Looking for aftermarket headers for a 2011 f250 6.2l gas job. I have the famous leak and I want to put something in that isn't going to warp. I was told shorty headers typically match up with the stock exhaust. Eventually going to put in a cat back also so true shorty headers would be sick. If anyone knows of a set that is reliable I'd really appreciate the feedback!

 

If it were me I'd buy long tube headers and take them to my local muffler guy to splice in the cat, weld in pipe and finish out the rest.

 

I am certainly not against that idea, what long tube headers would you recommend? I found a patriot exhaust header that seemed nice and wasn't bad price wise, but not sure about the fitment and everything in the truck.

 

if you are doing headers .. because of manifold warping..

you can going down the wrong road..
aftermarket are FAR more likely to warp...

 

what is your suggestion then to fix warping? I was going to put a performance exhaust anyway so i figured headers was an ok thing to do. I was just using the leak as the excuse to get started

 

there is no real Fix.. Honest.

most times the warp is from working engine hard and just turn off the key... no time to idle and cool down the manifolds...

if going headers... use the best you can get..... clean headers and cylinder heads well... use the best gaskets money can buy.... and USE ONLY Stage 8 locking fasteners...

re-torque bolts every 6 months...

I have been down this road many times.. mine and customers...

 

okay I can do that but my biggest issue right now is literally just finding a set of headers to fit a 2011 f250 6.2l. Every time I get on a website to look at headers, nothing comes up for that year. So, is there a year or whatever that you know of that will fit the 2011 6.2 and not cause too much of a headache with fitment?

 

This is not a problem we have seen much on the 6.2. I don't think it is a problem like the 5.4 and 6.8 were. Newer vehicles typically have very good flowing exhaust, and the 6.2 certainly does. So I would just buy a stock replacement.

I've installed header twice, and both times I regretted it. I ended up with leaks at the head. Before you put headers on, make sure getting to the bolts to tighten them every so often is something you want to deal with. There are some very high dollar fasteners out there now that are guaranteed to stay tight. But I've blown out gaskets with the fasteners torqued correctly. I didn't mind it as much on my mustang, where I could get to them fairly easy, but on a daily driver 351w bronco, it flat out sucked. I see it being the same on a superduty.

One last issue is finding a pair. You can find headers for a 6.2 all day long, unfortunately, they are marketed for the raptor. I highly doubt there will not be clearance issues on a superduty. Not saying they aren't out there, but I've never seen a pair marketed for a superduty.

 

(IMO)...

Long tubes will be a PIA. They are meant for hot street cars and race cars. No tuned advantage as the truck will not see high RPM.

A set of quality (aka $$) stainless steel shorties (heavy gauge flanges) Connecting to a fabricated H-Pipe (including low restriction cats) is the way to go. Have components connected by flanges to allow easier vehicle service.

Ford Raptor 6.2L SuperCrew 2011-14 Headers

 

okay, so it kinda sounds like maybe taking the stock header off and having it machined flat and putting back on with a new gasket is the easy way out? I think I might do something along those lines. I was just thinking since I was going to have it all torn off anyway that I would just throw new **** on and have some fun with it.

 

It all depends on how you are going to use the truck and how big your bank account is.

In olden times, manifolds were usually metal to metal. Machining and maybe steel shim gaskets were used. A composite gasket is asking for trouble IMO. But TECH today is much different and I am not up to speed with it.

 

I quick search shows oem replacements for under $100. Why would you spend the money on milling it, and the down time, when you could have a brand new one in hand to stick on. Also, any material you take off just makes it more prone to warp.

 

Pull the manifold. Stick a good steel straight edge across the back. Look for light at the edge, try to stick a dollar bill where you can see light. If it's less than $2 out, you can stick some 80 grit paper to a granite countertop and fret the man isn't surface down flat in figure 8 pattern. When you have good even cross hatch scratching pattern on the mating surface, you're done. If the manifold isn't too bad, you'll get it any here it needs to be in less time than it would take you to dr Be it to the machine shop. Remember; it doesn't have to be to .00001", that's what the gasket is for.

 

When towing I usually see 3500-4700rpms climbing hills. I think that qualifies as high rpms. The Thorley's start noticeably pulling at 2700.

There is no market for Superduty headers for the 6.2L. Mainly because of the cats being right after the manifolds. Can't legally replace those with long tubes.

 

Yeah a new stock one is the way I think I'm gonna go with it. Unfortunately I crawled under the truck yesterday and the exhaust looks like it just blew up towards the rear of the truck... idk don't ask haha I'm going to the dealer to figure this out now