stoneattic
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Honey Brook, PA
gjxj said:
All the Banks print adds say they're 409.
-
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XJ Exhaust Manifold mugshots (Is this a knock-off of a Banks Header?)
- Thread starter 92DripCherokee
- Start date
All the Banks print adds say they're 409.
Markos
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Seattle, WA
Most OEM manifold are cast iron or 409 stainless, depending on when the vehicle year turbo vs na etc. Most aftermarket stainless cat backs are 304, or 321 for a high quality system. 409 rusts out over time. 304 will get some surface stains, but that's about it.
edit: I forgot to mention, 409 is magnetic. If you want to test your banks header, put a magnet on it...
stoneattic
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Honey Brook, PA
yea, 300 series is a better stainless. Used for more structural/mechanical use. 400 series is for silverware. 
lilredwagn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- South Carolina
Or with the money you save, you could spend $100 and have it ceramic coated inside and out ...
blakelock
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- alexandria, VA
I bought it!!!
I bought the manifold that looks like a Banks imitation from automotive parts network and installed it yesterday. I am very pleased. the manifold arrived about a week after I ordered it. It included the gaskets for the head and the donut gasket and the pair of nuts and bolts to connect the manifold to the exhaust pipe. It even inlcuded some brief instructions that were at least as useful as the Haynes manual I have. The mating surface of the new header looked smooth and it fit easily in my cherokee. I even have noticed an increase in perfomance (smoother and more powerful acceleration), although this is probably due more to cleaning out the gunk from the intake manifold and replacing the fuel injector o-rings.
Also, after I ordered the part, I emailed their customer service of and asked if the unit was a direct bolt-on replacement or if I needed an s-pipe. I got a reply within 4 hours! I don't know what grade the metal is (I could find any "made in ..." stamps) but I'm satisfied so far. I'm sure it will last at least as long as the stock sh!t.
The only problem is that now I can hear the tickkity tack knocking sound! Damn! I'd rather be worried about a garbely exhaust leak than the bottom end!
Anyone else try this exhaust?
- blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee Sport
4WD 4.0L inline 6
I bought the manifold that looks like a Banks imitation from automotive parts network and installed it yesterday. I am very pleased. the manifold arrived about a week after I ordered it. It included the gaskets for the head and the donut gasket and the pair of nuts and bolts to connect the manifold to the exhaust pipe. It even inlcuded some brief instructions that were at least as useful as the Haynes manual I have. The mating surface of the new header looked smooth and it fit easily in my cherokee. I even have noticed an increase in perfomance (smoother and more powerful acceleration), although this is probably due more to cleaning out the gunk from the intake manifold and replacing the fuel injector o-rings.
Also, after I ordered the part, I emailed their customer service of and asked if the unit was a direct bolt-on replacement or if I needed an s-pipe. I got a reply within 4 hours! I don't know what grade the metal is (I could find any "made in ..." stamps) but I'm satisfied so far. I'm sure it will last at least as long as the stock sh!t.
The only problem is that now I can hear the tickkity tack knocking sound! Damn! I'd rather be worried about a garbely exhaust leak than the bottom end!
Anyone else try this exhaust?
- blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee Sport
4WD 4.0L inline 6
tompatjr
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hayneville,AL
Re: I bought it!!!
So is this a normal header "tickkity" sound or have you got a leak? Could you describe it better?
Thanks
blakelock said:
So is this a normal header "tickkity" sound or have you got a leak? Could you describe it better?
Thanks
blakelock
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- alexandria, VA
a little off-topic but I guess I started it
Since you ask...
I've owned the cherokee for ~4 years. It originally had a ticking/knocking that I was afraid might be rod/main bearings. I got the seller to knock $1500 off the price and I took a chance. It was fine for ~3 years (regular oil changes, keeping my fingers crossed), then the knocking got sharply worse. I opened up the bottom end, replaced the rod bearings (they were badly worn) and checked all the mains with plastigage. The mains were all within spec so I left them alone. After replacing the rod bearings, the very loud knocking went away but there is still a lighter knocking or tapping. If I'm under the hood, I can give the engine a quick light throttle and the noise is clearly audible. I can also hear it from the driver's seat. It's not an exhaust leak. Hopefully it's just the tickity lifters that seem to plague these jeeps but since the sound is most clearly heard with a quick acceleration, I'm afraid it's in the bottom end. I'll probably just keep the oil changed and maybe try some synthetic to quiet her down.
blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee
4WD 4.0L 169,000 miles
Since you ask...
I've owned the cherokee for ~4 years. It originally had a ticking/knocking that I was afraid might be rod/main bearings. I got the seller to knock $1500 off the price and I took a chance. It was fine for ~3 years (regular oil changes, keeping my fingers crossed), then the knocking got sharply worse. I opened up the bottom end, replaced the rod bearings (they were badly worn) and checked all the mains with plastigage. The mains were all within spec so I left them alone. After replacing the rod bearings, the very loud knocking went away but there is still a lighter knocking or tapping. If I'm under the hood, I can give the engine a quick light throttle and the noise is clearly audible. I can also hear it from the driver's seat. It's not an exhaust leak. Hopefully it's just the tickity lifters that seem to plague these jeeps but since the sound is most clearly heard with a quick acceleration, I'm afraid it's in the bottom end. I'll probably just keep the oil changed and maybe try some synthetic to quiet her down.
blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee
4WD 4.0L 169,000 miles
92DripCherokee
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Tampa, Florida
Thanks to BlakeLock for being the bold one and testing this thing out. Sorry to hear your mill is ticking.
