komp55

My car's at the dealer for a routine service, and my SA calls and confirms my suspicion - the passenger side Evosport shorty header has a major crack in it. He didn't specify the exact location other than it was on the top side, so I won't know until I get my car back tomorrow. What's sad is that I had my car up on my lift last weekend looking for the leak causing the noise, and being the ace mechanic I am, only inspected the bottom sides of each header and found nothing. It didn't even occur to me to look on the top sides. He told I should check with whoever installed them and see if they had a warranty, but I already know they don't. I guess the good news is I got three years out of them before they failed, but maybe they should have lasted longer; I just don't know.

So this means I have options; lots of options.

I could remove the cracked header, have it repaired, and reinstall it. Or I could temporarily reinstall the OEM logs while I figure out my next option. Or I could just drive with it cracked while I acquire and try another brand of shorty headers. Or the same with long tubes. Anyone else dealt with a failed header? And what's the best course of action now? Anyone got a set of headers they'd like to unload really cheap? Let me know what you've got.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

remove it and weld it. you will be good to go.

theeddie

mine cracked 3 times. they now sit in a box they are just crap

vietjdmboi

then sell it for some EC longtubes. =)

KLR CLS

Probably the downpipe flange on top. My PLM crack there.I Cut ot the down pipe and re-welded everthing with gussets. Been fine since. should only cost you couple hundred bucks

brad @ evosport

komp55,

PLEASE have them check the motor mounts. The only time I have seen one crack is if the mounts are failing or have failed.

We do offer a pretty complete warranty however, so you should contact the dealer you purchased them from and we can work with them to rectify the issue ASAP.

We do have a revision in the design that adds material and gussets to the flange area as well, to help with the issue when the mounts start to go.

Thanks
Brad

MB_Forever

A friend of mine was selling his Evosport shorty headers for $1k a couple of weeks ago. If they are not sold, he maybe willing to go lower. I believe they only had 3k miles on them and are ceramic coated. Let me know if you are interested and I'll get more information

TheVazha

Brad what's a set of Evo shorties retail for? Also, do you have a used set laying around the warehouse you want to unload?

komp55

Picked up the car today and took a photo of the cracked header. The crack is visible inside the circle formed by the ignition wire. Good God! Not what I'd expect from a $2K + set of headers.

MB_Forever

From Evosport's website, looks like the shorties retail for $2k.... as for the used set, refer to my post right above yours

GT-ER

Ouch. Get longtubes. Swap. Fix shorties. Sell.

komp55

The Evosport shorties retailed for just under $3K at the time I bought them over three years ago. The retail price has subsequently dropped as more competitors entered the market place.

Tonye55

Just posted my Evosport shorty headers a few weeks ago. These are brand new in the box. Price drop $1400.00

c32AMG-DTM

AFAIK, all of the evosport M112 and M113 shorty headers are ceramic-coated, because they're made out of mild steel. I think their M156 headers are stainless.

Richie999

Pics of engine mounts please....

TheVazha

I do not want to turn this into a fiasco but how do the Evo's compare to the competition as far as shorties? It seems that the pries are all similar, they can be had for ~$900 used and ~$1400 new...

If you're gonna tell me to buy a $3000 set because they are manufactured by Spartans in Sparta, don't.

Komp, weld that SOB and call it a day; unless you have spare cash laying around and then pick up some long tubes!

skratch77

You might be able to weld that while its still on the car.Im sure at this point you just eant the cheapest way to fix it.

Take off the air box and remove a few plug wires and see if it can be fixed while on the car.

You can also try some stuff they sell at auto zone that patches cracked headers.its some crazzy paste that can take like 3000 degrees.that will cost you 10 bucks and worth a shot.

komp55

I'm thinking maybe going long tubes, but most of the designs out there seem to be intended for making peak HP in the uppermost regions of the RPM band (based on the huge primaries, etc.), which is great if you spin your engine up over 5,500 RPM most of the time where the "reported" huge gains occur. For for a car that's a primarily a DD though, it doesn't seem worth it when mid-RPM torque gains aren't improved much, if at all, over shorties in the same RPM range. Seems like only Supersprint offers LTs oriented towards decent gains over shorties in the mid-RPM bands, but they're on expensive side. Always a compromise when picking your mods.

brad @ evosport

Komp55,

Not sure if you saw my post above, but 2 things are pretty critical on this:

1. You need to replace your motor mounts if you have not already done so. There is a reason we use mild steel. For it to crank, there has been an excessive amount of torquing into the merge collector. That can only happen with the fluid filled motor mounts begin to or have totally failed. This allows the engine to rotate more than anticipated and as the exhaust is very rigid, the forces concentrate on the merge collector in the header. This will happen to ANY header, FYI. In fact, if it was 304, it would be far worse and happen sooner as 304 is more brittle after many high EGT heat cycles.

2. We have a fantastic warranty and non-warranty service package. All you need to do is contact the dealer you bought them from and they can facilitate. If you bought them direct, please contact me.

Again, we are here to help. All you need to do is follow the two steps above!

Thanks
Brad

KLR CLS

FWIW I was able to weld and gusset my PLM with it still on the car. I do agree with brad that I beleive my failed mounts certainly contributed to the addtional stress placed on the merge weld.

komp55

Had the dealer check the mounts when the car was in for service and the crack was discovered; they said they were okay and didn't need replacement. As a maintenance measure, I'll probably replace my mounts anyway just to be on the safe side when I do the header R&R.

As for any possible warranty availability, I bought them in "barely used" condition, so I don't really expect Evosport to warranty since I assume the warranty protects only the original owner. Nonetheless, it does suck that I have to deal with a problem I really shouldn't have to be dealing with.

KLR CLS

On a modded 55K, mounts need to be replaced about as often as tires..I had 30K on them and were shot. 5 k later and they feel like they need to go again..

grantwoodtx

Have you even called them? Brad has told you twice to do so and from my experience with Evosport and my headers he'll fix you up.

komp55

No, haven't contacted him yet since I don't see how I meet his second requirement:

I bought mine used, albeit barely used, but not from a dealer and not directly from Evosport. I may just ship them to PROFABrication and get them repaired properly. But when I can buy new PLMs for $1,400 or the EC long tubes for only $1,675 on the group buy, I don't know if throwing more money after these, other than to make them re-saleable, makes much sense.

Anyone know if JB Weld can withstand high temps?

Norcal John

How about stop whining like a 10 year old and follow Brad's advice. Seems he's the grown man here