Will a Pacesetter header fit a OEM EX downpipe?

[H311RA151N]

I do have the one piece gasket that came with the Pacesetter, will that work in place of the o rings?

The used copper gasket? You can try. But you have to use copper gasket sealant. That’s what the instructions say that come with the header new in the box. They recommend Permatex and Id use quite a bit of it. Also from looking at my old A6 downpipe, if it has the old metal O-ring gaskets, leave them in.

You have to let the copper sealer set for like 12 or 24 hours before you start the car. If you don’t you’ll be doing it again. Read the instructions on the label. Copper gasket sealant takes a while to set up. And if you try to use anything other than whats meant for copper it wont work. Been there done that. I noticed you said you were going to do it today. Read the copper sealant tube but I imagine to do it right you won’t be able to start the car today. If you have a small hole and start the car up you might create a leak that the gasket sealant could have fixed. Everything is against you on this so you have to do it right to a T if it’s ever going to work.

Torque the nuts down pretty good when you put them together. Just be careful not to break a stud off. Also put some grease on the studs before you put the nuts on. Your going to have to cover all your bases and make sure everything is positioned perfect to give you the best chance of this working. The grease will help you get the slightly over tightened nuts off if it does not work and you have to take it all back off.

If that gasket leaks take it off and get an eBay one. They are a lot softer and as long as the flanges meet pretty good it might hold up fairly well for a while.

[DumbleDore!]

The used copper gasket? You can try. But you have to use copper gasket sealant. That’s what the instructions say that come with the header new in the box. They recommend Permatex and Id use quite a bit of it. Also from looking at my old A6 downpipe, if it has the old metal O-ring gaskets, leave them in.

You have to let the copper sealer set for like 12 or 24 hours before you start the car. If you don’t you’ll be doing it again. Read the instructions on the label. Copper gasket sealant takes a while to set up. And if you try to use anything other than whats meant for copper it wont work. Been there done that. I noticed you said you were going to do it today. Read the copper sealant tube but I imagine to do it right you won’t be able to start the car today. If you have a small hole and start the car up you might create a leak that the gasket sealant could have fixed. Everything is against you on this so you have to do it right to a T if it’s ever going to work.

Torque the nuts down pretty good when you put them together. Just be careful not to break a stud off. Also put some grease on the studs before you put the nuts on. Your going to have to cover all your bases and make sure everything is positioned perfect to give you the best chance of this working. The grease will help you get the slightly over tightened nuts off if it does not work and you have to take it all back off.

If that gasket leaks take it off and get an eBay one. They are a lot softer and as long as the flanges meet pretty good it might hold up fairly well for a while.

Thanks for the info, wish I had read it earlier. Lol

Anywho, so it's all done. We replaced the head to header gasket to be safe, and we actually just replaced the OEM 'O' gaskets a few weeks ago sure to a mishap, so we just used those. Everything went smoothly! So to answer the questions: YES the aftermarket header will mate to the OEM down pipe using the OEM gaskets, without leaking! Although, the aftermarket header is a bit longer than the OEM, so the hanger on the block will need to be unbolted, and the down pipe will hang a bit lower, so I need to pick up a shorter, height wise, down pipe. It works great though! So, for the write up!

Next!

So we started last night, and this is how it went.

Going on!




Then, blast! The OEM down pipe comes up too high.



Not to worry, just unbolt the hanger in front of the O2 sensor, and it lined right up!





Now, they are heating up!





Wish I could have kept that blue.





And the finished color.





Now, my stress over this was cause by the lack of pictures of the OEM header and down pipe flanges. So here ya' go.











I love the Pacesetter! Believe what you will, but I definitely notice a difference in power. And sound! I love it, not to mention it weighs about 10-15lbs. and the OEM WITH shield weighs about 25-30lbs.

[DumbleDore!]

One more thing. The Pacesetter header, as with most all aftermarket CB7 headers I would imagine, has an O2 sensor mount on the header. Now, for certain trim types and years, specifically cars with 4-1 headers, the O2 sensor is on the header. This mount would be used for those cars. On the trims and years, such as my EX, the O2 sensor is on the down pipe, after all the collectors. I used a M-18 Honda oil plug to plug it. It fit perfectly, you can pick them up at any Autozone, Oreilly's, or Napa.

[deevergote]

The difference in power is likely in your head... though the sound is fun. It does look pretty nice.
It's pretty cool to get a cheap CARB exempt header, even if it's just half, in CA. At least your mod is legal!

[H311RA151N]

Im suprised but glad it worked.

I told you in an early post that it would for sure be longer and push the downpipe down. Be sure not to hit anything if your lowered. People drag downpipes on here all the time. A good hit might rip the studs out of your head and ruin the head. If yours drags it wont slide, it will push.

As far as the bungs in the header, when you buy them they come with bung plugs in both locations. F22A1 in manifold, F22A4 & F22A6 in downpipe. You just use the one you need and tighten the bung plug in the other.

BTW, thats an A6 manifold. You would get better flow with an A4.

[deevergote]

He bought this used in a junkyard. Certainly no bung plug there.

[H311RA151N]

If he would have got the lower half it would have came with it and he could have switched the locations.

It looks pretty good and thats so cool how you did this. You got a better than Ebay quality header for cheaper than an Ebay and used an OEM dowpipe.

Like I said watch draging it. I know how low it sits even with out any pictures. Its a good 2-4" lower. I remember installing mine and how low the flange is. Also I remember how the Pacesetter downpipe starts to sweep back right after that flange. As long as your not really low and you keep it in mind you should be ok. But one good hit and your going to have a really big leak.

[DumbleDore!]

Yeah, I'm watchig it pretty closely, no 30mph around speed bumps any more, just prep for when it's lowered I suppose. Lol I'll have located an aftermarket downpipe by then. Yes, HR, I remember that. I also remember mention of the difference between the A4 and A6 manifold. Maybe that's why I like this so much better. I only paid $40. So im completely happy.

[DumbleDore!]

The difference in power is likely in your head... though the sound is fun. It does look pretty nice.
It's pretty cool to get a cheap CARB exempt header, even if it's just half, in CA. At least your mod is legal!

Indeed! I would like to believe it's there. Haha I'm the other half is still there, just need the money to pick it up.