Besides the block, you should also look at the collector end too. Mine doesn't leak at the block but it did at the collector end. The oem o ring gasket doesn't work too well on there. I prefer one like the one ssautochrome offered.

 

Besides the block, you should also look at the collector end too. Mine doesn't leak at the block but it did at the collector end. The oem o ring gasket doesn't work too well on there. I prefer one like the one ssautochrome offered.

Did you replace the o ring gaskets? If so was there a specific type?

Thanks

 

I used the oem o rings from the dealer, I haven't found any ssautochrome type gasket. The o rings gasket works for awhile but over time it will leak. Mine is currently ticking and it's deffinantely from the collector end.

The o ring gaskets are the same for all 4 joining points. There is an o ring before and after the cat, same with the other side. Between the muffler and resonator/3rd cat it uses some wierd rolled wire for a gasket, atleast on my 00 tundra. I may try to find those cut-out type gasket instead of waiting around for an already made type.

 

The way to fix it.

I recently installed JBA Headers about 2 months ago because I had a tapping sound with a ping. The tapping noise is still present at ALL Times, the ping is very noticable durring hard acceleration between 2000 - 3000 rpm. I looked at many sites on this forum and many posts referenced craked or warped manifold(s). Therefore I immediately had the Headers installed earlier than planned.

When you say ping, are you describing a noise or do you mean like when ignition timing is too far advanced or poor grade of fuel??



When my mechanic installed the Headers he used the old locknuts from the manifolds (all except one). I was told it was better to use the old lock nut's rather that the bolt's that came with the Headers. Is there a possibility that the old lock nut's when tightened did not draw all the way. I was talking with a friend of mine who also is a mechanic and has worked on many toyota's and he said your best off not to use the old lock nut's becase sometimes they don't draw in all the way even if you think their tight.

They will draw in all the way, thats not the issue. They are a lock nut(which means it will lock one time). Best thing to do is use all new Toyota locking nuts. If its too much money, you can use the original nuts with lock washers.
An often overlooked problem is the studs being seated in the head. Once the manifolds are off, you should make sure every stud in the head is tight. They can back out when you loosen them. You can tighten them 2 ways. Easy way is with a stud installer from Snap On or equivalent. Tedious way is double nutting them. If you dont do this and the stud is loose, it will back out of the head and take the threads with it as you tighten it(ALUMINUM heads are not very forgivng. You can use the bolts that come with them if you like.


1. Does anyone have a method that I can use to determine if these things are leaking? My mechanics assistant re-tightened the headers with out a torque wrench and he said there they were tight as a drum and no leaks. Which I am skepticle because the darn truck wasn't running! But they were in a big hurry and the head mechanic (who has treated me very well for years) only charged me a $100 for the install so I didn't want to be a pain.

You cant get a torque wrench on the fastners when the motor is in the truck, plus, even if the motor was out, some of the upper studs have the tubes upswept, therby making a wrench the only possibility.

Make a "listening hose" any rubber tubing around 3/8" I.D. and put one end in your ear, run the other end around all the exhaust ports while the engine is running. If its leaking, you will hear it.

2. Is it possible to get some stainless washers and replace one bolt at a time with the washer to ensure they are truly tight and in fact the Headers are drawn in? Or should I simply get all new lock nut's from toyota and replace them one at a time? Not sure of the cost but it can't be that bad.

Not sure what you mean here. If youve been running around for 6-8 months with leaky headers, they are probably warped. You need to remove them, take them down to the muffler shop and have them machined flat.

3. If there is a leak would it mean the Header gasket is junk and should I get the metal gaskets from Toyota?

Reinstall with the gasket provided from the header manufacturer.

I honestly feel that there is some loss of power. If infact the Headers are leaking would there be a loss of power?

Yes.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has been going on for 6-8 months and it is driving me up a wall. I would like to attend the truck dyno run in New England in March that V8toilet posted but the way my truck is running right now I would be embarrassed to no end!

Im just filling space because I was told i used less than 10 characters in my message.

 

I'm not sure of your mechanical experience and I hope that this does not offend you.
But, you do understand that headers are louder in the engine bay and that you do easily hear each exhaust stroke hit the header.

If that's not the problem then get you self a mechanic's Seth-a-scope and remove the probe. Install any hard tubing onto the end of the hose. About 12 to 18" long will work and will transmit sound readily to your ears.
Fire up the motor and start listening around all the suspected areas.
Be careful of the moving parts.

