CRACKED HEADER?
 

whats up everyone?

so i installed my Tomei UEL like two weeks ago, im oft stage 2 93oct tune with a buddyclub catback and hks drop in filter...

i believe that i cracked a weld, but have no idea yet, i can hear a leak coming from the header, and i know for a fact that i torqued the bolt & nuts to spec... ive yet to put it on a lift to check, but has anyone else had an issue with tomei uel's? i have not seen one post about people breaking them...

i also think that it could be from being worn in now, idk. the buddyclub always sounds like it has a exhaust leak, and i know for sure it doesn't, check it countless times myself and had others check also

Retighten all the bolts. I had one of the inside bolts(towad the oil pan) come loose on me on my agency power header

word! thanks pal! good decision on not to part out! haha

did you use new gaskets too? its doubtful you broke a weld, i'm guessing either something isn't quite tight or if you re-used the gasket, then the gasket has failed.

Check and re-torque everything down. Check the slider joint area too.

Tomei makes great stuff. Doubt its cracked. Was it a used header?

it was a brand new header using the gaskets provided by tomei. thats why im so confused... i didnt think that one of the bolts had come loose or anything. new gaskets and new header. so im gonna throw it in the air at work sometime on saturday and check it out

Is it a muffled ticking sound you hear? Every thin wall (aftermarket) stainless header I've had sounded like a sewing machine due to the lack of heat shields and just plain old thinner tubing. You could still have a leak, but both the rev works and borla UEL I had on this car sounded like it had a small leak. I ended up wrapping my current rev works header and it is pretty quiet now.

If you check the gaskets you can spot any leaks very quickly due to the carbon

yea i noticed that with my buddyclub catback it always sounds like theres an exhaust leak... but with the header it only started like 2 days ago, and it doesnt have the low rumble between 1k and 2.5k.... only starts at 3k now, but when i hit launch control last night, its sounded VERY different like it had a leak, so ill just drop the skid plate on saturday and check it all out

My skid plate was helpful to show me my leak. i saw black all over the one side and knew where to look.

sounds good guys, thank you!

Of note, try not to post stuff with titles like "CRACKED HEADER?!?!" on a brand new install that you haven't double checked your work with.

It takes a lot of work for companies to build their reputations, and not a ton to tarnish it.

That said, check your work, swap fresh gaskets on, and check all welds for cracks, and soot marks.

doesnt sound like a cracked header more like a leak where it connects to the overpipe. Thats where my leak is on my Tomei

took the words right outta my mouth :thumbsup:
I have the Tomei UEL header myself and had it for 2 years now and had absolutely zero issues with it leaking or making any wrong sounds other than RUMBLE :wub: Both the collectors and the weld quality of the tomei is top notch, one of the best looking ones i've seen for sure, not to say others are bad as there are very high quality products such as JDL headers. @SlammedSilly But yeah, try not to bash the company before your issue is actually confirmed. Not to say it is completely impossible for the header to be cracked as it could be installed improperly or over/under torqued, or simply a lemon out of thousands produced.

1. im not bashing a company
2. its a title to a thread to get people to look at it
3. i know the reputation tomei has and the quality of their work/welds/bends.
4. i posted the thread before checking as stated through my posts on the thread
5. you guys are getting butthurt over a brand you have no association with besides running their parts
6. its a bad day for me, and im taking this pretty damn lightly on you both
7. dont forget my username, ill troll ya later ;)

as you can see i didnt bash, i havent gone into investigation on what the actual problem is, and i simply asked if anyone has had an issue with their tomei uel bc i have not seen one horrible post about their product.

noone is butthurt child, throwing accusations and making a title "cracked header" without checking shit just to get views? lol..you'll sure get great replies and advices with that attitude Thumbsup

sorry mr. canada, you didnt have to comment on it if you didnt want to. it obviously says "CRACKED HEADER?"

THERES A DAMN ??????????????? if you couldnt see. you read my post, my comments and obviously didnt take note listening to what i said

You know what would of solved this?

going outside after work, jacking your car up. seeing whats wrong

fixing it

If not fixable

make post about cracked header

If fixable

fix

drive


_______________

No hard feelings pj :P

later murica

love ya nick, im just to lazy to put it on jackstands when i have access to a lift, haha

Relax man.

I don't run any Tomei parts, though I like them and have installed plenty.

When people search and see "cracked header" then see Tomei everywhere, we don't want them to have V1 Borla flashbacks before we know if you just botched an install, (it happens to the best of us.)

I don't think anyone was butthurt, just letting you know how to be the best possible member in this community.

