# Holy Headers!



## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

My muffler rusted out and is starting to sound like a fast and furious civic, but I have another noise that I have to check out. If I rev my engine up to 2000 or more and then let the revs drop freely, I hear sort of a loud buzzing/rattling type of noise. I popped the hood and it seems to be coming from the area under that cover thing on top of my headers (GA16.) Is that some sort of a heat shield? When I get a chance I'll unbolt that shield that covers the headers and look for leaks, but does anybody think that I might have a hole in my headers? The noise is from about 1800 - 2500 and is most noticable when the revs drop freely (clutch pedal down) through that range. It almost sounds like a bad vibration, so I'll look for loose mounts while I'm in there. The car makes sort of a weird noise when you are on the gas in that rev range too. It sounds different, but might have the same source, only sounding different cuz the engine's doing different things. Any thoughts/suggestions? If it is the headers, what's the cheapest way to replace them? I don't have the money for HS, so maybe the cheapest OEM I can find or a cheap Pacesetter? (I'm only planning on keeping the car another 2 years, tops.)


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## Liquider (Nov 8, 2003)

i think your passenger side seat is rattling...get a sparco one


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## Harris (Nov 11, 2002)

^^^ 

It could be a blown flex-pipe. That head shield is easy to take off if you want to determine whether the exhaust manifold (header) is blown or not. I can't say without looking at it myself.


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## OddyseusDSM (Mar 19, 2003)

my heatshield was rattling for a while. i asked the guy who welded my exhaust flange back together, downpipe to midpipe flange on the DP side broke, to just take the thing off.


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## Masa (Oct 24, 2003)

When and if you take off the heat shield prepare yourself to be impressed.  When my friends and I installed my header we were like what the #@[email protected]? The stock exhaust maniflod for the ga16de b13s is...cute. If you have to replace it, go with a performance one. You said that you can't afford the HS one, but anything will be better than the stock one. If the PS header is in your budget get it. :thumbup:


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Harris said:


> It could be a blown flex-pipe.


^^^What's that? The down pipe that connects the headers to the rest of the exhaust?

I'm thinking the loose heat shield is the most plausible idea, since above 2500 rpm the only wrong noise is coming from the holed muffler. Either way, pulling the heat shield oughta help me figure it out. I don't think it's the passenger seat. It definitely seems to be coming from near the headers when I get under the hood and rev the engine a little. Are there any reasons to or not to just take off the heat shield? Thanks for the ideas all, it's much appreciated! :thumbup:


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## OddyseusDSM (Mar 19, 2003)

the flex pipe is usually located right after the major bend in the downpipe, when you see it you'll know what it is.


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## Harris (Nov 11, 2002)

^^^

Yup. Its like pieces of metal woven together. And its there to "flex" with the movement of the exhaust.

You can take off the heat shield and not worry about anything. I took off my rusty-ass heat shield back in September. Personally, I think my engine bay looks better without it.

Here is a pic of my purty huge SR20 OEM header without the heat shield  (well, compared to the GA16 header its huge ) :


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Thanks guys. It's nice and warm today (above freezing, raining instead of snowing) so I'll try to find time to get at it tonight. I'll let ya know what I find.


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## danifilth (May 14, 2003)

Its probably the heatshield on the header or it could be the one right under the car covering the cat my cat heat shield broke and rattled forever.Also my oem downpipe didnt have any flexpipe.maybe its not oem?If I were you I would get the Hotshot header even though you cant afford it.Thats what credit cards are for and plus they are so damn cheap right now everywhere.Besides after you put on that header you will have found a new love for the car and decide to keep modding to see how far you can go.trust me.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Weird, with a new (OEM) muffler in place the rattle is gone. Must have hit some sort of harmonic or something with the lower backpressure of a leaking muffler... 

I actually feel like I gained back a couple horses by getting the muffler replaced. Makes me wonder just how much power all those cars with 4" chrome mufflers are losing. If it responds that dramatically (it felt like my timing got advanced again) to just having a proper muffler, it makes me want a header real bad! And a CAI, and a pulley, and...


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## Harris (Nov 11, 2002)

I felt that too when I threw out my shitty Autozone muffler and put my OEM muffler back on. You do lose a little bit of torque when you go with a bigger muffler. Some on the sr20forum have argued that its not true, but I don't know how to explain the better lower-end torque when I went back to stock. Oh well, thats something only Sherlock Holmes could figure out.


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