Header options for '00 Cherokee

Gas mileage in my '00 Sport has gotten noticeably worse over the year ive owned it and i am guessing its not a bad idea to replace the 4x O2 sensors before the cat (no idea when they were changed, if ever). While im at it i figure ill throw in a new manifold to fix my likely leaking 113k mile one.

Ive been doing a bunch of reading and see all the recommendations for the '99 and earlier manifolds but not much for the '00+ with the two California pre-cats. It appears the only options would be going with OEM ($$$), cast iron from iNeedParts.Com (about $130 for the set..they look similar to the Dorhman set that is about 4x the price from SummitRacing) and from Gale Banks ($472).

Does anyone have experience with the cast iron manifolds from iNeedParts? I am wondering how they hold up as everyones praise about the headers from them is regarding the 321ss set for the pre '99s. At the price of the OEM headers which will likely crack again ill just spend the extra and go with the stainless Gale Banks. While i dont mind spending the extra money for a quality part i just wondering if the $120 set of cast irons were any better than stock. $472 is alot to lay out upfront on that Gale Banks set but isnt a huge deal really as id probably save that much in gas over a 2 year period .

Performance does not really make much a difference too me, i have another car for that .

The 2000 and 2001 have cast iron exhaust mainfolds and they don't crack like the 99 and older tube steel manifolds. How is it you have diagnosed a cracked mainfold ?

Ah, thanks for the info. I was not aware the cast iron were not prone to cracking. I do not know if its leaking but i figured after reading so many threads about how prevalent a problem it was that it likely was.

Techno Duck said:

Ah, thanks for the info. I was not aware the cast iron were not prone to cracking. I do not know if its leaking but i figured after reading so many threads about how prevalent a problem it was that it likely was.

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It's possible you've got a leak at the manifold gasket (exhaust or intake), but as mentioned it's not as common for the headers to crack on the distributorless models compared to the earlier ones.

One thing I've noticed is that I typically get worse fuel economy in the winter compared to the summer - and not just in the XJ, though it seems to be most noticeable in the Jeep because it's not great to begin with. The only thing I can figure is that the seasonal change in gasoline blends is the culprit; if you're in an area where they do this (and given that you're in NY, I'd almost call it a certainty), it's a possible explanation for what you're seeing depending on when they make the switch in your area.