I just purchased a set of European Racing headers and had them ceramic coated by High Performance Coatings. The headers were dropped shipped to HPC and one of the primaries was attached to the collector. Apparantly their policy is to not dissassemble anything, so right now I have three primaries that are not fully coated and one with an uncoated tip and I have a collector with three coated inlets and one uncoated inlet.

Ok now to the actual question. Should the slip fit areas between the primaries and the collector be coated? Basically should I send the primary and collector back to have the entire piece coated, or should I remove the coating from the remaining slip fit surfaces. Their rep said that they don't usually coat those surfaces, but to me it seems like the most likely place for water to accumulate.

BTW - I can't recommend HPC's Utah site. Besides this issue, the communication was lousy, they lost my whole package at least once, and they seem to have lost most of the mounting hardware that should have come with the header.

Thanks for the help

my friend clayton had his euro race headers done in this manner...

he had the collector slightly opened up... make the slip fit receptacle a bit bigger.... to account for the coating thickness....

does it matter if they are coated? thats up to you....

AA

Worst case scenario...

Break out the sandpaper... And make em fit...

NOTE..... During assembly use MILK OF MAGNESIA on all the slip joints and nuts and studs. Including the stub pipe to head threads.

Shake bottle well and use a smalll brush. It is the best anti-sieze that you can use on exhaust threads. It will never carbon up and will help ya alot if ya ever have to take it back off.

It will also act as a little bit of lubrication for the appropriate torque readings on your exhaust studs.

I thought I was the one of the few that knew about the MILK "O" Magnesia trick they use on jet engines.
Until I read on of Jakes posts... he does the same thing.

If by chance these are used heads... And the engine is out of the car.. REPLACE THE HEAD EXHAUST STUDS NOW....!!!!!!

If not.. Don't over torque and use the appropriate torque wrench that does not read over 50- 70 lbs. Snapping an exhaust stud REALLY SUCKS.....

MOST toque wrenches are at their greatest accuracy in the middle of their range.

Therefore a 120+ LB MAX torque wrench ain't worth a crap on a 22 lb bolt.

IMHO...

Then again... you probably know all this stuff.....

Cheers,

Clayton

Thanks for the replys guys. I'm planning on sending the collector and one primary back to get everything coated properly (like I paid for). The coated ones actually seem to slide into the coated collector just fine. Like you said, at worst I just have to breal out the sandpaper. At least there will be some protection.

I just had the heads rebuilt by Len (the first of his "product of the week" offers on Jake's show) with the HD exhaust studs. I haven't broken any studs, but I've pulled plenty of them out. Thanks for the MOM tip. I love using things for purposes they were never intended.

Clayton, did your header come with all the nuts bolts and gaskets needed for assembly. I'm pretty sure mine should have, but I want to know how righteously indignent I can be with the coater.

Thanks,

Ben

Well, I sure don't! Great info!

No hardware came with mine.....

I double nut the stub pipe nuts and use the good ones from Pelican or Aircooled.net.

ALSO....... Jake has the best copper exhaust gaskets available. (Stub or H/E to head)
He has them custom made to his spec.

I am not a pitch man for Jake. Yet... if he has the bomb shit.. you would be nutz not to use it.

(I would)

Many aftermarket copper exhaust gaskets are too soft. This lets the stub or H/Es
"CUT INTO THEM" instead of squarely resting on them..... The cutting of the copper creates deformation.. BAD....

Did I say LEAK...??? Did I insinuate cluster fuck of the day...???

I hate fighting bad parts. It's such a waste of time.......... And energy...

They will rarely seal right.

Most guys just keep over torquing em till they seal.... or break the stud..... For a 5 dollar part... WTF...!!!!!

Allow me to continue beating this horse to death......

Thanks... I think I will.....

Some of the softer ones you can anneal with a propane torch, get em red hot. (have to do this in a dark place for color recognition) and let them water cool, or some air cool..or some oil cool... depends on the alloy.

Fugetabout it... Buy Jakes or some other KNOWN GOOD copper ring.

Len Hoffman turned me on to the Jake pieces. He swears by them.
And he is the guy that gets the grief from his clients that get leaking heads due to shit copper seals.

So thats my .02 worth.

This is my experience. Yours may be different. (if you are lucky)

Cheers,

Clayton

dangit... i posted from claytons computer....

he still owes me rent money

I got my rebuild gasket set (Victor Reinz) from Jake's store. Are you referring to the gaskets that come with that set or does Jake have another product? I didn't see anything on his site, but I may not have looked hard enough.

You don't have to sell me on Jake's stuff. I've developed quite a collection of Raby's Aircooled Technology pens from shipments over the past few months.

I am talking about the copper gaskets that go between your exhaust and the heads.

These are made to seal the connection between the head and your exhaust header or Factory heat exchangers...

Aaron... Show him a pic would ya..????

And AA.... How did your class go...????? No... Not that one... I mean the knitting class....???

C

I am talking about the copper gaskets that go between your exhaust and the heads.

These are made to seal the connection between the head and your exhaust header or Factory heat exchangers...

Aaron... Show him a pic would ya..????

And AA.... How did your class go...????? No... Not that one... I mean the knitting class....???

C

Should I repeat myself again...???

I dunno... too many dam buttons on this computer....

C

bada boom.... and bobs your uncle

AA..........You rock

C

you still owe me rent money .... and you are not getting my bud light.

I thought this was a 914 website, not Audi......

Nope...wrong again..

Audy Murphy drove a 914. Cept he's kinda dead.....

So no Audi crap here... just copper stuff...

I need a cup of coffee bad...

twystd1

A set of those gaskets came with the standard kit, but they are nice and shiny and obviously haven't been heat treated.

I'll pop over to Jake's forum and ask. I've spent too much money on heads and headers to put up with an exhaust leak from a gasket.

Besides, I'm sure there is something else from the Type 4 store that I absolutely have to have.

Thanks Guys.

Ben