Hey all just got my Hooker Headers 2055 (non-coated) and was taking a look at everything and the Y-pipe and passenger side header look great. But on the Driver side header on Number 7 Cylinder's exhaust tube has a small very very small miniture dent on it. Im not sure if it suppossed to be there or not. Could this affect exhaust flow? sorry if its a dumb question i just want to know if something this small can affect performance,ect. Here are pics















Thanks for the help.

 

Nope, not supposed to be that way. But if that's the worst that's happened to a set of headers during shipment, consider yourself lucky.

Not to worry, though, they'll be plenty dented up after you install them anyway!

My main issue with those headers is that the AIR injection tubes seem to break off at the welds after you roll some miles under the tires. I think the heat of the weld causes them to weaken the metal of the (very thin) tubes right above where it is welded. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did on my last 2 sets.

 

If you're after 100% cosmetic perfection then you want the dent gone. As mentioned above, it won't take long for other dents to appear. From a performance standpoint, my race headers have bigger dents than that to clear other components and if there's any performance lost, it's not noticeable.

Being on the back left, I doubt anyone would notice the dent anyway.

 

Phew!!! I guess i'll be keeping them then!! Thanks guys!!!

 

That black paint is going to burn off soon after you start running the engine anyway. Mild steel headers are not designed to last. If you want them to last, get them coated. It'll cost a few bucks but you won't have to buy new headers again.

 

Random question for the OP (or whoever), but the small tubes coming off the headers...what do they do?

Having never had a stock engine (my car started as a roller) I've no knowledge of what the stock setup in these cars looked like in terms of the manifolds, etc.

If the car is a DD then definitely get them coated. However, my car (a fair weather/weekend cruiser) has uncoated Hedman longtubes and yes all the paint has burned off but they still look good (after 7ish years).

 

They connect to the smog pump. When the engine is cold, the A.I.R. pump pushes air into the exhaust to lower the emissions. Once the engine is up to operating temperatures, they service no purpose.

 

In California, ya GOTTA have em though; purpose or no, in whoever else's opinion. So he's largely stuck with em.