Prospective Header Buyers - A Top Criterion Should Be .......

[ACR Joe]

.......no compromises on the check engine light. Many of us that previously purchased headers are now living with a constant check engine light. It's annoying and may signal a problem, mask other problems or result in a power loss.

Header manufacturers should take full responsibility for determining the cause and developing corrective action. If enough "would-be-buyers" applied pressure, the problem would be proactively addressed. If I knew then what I know now, I would absolutely refuse to purchase headers without assurance that the check engine light would not come on.

Comments/suggestions welcomed!

 

[Kevin ACR]

Good advice Joe. I have the cat back system and would like to do headers, but have decided to go on indefinate hold until some clear resolution is reached regarding the check engine light. Someone with something at stake and resources should be able to figure a good solution fairly quickly, I would hope.

Thanks.

 

[2charmed]

Me too!

 

[Mark Red GTS Cooper]

Me to,

I heard every story and fix from everyone. I heard that the wires breath and cutting them disrupts the flow, to buying longer 02 from a truck to fix it.

I agree, if I had known the check engine light would come on I never would have bought them. I guess it is buyer beware, and tuners just sell for the mighty buck.

I am really getting tired of tuners bending,stretching, or not telling the truth. I would rather have a tuner tell me the truth and say lets try to find a fix, or hey there are potential problems if you buy this accessory than the "Hey it works great, you will have no problems" BS

Mark

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I too, would like to turn the light off. However; I knew going in I would likely get the light. Tom Welch was very straightforward with that information prior to purchasing. I had my codes checked last Thursday. They are 02 heater and emissions related. The check engine light is not a big concern to me at this point. If a new controller comes out, I will get one. If not, I'll just get it checked every now and then. I asked the question on the other thread--Has anyone had a serious engine problem detected by the check engine light. I have only heard of emissions related things.

Steve

 

[2charmed]

Dan Cragin told me it was best to wait untill there was a fix.
It only adds credibility imho. I will give Dan a chance at future
work I have done to my car because of it. It ***** though I would
have liked to have them added by know

Regards,

Steve

 

[jwwiii]

Hello;

I am sure you guys have seen my posts on headers. My latest one was "put me out of my misery concerning headers".

I too have decided to wait on buying them because of the potential downsides, and have been looking for responses like yours for months. When I made my posts, was I not clear in asking about the "downsides"? I posted that I believe that there must be some risks involved besides writing the check in the quest for better sound and more HP. I am glad to see you all post what really happens. What else have you had fail or go wrong? I would really like to do this mod, but it seems that there is a lot more involved. I suppose I am just being very cautious.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[LTHL VPR]

Here are some thoughts and potential ways to solve this problem:

1) If it's an O2 heater code: Try relocating the primary O2 sensor closer to the block. All you need to do is purchase an O2 **** (cheap) and have a shop install it in one of the primary areas (should take less than an hour). See if this works. It sounds like this code seems to trigger whether or not you lengthen the sensors we can rule this out as a possibility (Belangers do not require sensor modification).

2) If it's a catalyst failure code (ie you removed the cats) I will be testing a possible solution to this problem in the next couple weeks. It has been proven to work GREAT on other Dodge 2001 vehicles w/ cats removed, and I believe they all use similar PCMs (i hope!).

In the meantime, it seems the MOPAR PCM de-sensitizes these sensors and eliminates both of these codes. HOWEVER, there have been so many issues with the last round of PCMs, and so many discrepancies in its performance, it's no wonder that MOPAR has stopped selling them and is once again trying to make these work properly. As a result, I would not recommend anyone using this as a fix at this time.

I will keep all of you posted.

 

[RECOIL]

I'm on hold too. Once someone gets them working on a 00, I'll buy them.

I really want the Belanger setup -- but I won't live with a C/E light.

Steve

 

[GTS Dean]

The downstream O2 sensors are really there to check the efficiency of the catalysts. This was a requirement of the OBDII protocol. If the emissions are not within preprogrammed tolerances between the upstream and downstream sensors when running in closed-loop mode, a PCM fault code is set and the MIL lamp is illuminated. Later year cars have progressively tighter emissions requirements and are more likely to trip a fault code if *anything* is changed.

3-way catalysts are are sized to provide a certain area over which the exhaust gasses are exposed to the media. The exhaust gas chemistry is supposed to change as it moves through the cat and the downstream sensor isn't supposed to read the same as the upstream. Depending on whether or not the mixture is rich or lean on the upstream, the downstream expects to see the correct oxygen levels based on upstream input and time lag.

Clear as mud? A sharp tuner and a PCM computer nerd should be able to figure this out, but it takes a good knowledge of emissions basics, a 5-gas analyzer and a chassis dyno to sort it out.