 

I'm not sure of your mechanical experience and I hope that this does not offend you.
But, you do understand that headers are louder in the engine bay and that you do easily hear each exhaust stroke hit the header.

That has been the case on most cars I've worked on in the past, but I'd have to honestly say that I can't tell any difference on the V8 Tundra. Of course the headers are made out of about the same material as the stock manifolds. I can't believe how quiet it is with stock manifolds or headers!

 

I would suspect the gasket first. If they were in a hurry and didn't get all of the old one off and clean the area well before they installed your new gaskets and headers, it could very well be leaking. If it has been 6-8 months since this started, there should be some discoloration where the leak is and it may be very difficult to get in there and see it. A small mechanic's mirror and a light will help. Also, and I don't mean to scare you, but if the manifold was warped when they installed it, it will probably be impossible to get it tight. They should have checked that and they also should have started from the center and worked their way to the outside bolts when tightening them. Do you know for sure that they installed a new gasket or did they maybe use the old one to save time and the mess of cleaning it off? Just for peace of mind, you might want to try turning each bolt and make sure they didn't strip one of the studs.

Good Luck!

 

Leaks

Put new Toyota lock nuts on, 38 bucks for 16 of them. Put Toyota metal gasket in with proper orientation (metal tab up on forward or aft end). Torque to 30 ft lbs starting in front going back and alternating so as to get flat as possible mating between header and head. Undo collector flange. Soak (Or replace with toy metal O Ring) with PB Blaster and retorque. ( I bet donut ring at collector/original pipe is hissing) good luck

 

I recently installed JBA Headers about 2 months ago because I had a tapping sound with a ping. The tapping noise is still present at ALL Times, the ping is very noticable durring hard acceleration between 2000 - 3000 rpm. I looked at many sites on this forum and many posts referenced craked or warped manifold(s). Therefore I immediately had the Headers installed earlier than planned.

When my mechanic installed the Headers he used the old locknuts from the manifolds (all except one). I was told it was better to use the old lock nut's rather that the bolt's that came with the Headers. Is there a possibility that the old lock nut's when tightened did not draw all the way. I was talking with a friend of mine who also is a mechanic and has worked on many toyota's and he said your best off not to use the old lock nut's becase sometimes they don't draw in all the way even if you think their tight.

1. Does anyone have a method that I can use to determine if these things are leaking? My mechanics assistant re-tightened the headers with out a torque wrench and he said there they were tight as a drum and no leaks. Which I am skepticle because the darn truck wasn't running! But they were in a big hurry and the head mechanic (who has treated me very well for years) only charged me a $100 for the install so I didn't want to be a pain.

2. Is it possible to get some stainless washers and replace one bolt at a time with the washer to ensure they are truly tight and in fact the Headers are drawn in? Or should I simply get all new lock nut's from toyota and replace them one at a time? Not sure of the cost but it can't be that bad.

3. If there is a leak would it mean the Header gasket is junk and should I get the metal gaskets from Toyota?

I honestly feel that there is some loss of power. If infact the Headers are leaking would there be a loss of power?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has been going on for 6-8 months and it is driving me up a wall. I would like to attend the truck dyno run in New England in March that V8toilet posted but the way my truck is running right now I would be embarrassed to no end!

Ok ive had a couple months to cool off after having replied to this post once, only to have it deleted saying i used less than 10 characters.

The only way there nuts would not fully tighten would be one of 2 ways. Either the threads are damaged or someone didnt tighten the studs into the head before installing the header, therby pulling the studs out of the head when attempting to tighten the nuts.

1. Start the motor, take a piece of rubber hose. Put one end in your ear, move the other end around the header flange near the ports mainly, but also run along the primaries to check for cracks. Yes its better to reuse the OEM studs in the head vs. converting to bolts(in this application).

2 and 3. If this has been goin on for 6-8 months leaking, your headers are without a doubt warped. The only correct method to repair your truck is to remove the headers, have them machined flat, tighten the OEM studs, install new JBA gaskets, with lock washers and existing nuts(if in good condition), or with new OEM lock nuts, sans washers.

 

I put my JBA's on in October. When I did it, I took the advice of most on this site and bought new lock nuts and Toyota OEM metal gaskets. No trouble after install. Just last week after noticing a peculiar/different sound from the engine bay I found that a weld at the collector on the passenger side had cracked. I contacted JBA and they shipped out a replacement. I swapped out the passenger side header this week and also purchased new nuts and OEM metal gasket. Everything back to normal and sounding good again. All that said to say this..... get new nuts and OEM gaskets.

