leaking billy boats

[whatthe]

my headers are leaking badly where they slip into the collector. A smoke machine was used to confirm this. Has anybody had success in curing this problem? I was thinking of welding the tubes by a muffler shop but if I ever had to remove the headers it would be a bear. Also I think the air leak is what is causing loud pops on de-acceleration.

 

[tito#14srt]

I still have my stock manifolds, need to buy headers if I end up going with the billy boat I would tig weld myself the slip on connection. But yes if you ever had to take the header off which you shouldn't unless your going turbo then yea it be a bear probably would have to cut it at the slip connection to take them off but tig weld IMO would cure the leak and it would have to be done in place most likely.

 

[Jack B]

Where do they attach the smoke generator?

 

[whatthe]

thru the exhaust pipe outlet in the side sills

 

[Jack B]

Do they seal the inlet side and the opposite exhaust side? Sure is an interesting way to find an exhaust leak.

thru the exhaust pipe outlet in the side sills

 

[Camfab]

If a slip fit is done right, it may let some gases escape for a minute or so untill the headers get hot. My Burns collectors are a slip fit and they don't leak. My Corsa exhaust had leaks at the CAT connection, but I eliminated that by changing it to a V-band connection. You really cant weld slip fit connectors in place, actually you can but you can't get all the way around the tubes. It's phyically impossible to do it, unless youv'e invented some robotic probe that can get between the tubes.

 

[whatthe]

Camfab has a good point about being able to weld all around the slip joint fitting. Welding the tubes is the only way I can see to stop the exhaust leak. I was again testing the exhaust yesterday with my shop vac. I ran the vacuum then held a piece of paper against the slip joint and the paper stuck to the pipe. I could not do this on the left side header as everything is tight. You do not have to seal inlet or exhaust on other side to perform the smoke test. Unfortunately the machines are several hundred dollars. The machine worked great emitting a lot of smoke under some pressure probably from a fan in the unit it would also be helpful to detect a vacuum leak. As to sealing up when the exhaust gets hot it doesn't apply because I drove the car to the shop and the test was done right away so the exhaust was hot. I just have a bad set on one side and maybe even a partial weld around the tubes will solve the problem or they will have to be cut up higher on the tubes taken out slip joint welded outside the car put back in then a slip joint welded on. Or worse case I will have to buy new headers. I bought the car with the headers so I did not have a choice but after being on the forum for awhile there seems to be better choices out there. I did try to make my own smoke machine out of a solid metal coffee ***. I drilled a hole in the top put a bolt in it with a nut to hold it in place ran a tube off it put a tire valve in the side to run air pressure into the *** then put mineral oil in it then put it on a camp stove worked great until the coffee *** started to leak around the bottom.

 

[DrumrBoy]

I have leaky John H headers, sounded great and made good power but the escaping gasses around the slip fit annoyed me. A local shop recommended a bonding material that hardens when hot and It worked well for a couple of years. No leaks at all.....but then the adhesive stuff cracked during a track session (when everything moves) and I was back to leaks. Easy to remove when brittle but a PITA to have to do It again. If you don't track or hit big potholes you'd probably get many years out of such a fix.

 

[bluesrt]

maybe some motorcycle heat wrap for exhaust and a band clamp will muffle it? maybe evan a very slim film of jb weld on the inside,then assemble, then heat wrap it with a band clamp. none of these products need to be in excessive( don't need a lot of product)

 

[whatthe]

just came back from muffler shop he would not be able to weld all the way around the pipes so he recommended flaring the male end a little and some type of sealant am heading to auto parts store

 

[bluesrt]

I don't no if hi temp red silcone would hold ,worth a try.its flexable but may burn out.maybe not

 

[uvbnbit]

I tried everything with my B & B's. Final solution was to take apart, sand/scuff tube ends where they slip together and reassemble. Once apart, if the slip joints are too loose, you can use a pipe expander to tighten the gap.
The "hi temp" stuff never worked for me. P....I....T....A! I called B & B and this was their recommendation. If would've known this ahead of time, I would've went with 1 pc headers. Sorry B & B.

 

[whatthe]

thanks for all the info I have gone with Versachem exhaust system joint and crack sealer. It is supposed to harden up, sounds like it would be very difficult to take apart again so the next step is a sawzall and some M&M headers.