Do you guys know if Magnaflow makes headers to fit the 93 F150 Inline 6 motor?

 

No they don't.

 

Well, my next choice then is Hedman with magnaflow exhaust. Anybody running a combo like that on here? and if so, did you get a decent sound?

 

Most people use the stock cast iron EFI manifolds and Y-pipe which is far superior to headers except for maybe all out racing apps.

 

The EFI manifolds aren't that great. Headers are well worth the money. The questionable part is whether or not they are worth the hastle of putting them on and making them work.

 

I have Clifford's shorty headers and magnaflow mufflers. The shorty headers posed a problem with fitting some pipe to them... the guy at my exhaust shop had to do some strange things to make it work. The maganflow headers I have sound a little ricey, but I've gotten used to it and I like the sound now. It's pretty quiet unless I get into it. If I had it to do over again, I'd try to find some long pipe headers. Clifford's were on backorder when I was doing my work. I think there are a few other companies out there that make long pipe headers for the 300.

 

The EFI manifolds work well and last for many many years unlike headers and are relatively cheap also. Unless you stick an engine on a dyno and look for that last HP at high RPMs you won't notice a difference. For any kind of street machine stick with the EFI manifolds. Just knock the crap out of that first cat if it is not required in your area. The Magnaflow mufflers are great at keeping the noise level down but making a nice rumble when you get on it. Flowmasters sound like crap on the big six.

 

My headers have given me 7years and 120k miles of trouble free service, which is more than I can say for a lot of cast manifolds. They do make a very noticable power difference once the computer learns that it needs to add more fuel. The only problem is getting them on the truck and working. There are a lot of mods needed to make them fit and it may not be worth it to most people.

 

7 years is VERY unusual for headers although the new ceramic coated headers are doing fairly well. New gasket materials are helping but leaks are common.

 

I found an interesting site today, which explains some about header design theory. If you use thier calculations, plus standard 16-ga sheetmetal thicknesses, the 1.5" primary diameter headers available for the big six are designed for torque peaks a little above 2400RPM.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...onclusion.html

Does anyone have pictures of a header install? Especially pictures of the underside of the truck, where the header goes past the transmission crossmember?

Why do headers usually fail? Rust or leaks? Would the Walker y-pipe rust out as often as headers?

Would bracing the bottom of the header, near the collectors, against the engine help with seal and header life? Manifolds have much more material, and are far more rigid; headers have a large lever-arm putting torque on the header bolts and thin flange. Maybe a bracket from the engine to the collector would help alot.

 

I have never had a set of headers cause me any problems at all. I had them on my Cougar for years with no trouble, my truck for the time above, and have installed countless sets on other vehicles over the years. The headers on my wife's 73 Camaro have probably been on there for nearly 20 years and have no problems other than one of them leaks at the collector where it was bent by a speed bump. Heddman actually guarantees their headers against cracks for life. They couldn't do that if they expected to replace them every few years.

BigBlue, their might be some pics in my gallery but I'm not sure.

Headers usually fail due to poor installation. They will support their own weight plus a little more with no problems, but most people put an exhaust pipe on there and expect the header to support the full weight of the exhaust and it can't do that. Leaks are also very common, but mainly with the cheapo headers. Rust isn't that big a deal. I actually replaced my stock Y pipe with headers because it rusted out. The headers have been on there as long as it was and don't show any signs of problems.

One thing I have noticed is that headers made of stonger materials seem to crack more often than those made of lesser steels. I'm sure this is due to the fatigue limits of more rigid materials.

 

Silver Streak- What's the weather like near you? We get rain and snow here in Virginia. Weather differences would definately affect undercarriage hardware life.

 

I'm in NE Oklahoma. It's usually at or above 100 degrees and humid during the summer and in the teens and dry during the winter. We usually have 2 or 3 significant winter storms a year. It's not brutally bad, but rust is a problem here.

 

Silver Streak- How did you hook your headers up? Off the shelf parts? Custom fab? What did you do? How much work was it?

 

There is quite a bit of custom work to do, especially if you want to keep the emissions control stuff operational. The alternator bracket must be notched to clear the #1 primary pipe and I had to also make some spacers to move it out about 1/2". OI did not have to move his out, so it could go either way. A new exhaust system must be made with an O2 sensor fitting in it. There's some other stuff. I think there is a whole thread in here somewhere discussing what must be done to install headers.