 

I had my JBAs installed a week ago and ever since I have had a subtle hissing noise under hard acceleration. The noise is constant with no ticking. I ordered a stethoscope kit online so I can take a closer look.

 

3 hours

after 3 hours, I just finished up my right side header (ss autochrome) put a new gasket in (toyota oem) just to put a new O2 sensor in. I have the old ss headers where the bung isn't properly set, so to replace the O2 sensor, you have to take the whole header off. I found on the old gasket that I had a leak on the foreward most exhaust valve (?). all good now, no leaks, and no check engine light. That thing was so annoying.

 

I just ordered the JBA and was wondering if anyone had the part number for the oem gaskets. I just checked with the dealer and he said they run 65$ per gasket if that correct? Also what do I want to ask for when I order the locking nuts? are all toyota locking nuts the same? I just dont want to go to the dealership and try to describe the parts im looking for because half the time they have looked up the wrong part number from the number I am looking for. Thanks

 

PM trdsource. He gave a good price on the gaskets and lock nuts. Both gaskets and all of the nuts were less than $65.

 

JBA headers install

PM trdsource. He gave a good price on the gaskets and lock nuts. Both gaskets and all of the nuts were less than $65.

Just finished installing my JBA headers yesturday. Took about 8 hours, probably because i'm a freak when it comes to cleaning everything before it's put back together. The most important thing for this job is having the right tools. Without them, you can hang it up. Flexible ratchet wrenches were a life saver. One thing i'd like to know is how in the devil would you torgue the manifold nuts. I just made sure they were tight. I used new toyota gaskets everywhere. To me, they were much better. Paid 30$ for the manifold gaskets and about 8 bucks a piece for the O rings. The only rust spot on my system was the driver's side rear cat pipe flange. Had to grind inside the O2 sensor opening on the passenger side for the sensor to go in. Had some weld in the way. Also made sure I used anti-sieze on everything, including the O2 sensors. Judging from some of the installs i've read on this web site, I must be the lucky one because I found the whole process fairly easy. Once again, having the right tools means everything.

 

Tools

Just finished installing my JBA headers yesturday. Took about 8 hours, probably because i'm a freak when it comes to cleaning everything before it's put back together. The most important thing for this job is having the right tools. Without them, you can hang it up. Flexible ratchet wrenches were a life saver. One thing i'd like to know is how in the devil would you torgue the manifold nuts. I just made sure they were tight. I used new toyota gaskets everywhere. To me, they were much better. Paid 30$ for the manifold gaskets and about 8 bucks a piece for the O rings. The only rust spot on my system was the driver's side rear cat pipe flange. Had to grind inside the O2 sensor opening on the passenger side for the sensor to go in. Had some weld in the way. Also made sure I used anti-sieze on everything, including the O2 sensors. Judging from some of the installs i've read on this web site, I must be the lucky one because I found the whole process fairly easy. Once again, having the right tools means everything.

Acehigh,

Did you have a 14mm semi deep socket? I have been looking for one. Only place I can find it is SnapOn. Socket is like $11 and Shipping and Handling is another $11 so I said no way. Still looking.

Thanks,

Ken

 

Acehigh,

Did you have a 14mm semi deep socket? I have been looking for one. Only place I can find it is SnapOn. Socket is like $11 and Shipping and Handling is another $11 so I said no way. Still looking.

Thanks,

Ken

Ken,

When I did my install I found a semi deep 14mm that worked well. It was an Ampro socket from Advance Auto. Hope this helps.
JD

 

Acehigh,

Did you have a 14mm semi deep socket? I have been looking for one. Only place I can find it is SnapOn. Socket is like $11 and Shipping and Handling is another $11 so I said no way. Still looking.

Thanks,

Ken

I got a semi-deep set from Sears a while back, but I don't see a 14mm on their website anymore. But they do have a 9/16 which is the same size.

 

I got a semi-deep set from Sears a while back, but I don't see a 14mm on their website anymore. But they do have a 9/16 which is the same size.

Yeah, I got one for $1.97 a few weeks ago before I installed my headers. I checked yesterday and the 14mm isn't shown any more.

 

I cut one down from a deepwell socket using a hacksaw and flat file. It honestly didn't take me more than 10 minutes. I have a pic of it in my album.

Acehigh,

Did you have a 14mm semi deep socket? I have been looking for one. Only place I can find it is SnapOn. Socket is like $11 and Shipping and Handling is another $11 so I said no way. Still looking.

Thanks,

Ken