Ok, first off, my car: ’87 Trans Am 305 (LG4), 4bbl carb, auto…

I thought that I had a decent exhaust leak, but it turns out I have THE exhaust leak. Yeah, that’s right. It’s so big I don’t think there is anything left over for you guys and gals, sorry…

I’m fairly sure it’s a manifold or gasket that need replacing, but obviously I don’t know much about this stuff. What I am sure about is that it’s somewhere close to the engine. I have a new cat so I know everything from there on is fine. Anywho, since I can’t find the leak(s) my father wants me to have a mechanic look at it. So now on to my question…

Would I be better off just getting headers? I just don’t think it’s worth $200+ for some guy to replace a gasket or whatever and still have the lousy exhaust that I have. I imagine Hedman Hedders would cost about the same as having a mechanic work on my car. What do you think? Better off getting what I have fixed?

Oh, btw, I won’t be able to change the heads/intake/cat-back on my car for a while, so would this be a waste of money? (even though I’m already shelling out $200+ in any case…?)

Thanks!

 

Any headers are better than the stock manifolds. I would say go for some new headers since the manifolds are going to be taken off anyways. Might as well kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

Just make sure the headers you get are 50 state smog legal with a C.A.R.B. eo #, and stay away from Edelbrock.

 

Hooker or Hedman headers would be a great upgrade for your car. As Russ said, dont get Edelcrocks.

 

Thanks for the input guys... Sorry for not replying sooner.

Right now it looks like I'm going for the OEM/factory replacement fix. Headers might not be in the budget. However, I do have access to another car for a couple of days/week so headers might not be entirely out of the question. I'll give you an update by next weekend

 

Look into the price for Hookers or Headman. I don't know what the factory replacement manifolds cost, but if your buying new, they might cost more than Hookers or Headman. Also, if you don't have much money to spend, you can probably get stock "take offs" cheap from someone like Don L who takes a lot of them off to install headers.