GSF header leak?
 

Hi guys. I installed a set of going super cheap. er. fast headers a few months ago. I think I may have a leak\leaks in the area where they bolt to the heads. Being impatient I went ahead and installed them with the supplied gasket set that are of questionable quality. lately I have noticed that I have one tube glowing red slightly around the area attached to the head. what are some of the problems of this type of leak aside from the obvious turbo issues. does it hurt the motor? also noticed slight black streak. and can hear a slight tapping noise. Not exactly sure how to tell if you have a leak.

Thanks
Eric 87 930

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I also have them and foolishly used the supplied gaskets as well even though I had purchased the better ones from our host. I was not sure which ones were better at the time as I had purchased the gaskets not knowing I was going to receive them with the headers.

It will be interesting to see what we have to do. My guess is, if your dealing with a leak, then its only time until I am as well.

Question, how many miles had you put on the headers when you noticed the leak?

Thanks,
Bryan

Black streak + tapping noise = leak. I dont know about the 1 primary glowing red though, that dont sound good- maybe partially clogged injector?

Headers (and turbo) can glow after a good drive, so not necessarily a problem.
Ticking could be a leak. Many tick when cold but as heats up and metal expands tick should disappear.
Black streak is def leak IMHO.
Only solution is refit. obviously take care with gaskets but also check surface of cylinder heads as dirt/corrosion can stop a good fit.

This is certainly a problem and you should have this checked- If only 1 cylinder is glowing and the rest are not, it indicates that something is not equal across the board. The only thing I can think of is that one of the injectors has a problem.

Defo i think you have a leak in there,if when cold you get some leak detector spray in around the flange to head areas,if you get someone else to start the car whilst you have already soaked the areas you have approx 10-20 seconds to see where your leaks are,the leaking areas will bubble up then after 20 seconds the spray fluid will just burn off!!!
My headers all glow a liitle red when the car is at idle when hot and the afr is measuring 14.0,however they should be all glowing pretty much evenly!..Does sound like an injector issue

Thanks for the input guys. I plan to install the oem gaskets I purchased from our host this weekend. hopefully will seal better. As far as the single glowing primary. I guess I will yank the number 5 injector and see what it looks like. I have not removed injectors on this car before. are any special tools required? also can the injector be reinstalled with the same seal or do they have to be replaced? This is on an 87 US model. Any particular injector cleaner would you reccomend to soak it in? I do plan to yank them all out and have them tested somewhere. Thanks again for the help
Eric
87 930

Brian. I have about 1000 miles on these headers. It may be that they were leaking from day one. I just recently noticed the streaks. and because my hearing is so bad didnt really notice the taping noise either (over 10000 hours flying airplanes is hard on the ears) hopefully the new gaskets will fix the problem. I will keep you guys posted.

Eric

Take a picture of the leaking joints so we can see what it looks like for future reference.
Also, what are the correct gaskets to use? Pictures of them before install?
Thanks

Fred, I don't know what the correct gaskets are, but I ordered a set of the standard stainess 930/SC type and am going to try them out I will let you know how they do. As far as pics of the leaks I will try to take some I am currently in Chicago on a trip not sure if my camara will be able to show the area in detail. I am trying the new gaskets because the supplied ones from GSF looked kind of "sorry" and not quite up to the task it may very well be that the guy that installed the headers was sorry and not quite up to the task (me) I just refuse to take this car to a shop and have someone work on it.

Eric

E170drvr, Dont beat yourself up about a header leak- especially on GSF headers..
As for your injector seal, just go to the dealer and order one for it (less than 5 bucks). A word of advice though- I would pull all of the injectors and send them to have them flow matched. I know this sounds like it sucks (it does) if it were me I would want to know that they were all even to minimize the risk of her leaning out on a cylinder. As for pulling them out- it isnt hard, If my memory serves me right I think it is a couple of diffrent metric box wrenches and thats it. Just make sure you counter-hold the injector when loosening the line going to it.

If you wanted to check the injector yourself you COULD swap the injector with one from the other side of the engine and see if that primary then glows. Keep out of the boost until you get this sorted IMO.

Hi,
I gotta question. You can get 1 1/2", 1 5/8", and 1 3/4" headers. Do the gaskets work on them all??

Nathan, that is a damn good idea. That would certainly eliminate any confusion as to what the problem is. I can get that primary to glow without even getting in boost, just get the motor up to temp. Wish I thought of that.

Cheers,
Eric

Sometimes when dealing with a problem you overlook the easy/obvious things BTDT :)