360 exhuast manifolds

The 360 manifolds aren't prone to cracking. Are you thinking of the 430? They have manifold cracking problems.

The main problem that I know of is that the 360 manifolds have precats in them. These little things can break apart and can bounce around inside the combustion chamber. I think you can imagine what that would do.

The 99 doesn't have precats. It's the only 360 without them. Your manifolds should be mechanically fine.

 

Yeah 99 without pre cats are the way to go I wouldn’t take them out.

I was on a similar path to you but kept mine on my car bc no precats. If it’s not broken don’t fix it. There’s plenty more stuff to do [emoji6]


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so are the precats able to be removed? or is the only option to put aftermarket headers on that obviously don't have the pre-cats?

 

In theory you can gut them out, but in practice that's a very hard material and hard to break and take out. So what some people do, they cut a side hole into factory header, remove the pre cat and weld the hole back together.

You also need to consider legal ramifications as you are removing emission control part the car was designed to use, which may or may not matter depending on the country/area the car is being used.

 

Perhaps if you live in a country with extremely low labor costs but otherwise, it's very labor intensive and the results can be iffy. Chopping open the headers isn't for the squeamish. The covers have to be removed, the thing has to be cut open, the cats removed, then all put back together with the cover. It might look beautiful. It might look like Frankenstein's headers. It might leak, crack or break.

I suggest just skipping the whole thing. If your car has always run smoothly, it's doubtful you'll ever need to replace your headers. If your car has run rough often, then your headers might be a problem. Running rough damages the cats because it dumps unburned fuel into the header and that causes the headers to run very hot, or worse, crack from small detonations of fuel. Eventually, little parts start breaking off and get sucked back into the combustion chamber when you let off the throttle. You can imagine how not good that is.

If you hear the sound of bees under your bonnet or marbles in your muffler (actually, headers but they don't rhyme with marbles) then you might have a problem.

 

I just went through this. Mine “looked” perfect when I inspected them with the main cats off. I used the rubber handle end of a hammer to push on the precat disc, and they traveled almost 1 inch with almost no force. Did u check for travel?

Out they came.

Purchased a long air chisel bit. And I am certain with my gift of tenacity I would have been able to get them out (in bits).

Instead, I decided to buy a pair of euro headers from a fellow fchatter.

I have learned these were probably from a euro car imported to the US with an aftermarket retrofit air rail.

This turned into to a huge headache and I ended up plugging these individual ports with SS plugs. This took 2 weeks to sort because I had to figure out what fittings were used. I ended up polishing them and they look great. Much better then the un insulated pipes, wraps, or baggies.

I deleted the air pump with my tune. Not my preference but at that point my best option.

So take home messages:

-do more than “look “ at your precats.

-euro headers and 99 USA cars should not have air rails and you will have to delete the air pump which means Ecu tune.

-if the euro headers have air rails they are retrofitted for US emissions and good luck figuring out how to connect that to the original Ferrari air injection pump.

- I would have personally just gutted my original manifolds and saved 1500 bucks and a ton of headaches. Only aftermarket option that resembles stock shielded manifolds is wildly expensive in my opinion.

-ray

 

Yes 99 headers are better. But like any mass production item there is room for improvement.
Better material, better welds. Better design. You can clearly see the lack of quality even on factory parts. Here is the shields removed.
Been a year now with my Supersprints with thr header shield protection. Couldn't be happier.
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Thanks for the very informative responses fellas. Haven't put 1000's of miles on my car, but i am not sensing any issues.....but....I don't have the type of checkbook to handle the "what if" moment...I don't hear any noises, rattles, marbles rolling, etc....Think erring on the side of caution i should replace with SUpersprints? Are there other options/competitors to Supersprint? Thanks in advance for any insight....

 

Did you have air injection on your stock headers? If not, what are the holes near where they bolt to the cylinder head?

 

I got this from some race guy and and he could have egt temp probs. I only have the L side.

 

I missed that you have a ‘99. You made the wisest choice. I spent 1.7k (not including the Ecu tune which I was getting anyway) and labor done by me to basically get my 2002 to wheee you are now (no air pump and no precats) so I think you made the wisest decision. In this regard ‘99’s are great.

Save the $5k+ on headers and take your family on a cruise!

-ray

 

removed my pre's on a 2004. no issues but a o2 extender needed. Mine sucked pre cat into the motor. lucked out, no damage. Not cheap getting those suckers out though!

 

Hey Brett, O2 extenders needed on the fronts or the rears?
I mean, the ones by the pre or the ones downstream?

 

Looking for noises etc when checking for failed pre cats does not always catch the problem and when it does it's often too late. I've seen a cat material which got loose and rotated 90 degrees in headers, severely restricting the exhaust flow, but being jammed solid by the exhaust gas and heat it was impossible to move or rattle.

What I found is working best is to remove the O2 sensor on the header and look back at the pre cat using articulated endoscope.

1. Remove O2 sensor using 7/8" (22mm) socket as pictured below. Using anything else will just round the sensor without unscrewing it
2. Use articulated endoscope like the one pictured or better. It allows for remote head moving for inspection

Simple test I think everyone with pre car headers should be doing every several months to make sure the pre cats are not falling apart and not destroying the engine.


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Never use extenders or mini cats upstream. You want a sampling of unadulterated exhaust gas.

 

I’m no pro but looking is not enough. Mine looked perfect on direct visualization with the main cats off, but were actually loose when a small force was applied. The precat disc traveled almost an inch retrograde up the header when pushed.

Also Having to scope precats every few months seems like a lot to do especially if it may only reveal when the precat has already begun to disintegrate which is late.

 

True, but endoscope is another tool which can help. Looking through O2 hole is less work than taking the main cats off. But one way or another it's taking chances, the only 100% guaranteed solution is to not have the pre cats at all.

 

Dang, those are some beautiful manifolds. I like the insulation also.