Rusty lookin headers
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 577
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From: Palm Harbor Florida
Rusty lookin headers
Sooo...I have rusty looking stock headers on my 2000...Is this rust just on the outside and not indicative of any negative performance issues?(hopefully) I wanted to modify the headers anyway down the road but what kind of issue if any, am I dealing with? Whats their life span?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 4
From: North Port Fl
Sooo...I have rusty looking stock headers on my 2000...Is this rust just on the outside and not indicative of any negative performance issues?(hopefully) I wanted to modify the headers anyway down the road but what kind of issue if any, am I dealing with? Whats their life span?
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,789
Likes: 894
From: Northern Illinois
Oldtimer
When you say you have "rusty looking stock headers" do you mean you have the stock exhaust manifold on the engine. If this is what you are talking about it is normal for them to be rusty. It won't hurt anything. You could remove them and paint them with a high temp paint or have them ceramic coated for appearance sake. But IMO if you are going to all the trouble of removing the exhaust manifold, you might as well install some long tube headers that will give you an increase of about 25 HP possibly more. I don't know what you mean when you say you want to modify the headers. The life span of long tube headers depends on the type of headers you buy and their quality. If you were to buy cheap steel headers that were not made of a heavy guage tubing they could rust out in just a few years from the high heat. If you were to buy some heavy guage stainless steel headers they could last 20 years or more.
I've had Melrose ceramic coated long-tube headers on my car for 6 years and they still look brand new. 
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,795
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
the stock exhaust manifold normally rusts... no issues with its performance or life...but long tube headers like American Racing or LG or Kooks are the way to go if you want a rust free clean look and 20+ more HP
