Has anybody had problems with their LT headers and the OEM gaskets going bad? I was just informed by the local exhaust shop that if I replace my stock manifolds with headers, I am opening up a can of worms and will have many issues with the swap, basically ruining my truck. He told me, based on their experience with these engines, I can expect the following:

1) Blown manifold gasket replacement every 6 months.
2) Drivability and fuel economy issues due to the PCM reading the relocated O2 sensors.
3) There will be NO BENEFIT from replacing the manifolds with LT headers because the PCM won't be seeing the readings like it should, even with a Superchips tune so power and performance will be lost, not gained.
4) None of the programmers are safe to use on the 4.7 or the 5.7 engines and have been causing damage to many engines he has seen. By using a programmer and installing headers, the engine will be ruined in a short amount of time. He mentioned something about piston head meltdown...

For those of you with the Pacesetter LT's and a SC programmer, how long have you had your setup and what issues, if any, have you had? Is the swap beneficial to performance and really worth the expense or not for a daily driver who never goes to the track? - but could if he wanted...
I have had the SC for almost 2 years now with NO ISSUES, but I don't have the headers installed yet and I want to hear from those who have both. I personally think the local shop is wrong, but I am not the "professional" here...

 

Hmmm... im sure that guy saw some bad engines, idk why he would lie to you, but there are plenty of guys on here who successfully run LT's and have a tuner and have had zero problems with any of the stuff you are talking about. I know hammer and weed both have LT's and a tuner with no problems. I'm sure some more people will chime in.

I think only if you did your install wrong would you get any of those problems. I suppose that the gaskets that come with the pacesetter LT's some say aren't that great, and if you don't keep on the manifold bolts and make sure they're tight you may have problems. A lot of guys just buy a new set of oem gaskets and install those along with their new headers.

There are also lots of threads fixing O2 sensor problems after LT install's, read over some of those, maybe it will put your mind at ease.

 

Most of the threads I have seen discuss checking the bolts periodically to re-tighten them, typically at the same time as doing an oil change, or to just use locking ones. I personally won't use the locking ones based on advice I received a while ago. If there is a difference in heat soak expansion and contraction between the two metals of the aluminum block and steel headers, a locked bolt could possibly break where a non-locking type could simply loosen. Both sets of bolts in this comparison would of course be Stage 8 bolts.

I have not read anywhere yet that people have had the issues that the local guy told me. I have read about valve spring issues on some engines but that has nothing to do with headers and a programmer, or the O2 sensors. I do realize that I may have inadvertently ignored something somewhere because I could have been only paying attention to what i wanted to see, and missed something somewhere. I figured I would investigate a little further before going ahead with the install. I've had these headers in my garage for a year or so, along with the OEM gaskets, a Magnaflow y-pipe, and a set of 3 to 2.5 collector reducers so the OEM cats will fit better and the exhaust won't be too open before the y-pipe. I really don't want to lose too much low-end torque with my new setup.

 

LMAO...

Been running Superchips programmers on my '04 Hemi since June of '04. Have had Pacesetter LT headers since April of '05 - still with the original gasket. I check the bolts about twice a year and about every other time or so I'll find two or three that could stand about a quarter turn.

BTW, 17.5 RWHP gains from the headers alone - mustang dyno verified.

Your local shop honestly need to find another line or work. Preferably one in which they have at least a clue as to what they are talking about...


The only issue I've seen over about a dozen trucks with a "canned" tuner / header combo is that they tend to run a tad lean, mainly due to advanced timing. Not enough to cause any type of "piston head meltdown" (me and a full time Dodge tech got a chuckle out of that one), but enough to occasionally pop a CEL. The fix is to run a cooler thermostat to richen the mix back up to spec...

 

LT and tuner here too.


I agree with the shop about ruining the motors for one specific combination.

Bullydog programmer in performance mode + Headers

Reason being is the bullydog programmer just changes spark advance and has a 50+ degree spark advance at 2500 rpm....WAY TOO MUCH!!! Don't think you even need the headers to ruin a motor with that kind of timing advance. That, or it's just that shop is installing them wrong.

They are talking about gaskets blowing out probably because they never tried re-torquing the bolts instead. (BTW...I've never heard of a copper or aluminum exhaust gasket blowing out. Only the fiber ones)

PCM - If installed properly with the cat, (Depending on year) You will only get at most a CEL for catalitic efficiency below threashhold. Just telling you that the Cat is not working. It is the pre-cat O2 sensor that determines the air/fuel ratio.

 

Thank you guys for responding! I have decided to do my own exhaust work. I plan to buy a universal kit with slip-fit elbows and various bends so I can make everything fit where I want it to. The kits have mandrel bends whereas the local shop would've used the compression bender and cause exhaust flow interference at every bend. I'm not sure how much a difference it would make, but I see it as a plus that I'll be using better flowing bends and for less money.

I do prefer to have most of it welded in lieu of clamps except for where the pipe meets the coated headers where I will use band clamps so I will need to find somebody who will do a good job of it. Now I just need to order the kit and find the time to put it all together. Thanks again guys!

 

When using clamps, I suggest using the wide band clamps...Wrap a little bit of the exhaust repair cloth around the joint before clamping with the band clamps to help reduce the possibility of having a leak. Anywhere a clamp or flange is used is more prone to leaking than a proper weld. Best to guard against it from the start.