Header Got Bent!
11-06-2009, 03:22 PM
#21
Safety Car
Thread Starter
11-06-2009, 03:25 PM
#22
Safety Car
Thread Starter
An interesting thing about a tube is if you dent it, it will pop out in another direction.
So unless you crush it real bad it will still flow the same volume with a dent.
I'd leave it alone unless your hearing weird sounds like a whooshing sound from the exhaust.
By heating it and pulling the dent out you stretch the metal and may do more harm then good by making a bulge.
So unless you crush it real bad it will still flow the same volume with a dent.
I'd leave it alone unless your hearing weird sounds like a whooshing sound from the exhaust.
By heating it and pulling the dent out you stretch the metal and may do more harm then good by making a bulge.
11-06-2009, 07:31 PM
#23
normally i cant leave well enough alone either. if something is out of place it bugs the **** out of me as well. but a lifetime of jacking with cars has given me a sense of when to leave well enough alone. in your case though, do whatever makes you sleep at night.
if i did decide to fix it, id mig weld a nail or a quarter inch bolt head actually to the pipe, heat around it and start with the slide hammer. heating one area at a time not all at once. this way, you can manipulate what moves and what doesnt when you spank the hammer. you want to actually start at the outside of the dent, and work your way to the middle with the heat. if you start at the middle, you will get an immediate bulge you will never be able to get out because you will have prematurely stretched that area. a bulge will violate Bernoulli's principle, which is kind of what you are pseudo creating in the collector, and you will do more harm than good. if you have to, cut off the bolt and reweld in a new place until you are satisfied. or weld two bolts etc. i havent held these in my hands and seen them with my own two eyes so i cant tell you what would be best.
a cold, wet rag that you dont care about should be close by, you can also manipulate the way the hot metal settles with it. i suggest you practice on a scrap piece first if you feel the technique could help you.
good luck :thumbs
if i did decide to fix it, id mig weld a nail or a quarter inch bolt head actually to the pipe, heat around it and start with the slide hammer. heating one area at a time not all at once. this way, you can manipulate what moves and what doesnt when you spank the hammer. you want to actually start at the outside of the dent, and work your way to the middle with the heat. if you start at the middle, you will get an immediate bulge you will never be able to get out because you will have prematurely stretched that area. a bulge will violate Bernoulli's principle, which is kind of what you are pseudo creating in the collector, and you will do more harm than good. if you have to, cut off the bolt and reweld in a new place until you are satisfied. or weld two bolts etc. i havent held these in my hands and seen them with my own two eyes so i cant tell you what would be best.
a cold, wet rag that you dont care about should be close by, you can also manipulate the way the hot metal settles with it. i suggest you practice on a scrap piece first if you feel the technique could help you.
good luck :thumbs
Last edited by CoreyZ06; 11-06-2009 at 07:42 PM.
11-06-2009, 10:15 PM
#25
Intermediate
"Dyno tests I have performed over the years inevitably show that most engines are insensitive to the shape of the passages that exhaust gasses enter once they leave the port, as long as the overall header design promotes flow. There is little measurable sensitivity to dents in the pipes, (sometimes up to 2/3 closed off in one cylinder) "
Many years ago I was worried about the same thing. A dent I had to put in my headers for clearance. (not my Vette) Even though it still bugged me I had to dent my header pipe, everyone I spoke with that had actually used a dyno with an engine with "clearance dents" In the headers assured me there was no significant power loss.
11-06-2009, 11:01 PM
#27
Instructor
Member Since: Oct 2009
Location: North Las Vegas NV
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Body shop
I have a spot welder that would weld studs to the header (after cleaning coating off) and use a slide hammer that grabs the stud and pull out the dents. After your done you grind off the studs and coat it with some high temp paint. Body shops use this all the time to repair dents.