Also, your day has nothing to do with ours. Check your PMS at the keyboard :D

clickbait title
to lazy to check for actual leak
wants to keyboard diagnose a header leak when not enough information is provided

I think this would've been easier if a thread started with more relevant information or pictures.

-alex

the thread couldve had pictures if i checked it out before posting... stated earlier i have not checked it out. not enough info provided? what else would you like?

my pms is A OK :) and yea, its gonna show up everywhere if it was a common issue like borla and ofh.... simply asked if anyone has had a tomei uel problem bc i know its leaking from somewhere, just havent had the time to put it on a lift yet, like ive stated countless times

So... you had a Buddy Club exhaust that sounds like it has a leak (when you are 100% certain it doesn't), yet you think your Tomei UEL has a leak.

How do you know it is a weld that has failed? You're just posting up a bunch of speculations without facts.

It's very simple, you have what seems to be a leak and there's really only 5 things that can leak:

1) head/manifold gaskets, either from improper torque spec or reusing old gaskets, or bad seal from gasket surface being contaminated
2) header leak from weld or slip-joint failure
3) overpipe gasket leak, same as #1
4) thin walled header making you think there's a leak
5) O2 sensors not properly torqued down

Figure it out yourself. A clickbait title just invites a bunch of noise and not actual answers to your question.

If I install a header and it's leaking, I do not assume it is cracked, especially if it's new.

-alex

Leak was solved?

it was not leaking the first two weeks after install, i noticed it tuesday night leaving a car meet, the leak came from no where

maybe rocco is sabotaging you..

See? This is the type of info relevant to the discussion at hand and can save you two pages of trolling.

From your original post, I read it to be like you've had a leak ever since you installed it, not "a leak developed two weeks after I installed the header"

Relevant, useful information helps diagnosis. You still have 5 sources of leaks, you should figure out where by putting the car up on a lift or jackstands and go from there.

-alex

saturday looked at everything, no leak... i came to the conclusion it was the gas that i put in the car, went to a different gas station and my assumption is that it was just burning in a different matter than what my car is used to... mind you i only fill up at sunoco and time to time shell and BP. there is only 1 shell station i use thats somewhat local, and same thing with the BP. the sunoco, i got to two close ones to my house...

but the fuel that i got that that i believe was making the car sound like it had an exhaust leak was from OMEGA Fuels... basically like a BP, bought gas there before and never had an issue

Please tell me how you came to this conclusion...

i came to this conclusion bc

1. theres no leak
2. their fuel burns quicker bc race gas, so my assumption is that is was making exhuast fumes react differently (GUESSING)
3. if you wanna diag my car, youre more than welcomed to come take a look and tell me otherwise
4. since i there is no more fuel in my tank from omega fuels, and i filled back up with sunoco, i havent had the "exhaust leak"

1) good
2) today I learned that race gas makes exhaust fumes react differently
3) I will, please book me on AA700/AA701 RT and I'll take care of the rest.
4) just because you changed fuels makes no difference on how your header sounds.

I recently put on a Tomei UEL, drove ~4000 miles to/from TX, used anywhere from 88 to 93 octane gas across a variety of gas stations. Never had any issues with exhaust sounds and it still sounds like it's leaking because it's an aftermarket thin-walled header.

But, you know, race gas makes your car sound different.

-alex

ok "bro" you tell me what is could be, please... im waiting.
if the "leak" is gone after not using that gas anymore, then what could it be? please tell me... ill pay you $300 to come diag my car.

I have no idea, because it took you 3 pages to come out with relevant info about the car such as "it was fine for 2 weeks, then it started to sound like it was leaking"

I'm not waiting another 3 pages of noise in this thread for other relevant information to be revealed. Your $300 should be better spent trying to find a local, qualified mechanic to diagnose your issue, because it's clear others on the internet can't figure out what is wrong with your car from the information provided by you.

Or... you can just follow what I provided previously:

-alex

i had a master tech look at it with me, so we are both wrong? your "trolling" is pointless, youre not gonna win

did you try exhaust leak fluid additive?

I don't have to win, it's your car that is in need of diagnosis.

-alex

lol.....entertainment at work, thanks guys

How about a comment that is constructive, for a change. To the OP, fill up at Omega fuels to see if it starts making that sound again. Then, disconnect the negative battery terminal for 10 seconds and reconnect it. Start and drive the car. Is the sound still there? That might be all it takes to eliminate the sound, because it starts the ECU learning cycle over, and it will learn what's best for that fuel. When noises suddenly appear, I have found that the car's tune is much more relevant than anything mechanical, and disconnecting the negative terminal is the quickest and easiest way to determine if the tune is the problem.