The cheap manifold is a quality part? Time will tell how tough the welds are.
I never got a response from AutoPN when I asked questions about their exhaust manifold, probably cause I didnt first make a purchase.
(It seems joining 6 pipes into 1 collector is a crack-prone design, the later cherokees have their exhaust manifolds split in two, and the collector is a separate part, allowing the three to expand without cracking, in theory)
The cheap manifold is a quality part? Time will tell how tough the welds are.
I never got a response from AutoPN when I asked questions about their exhaust manifold, probably cause I didnt first make a purchase.
(It seems joining 6 pipes into 1 collector is a crack-prone design, the later cherokees have their exhaust manifolds split in two, and the collector is a separate part, allowing the three to expand without cracking, in theory)
tbear
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- st.charlesmo.
well you guys sold me on the idea of buying this header. i did and it should be here in a couple days let ya know something when i install it. changing them isnt all that bad 1 hour 45 min i think is good timing. ive done a bunch of these for friends.
- Location
- Billings MT/Rapid City SD
Hmm, those are just for the newer XJ's. The 87-90 ones look alittle hoky to me.
blakelock
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- alexandria, VA
Hey there,
Just a quick note or 2 on my install experiences. The new unit went on easily enough but I had to use a wrench on 2 of the underside bolts holding the header on the head (specifically, the 2 lower middle bolts). It wasn't that big of a deal but it meant I couldn't use a torque wrench. I just guestimated how much to tighten those bolts. I even tried a swivel socket but couldn't get it in there. It might be because the pipes are in a slightly different position (or thicker?) on the new exhaust compared to the stock system.
Also, the bolts came out nice and easy for me either because I soaked them with penetrating lube each day for 2 days before the repair (and on the morning of the repair) or maybe because my leaky valve cover gasket has been keeping the bolts well-lubed and rust-free for the last several years!
By the way, it's been a couple of weeks and a couple hundred miles and so far so good.
Good luck,
blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee
4WD; 4.0 inline 6
Just a quick note or 2 on my install experiences. The new unit went on easily enough but I had to use a wrench on 2 of the underside bolts holding the header on the head (specifically, the 2 lower middle bolts). It wasn't that big of a deal but it meant I couldn't use a torque wrench. I just guestimated how much to tighten those bolts. I even tried a swivel socket but couldn't get it in there. It might be because the pipes are in a slightly different position (or thicker?) on the new exhaust compared to the stock system.
Also, the bolts came out nice and easy for me either because I soaked them with penetrating lube each day for 2 days before the repair (and on the morning of the repair) or maybe because my leaky valve cover gasket has been keeping the bolts well-lubed and rust-free for the last several years!
By the way, it's been a couple of weeks and a couple hundred miles and so far so good.
Good luck,
blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee
4WD; 4.0 inline 6
blakelock
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- alexandria, VA
helix said:
I can definitely feel stronger and smoother acceleration. I don't know how much of this improvement is due to the header or the fact that I cleaned out a bunch of oily gunk out of the intake manifold, the intake ports on the head and the throttle body. I also replaced the injector o-rings. I'll be able to give you a milage estimate in a day or 2.
blakelock
95 Jeep Cherokee Sport
4WD; 4.0L inline 6
Markos
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Seattle, WA
tbear:
Can you take some detailed pics of the header before you install it? I beleive there was some questions about whether the flange was one piece or two.
blakelock:
Did you mate yours to a factory exhaust? How noticeable was the noise increase?
Can you take some detailed pics of the header before you install it? I beleive there was some questions about whether the flange was one piece or two.
blakelock:
Did you mate yours to a factory exhaust? How noticeable was the noise increase?
tbear
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- st.charlesmo.
i will definatlly take pics when it arrives. i think i will have to email somebody them and have them posted for me. i havent figured all that out yet.
SCW
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- SLC (yuck) UT
tbear said:
you can host them at www.photobucket.com for free, posting them here is a snap that way-
Or you can email them to me and I'll do it- shanew AT civil DOT utah DOT edu
blakelock
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- alexandria, VA
Markos said:
The replacement header bolted directly on to the factory exhaust pipe. There was a very noticable noise DECREASE after header replacement since my previous manifold was practically broken in half!
blakelock
tbear
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- st.charlesmo.
this just in .............. my manifold. very beefy flanges at top and bottem. welds look very nice.it is a two piece top flange but that shouldnt matter because its welded. unfotunatly the only pics i can get will be with a camera phone.camera shot craps.
SCW
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- SLC (yuck) UT
Here are pictures of the manifold sent to me by tbear-
