Headers question
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4wd Low
Joined: Aug 2025
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Headers question
I have a 1996 f150 5.0 2wd. I am not looking for crazy power, I want a date night truck with good sound and mild performance upgrades. I have an exhaust leak so I plan on getting a new exhaust manifold. Are shorty headers worth it? Or should I just get OEM. Some say shorties are a hassle and oem is better. 1996 is a weird year, and the only pair ive found that fits is hedman. Oem and shorty are about the same price. Thoughts?
More Turbo
Joined: May 2003
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Summet used to offer shorties for the 96. I got a set for my 95 Bronco. They had a slightly bigger outlet, and holes for the O2 sensor. Is it worth it? I did other mods so its hard to say, but there was really no down side to them for me, and the pass side manifolds of most fords are pretty restrictive.
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Salkum
My experience with installing shorts when I had my 89’/5.0 was less than stellar.
The shorts mated up poorly with the head pipe flange and leaked. The ball on the header was too large to fit properly on the stock head pipe flange. So be prepared that you might need to replace the head pipe also.
As for performance gains, your not going to see much of a difference and if you do it’s only going to be past 3500 rpm and higher.
Im a true dual exhaust guy with glass packs and tail pipes all the way out the back but I like it quite in the cab.
The shorts mated up poorly with the head pipe flange and leaked. The ball on the header was too large to fit properly on the stock head pipe flange. So be prepared that you might need to replace the head pipe also.
As for performance gains, your not going to see much of a difference and if you do it’s only going to be past 3500 rpm and higher.
Im a true dual exhaust guy with glass packs and tail pipes all the way out the back but I like it quite in the cab.
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4wd Low
Joined: Aug 2025
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haha yes I’m going to likely swap a king ranch back seat into it. Right now is the Eddie Bauer lumbar seats, they’re pretty nice tho. I’ve got plenty of interior work I want to do, new carpet, blanket headliner, repaint all the tan to brown, etc.
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