i just replaced my headers with hedman shorties, same that was on when i bought it. but they leaked like a siv. so i put the new ones on and it seals to the head perfectly, the problem is the flanges will not seal no matter how tight they are. has anyone else had this problem and knows a fix?

 

Do the pipes not line up well?

 

lined up spot on from what i can tell. can't hear the leak under the hood, with the hood popped. only under the truck.

 

Are the ends of the headers formed? Or does a gasket go in there?

 

no gasket, pipes are flared and the headers have a ball end

 

Got a torch? If you do, torque them down nice and tight, then heat 'em up, nice and red, torque a little bit more, and they should seal right up.

 

ain't got a torch but I'm sure I'll find something to do that somewhere

 

fwiw, I had this issue too.. I had a leak either at the head or the collector, or both... what I ended up doing is what i should have done in the first place:

i bought remflex gaskets for the headers, which allowed a little wiggle room in aligning the collector to it that wasn't there before... all i needed was maybe an eighth of an inch wiggle to get a good seal on the collector w/o losing a good seal at the head... the gasket absorbed the bind, in other words...

after that, and after using stage eight bolts in the header/head surface, i never had to touch them again..

all hail the mighty remflex.

 

thing is my headers lined up perfectly, no trouble

 

Block off the tailpipe to make the leak more obvious and easier to find. I use a welding glove. Or make it smoke. I think you can squirt transmission fluid in the intake for that.