87_Pioneer
NAXJA Forum User
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So I installed an APN style header on my '91 XJ last fall, and less than 6 months / 10,000 miles later, it has cracked, causing an awful exhaust leak that is obnoxiously loud, not to mention killing my mpg and performance. The Jeep is my only rig at the moment so I can't pull the header to see if it can be welded up (I'm assuming it can't be anyway, as bad as the leak is it must be a huge crack). So the only thing to do is to replace it.
I'm on a pretty tight budget of around $100. There are two styles of header on ebay I can get in that price range, one being the APN style that I have now, and the other being an OEM style with expansion joints added to supposedly prevent cracking. I'm leaning towards the latter for obvious reasons. After bad luck with the APN style I'm hesitant to take a chance again, but then again I know a ton of guys run those headers and they do seem to have a decent rep overall. After searching Google I did find a few posts on various Jeep forums about cracked APN style headers, but I know there are probably hundreds more out there of people recommending them. I did like the sound of the APN header, though in my experience I can't say if it really increased power or mpg like it's claimed to because it replaced a cracked stock manifold.
The other style of header seems relatively new, and I haven't heard much about them yet other than a local exhaust shop that clued me in to them in the first place. They told me they were familiar with the APN style headers and they see them come in cracked fairly often. Then again, they were trying to sell me a new header + installation to the tune of $600, so I'd tend to take their advice with a grain of salt.
Just wondering what you guys would recommend I do... roll the dice and cross my fingers on another APN style header, or get the stock style one with the expansion joints and hope it really is a better design? Thoughts?
I'm on a pretty tight budget of around $100. There are two styles of header on ebay I can get in that price range, one being the APN style that I have now, and the other being an OEM style with expansion joints added to supposedly prevent cracking. I'm leaning towards the latter for obvious reasons. After bad luck with the APN style I'm hesitant to take a chance again, but then again I know a ton of guys run those headers and they do seem to have a decent rep overall. After searching Google I did find a few posts on various Jeep forums about cracked APN style headers, but I know there are probably hundreds more out there of people recommending them. I did like the sound of the APN header, though in my experience I can't say if it really increased power or mpg like it's claimed to because it replaced a cracked stock manifold.
The other style of header seems relatively new, and I haven't heard much about them yet other than a local exhaust shop that clued me in to them in the first place. They told me they were familiar with the APN style headers and they see them come in cracked fairly often. Then again, they were trying to sell me a new header + installation to the tune of $600, so I'd tend to take their advice with a grain of salt.
Just wondering what you guys would recommend I do... roll the dice and cross my fingers on another APN style header, or get the stock style one with the expansion joints and hope it really is a better design? Thoughts?
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