or not. Just dont use plain old fel-pros! They suck tailpipe.

 

They don't have any metal in them actually, they are made out of graphoil which is a graphite based composite material that is extremely heat resistant.