360 Anyone ever had their Tubi headers crack at the cylinder head?

I just noticed the tell-tale sound of an exhaust leak from the engine bay last week. I couldn’t notice or feel anything from above, so I got the car on the lift and took the belly pan off. Sure enough, the Tubi header is cracked all the way around the circumferential weld on the tube to the flange on Cylinder #1. Pics attached below.

I don’t fancy buying a new set of headers, nor going through the full R&R to have it rewelded. Starting with the fastest, easiest and cheapest solution first, I’ll likely try J-B Weld Muffler Seal first, and perhaps a strip of muffler tape over that? If all the cheap fixes fail, I’ll R&R to have it re-welded before buying replacements.

Has anyone else had a similar failure?
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You do not have a choice in the matter. JB Weld won't hold for ten seconds. That crack is probably the highest stress point for the header. Doing anything but the right thing---remove the header and weld it properly---would be silly.

 

My guess is the headers weren't decked properly and had uneven flanges.

 

Oof. That sucks. Sorry, Jeremy. Was hoping Tubi’s were more ‘immune’ to these stress failures than the OEM ones. How many miles on the headers?

 

I could fit my tig welder up in there and weld it. Not be perfect w/o removing but could work

 

Woof. That stinks to hear. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow!

The Tubi’s had 30,000 miles over the last 6 years.

Could be worth a shot for a band-aid, but the crack goes all the way around. The top looks pretty inaccessible to my eye…

So has anyone heard of this happening before, regardless of the brand of headers?

 

Besides the obvious exhaust leak, is there danger in running the car until a permanent fix? I watched a video with the owner of Fabspeed talking about the possibility of destroying your engine due to cracked headers? Sounds extreme.

 

I think the risk is that a bit of material could break off from the joint and bounce around inside the combustion chamber for a bit. That would like not end well.

 

I think he was referring to a cool spot on the head/exhaust valve area causing a problem.

I’d have the exhaust manifold removed and repaired the right way. If there’s any consolation, the exhaust studs and nuts look in good shape, and someone installed them with the proper copper exhaust nuts so removal should be easy.

Every time I’ve tried to halfass something, it’s bit me. That’s an expensive motor, don’t risk it.

 

It’s a small consolation. I’ll take anything at this point! Can those copper nuts be reused or are they supposed to be replaced every time? I am prepared for a PITA removal, especially with the air injection rail blocking the top nuts.

 

JB Weld? Just do it right, please.

 

We used those on light aircraft engine exhaust. Iirc, they have a lock feature in the outer portion of them. I’d replace them. Soak everything in PBS Blaster for a day or two before you get started. Spray everything that’s going to be removed a couple times and let it soak.

 

I would call/email Tubi on this and send them pictures. They are the most expensive headers for Ferrari 360/F430 so I would imagine they should at least know about this ASAP.

 

I just looked on Amazon for you. They have those copper nuts and yes they have a lock feature in them. Type in Empi 9525 exhaust lock nut kit.

I not sure if those with match your threads, but they are still available.

 

Yes replace copper nuts as stated

 

Well, hell yeah! Manifold is out. Less than 2 hours, including getting the car jacked up, wheel off, wheel well liners out, and going back-and-forth a million times to try all the different varieties of 13s that I had. A million times easier than I expected it to be, and what everyone cracked it up to be. Maybe I’m just lucky, or most likely the fact that it was removing a set of aftermarket headers, instead of the OEM manifold, and the hardware was only six years old instead of 22. Either way, not a drop of PB blaster was needed. Didn’t have to remove the alternator. Just a Shorty 13 mm box wrench from the top, and a regular 13 mm from the bottom. Sockets for one and four, and wrench for two and three. Hell yeah. Small win to start a big L.

Now I either have to remove the JB weld I put on last night, or let the pros do it when I find a competent welder.
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Thanks for doing that! I’ll check that out right now. The threads appear to be 8mm x 1.25. How about the exhaust gaskets? Any harm in reusing them?

 

JB weld removed. Currently shopping around for a welder. Should I just be expecting them to lay a new bead around the original failed one, or cut any material out and weld in a new section?
I also have a machine shop standing by to deck the headers after welding to ensure they’re true
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I would call Tubi

 

To ask what they recommend for repair procedure?

 

Maybe they would warranty it? Worth a shot