Rugged Ridge Stainless Exhaust Headers 3.8L Jeep Wrangler JK 2007-11?
12-14-2013, 11:29 AM
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Rugged Ridge Stainless Exhaust Headers 3.8L Jeep Wrangler JK 2007-11?
Has anyone installed the 17650.53 Rugged Ridge Stainless Exhaust Headers 3.8L Jeep Wrangler JK 2007-11. Was looking at it for mine because I've heard our stock ones crack all the time. If you installed it, how was it? Easy or a biznitch?
12-14-2013, 12:15 PM
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I have not.....but I'll say the following:
Look at the 'fit and finish' of the other Rugged Ridge products and seriously consider if you want that as part of your exhaust system. The stock ones can crack but cracked manifolds have been a problem for jeeps for years.
Final word- do you want a "one size fits all" company doing your exhaust? Would you buy a specialty fit item from Ollie's Discount Bargain Outlet?? Some companies should stick with what they know- my 2 cents.
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Look at the 'fit and finish' of the other Rugged Ridge products and seriously consider if you want that as part of your exhaust system. The stock ones can crack but cracked manifolds have been a problem for jeeps for years.
Final word- do you want a "one size fits all" company doing your exhaust? Would you buy a specialty fit item from Ollie's Discount Bargain Outlet?? Some companies should stick with what they know- my 2 cents.
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12-14-2013, 07:02 PM
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I have not.....but I'll say the following:
Look at the 'fit and finish' of the other Rugged Ridge products and seriously consider if you want that as part of your exhaust system. The stock ones can crack but cracked manifolds have been a problem for jeeps for years.
Final word- do you want a "one size fits all" company doing your exhaust? Would you buy a specialty fit item from Ollie's Discount Bargain Outlet?? Some companies should stick with what they know- my 2 cents.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
Look at the 'fit and finish' of the other Rugged Ridge products and seriously consider if you want that as part of your exhaust system. The stock ones can crack but cracked manifolds have been a problem for jeeps for years.
Final word- do you want a "one size fits all" company doing your exhaust? Would you buy a specialty fit item from Ollie's Discount Bargain Outlet?? Some companies should stick with what they know- my 2 cents.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
12-14-2013, 07:53 PM
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I had the same fitment issues with a bumper and others have reported similar issues with the rest of their armor. It's simply low QA process happening due to the low price.
If yours aren't cracked then you may want to call local shops periodically who do the larger motor swaps and see if they have a set lying around for a decent price. I've also been the header route in the past and it's typically not worth the hassle.I had a set of banks headers crack on me. Headmen headers burned up my plug wires (even with insulation) and the bolts loosened up over time. If you search deep enough you'll find that there is only one manufacturer (if I recall correctly) that's got actual power increase. Everyone else has losses since the motor needs certain backpressure.
Ultimately the choice is yours, but I've had better luck with factory manifolds thus far. I routinely get the motor warm and then take it out for a swim, so I should expect cracks but your experiences may vary.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
If yours aren't cracked then you may want to call local shops periodically who do the larger motor swaps and see if they have a set lying around for a decent price. I've also been the header route in the past and it's typically not worth the hassle.I had a set of banks headers crack on me. Headmen headers burned up my plug wires (even with insulation) and the bolts loosened up over time. If you search deep enough you'll find that there is only one manufacturer (if I recall correctly) that's got actual power increase. Everyone else has losses since the motor needs certain backpressure.
Ultimately the choice is yours, but I've had better luck with factory manifolds thus far. I routinely get the motor warm and then take it out for a swim, so I should expect cracks but your experiences may vary.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
01-08-2014, 05:29 PM
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I had the same fitment issues with a bumper and others have reported similar issues with the rest of their armor. It's simply low QA process happening due to the low price.
If yours aren't cracked then you may want to call local shops periodically who do the larger motor swaps and see if they have a set lying around for a decent price. I've also been the header route in the past and it's typically not worth the hassle.I had a set of banks headers crack on me. Headmen headers burned up my plug wires (even with insulation) and the bolts loosened up over time. If you search deep enough you'll find that there is only one manufacturer (if I recall correctly) that's got actual power increase. Everyone else has losses since the motor needs certain backpressure.
Ultimately the choice is yours, but I've had better luck with factory manifolds thus far. I routinely get the motor warm and then take it out for a swim, so I should expect cracks but your experiences may vary.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
If yours aren't cracked then you may want to call local shops periodically who do the larger motor swaps and see if they have a set lying around for a decent price. I've also been the header route in the past and it's typically not worth the hassle.I had a set of banks headers crack on me. Headmen headers burned up my plug wires (even with insulation) and the bolts loosened up over time. If you search deep enough you'll find that there is only one manufacturer (if I recall correctly) that's got actual power increase. Everyone else has losses since the motor needs certain backpressure.
Ultimately the choice is yours, but I've had better luck with factory manifolds thus far. I routinely get the motor warm and then take it out for a swim, so I should expect cracks but your experiences may vary.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
01-08-2014, 05:40 PM
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HI EVERYONE,
I,M far from bein a headers expert
But I,m running RIPP long headers with a dual cat exhaust system
And it's awesome.
I did find a crack in my right manifold header during the exchange ...
It also sounds awesome and never had a single problem with it...
This is just my personal opinion
08 RUBI JK WITH ANEMIC 3.8L
AND RIPP STAGE II SC with INTERCOOLER and lots of other stuff
I,M far from bein a headers expert
But I,m running RIPP long headers with a dual cat exhaust system
And it's awesome.
I did find a crack in my right manifold header during the exchange ...
It also sounds awesome and never had a single problem with it...
This is just my personal opinion
08 RUBI JK WITH ANEMIC 3.8L
AND RIPP STAGE II SC with INTERCOOLER and lots of other stuff
01-08-2014, 06:57 PM
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I can say that if your looking for performance gains you will not see any. Only long tube headers will provide that, shorty's do nothing. If you do not currently have a problem leave it alone. If it does crack later I would purchase stock or spend the money on ripp or borla. Just remember the borla are not "street legal" if your state does emissions testing.
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01-09-2014, 04:17 AM
#8
I have installed the Gibson GP403S-C Ceramic Coated Performance Headers recently. They are similar to the Rugged Ridge Headers but the version I opted for is ceramic coated which helps to keep the heat inside the tubes so that the under hood temperatures will stay as low as possible.
I did not replace my cracked factory manifolds with direct OEM replacements as they are known to fail again and again. I did not choose the Gibson headers for performance but for reliability in that regard. The install was tough but mainly because the manual did not recommend to remove the fender flares. If you plan to do the install on your own do yourself a favor and remove the fender flares first thing! Otherwise it is almost impossible to get proper access to the hardware.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzyvqmv0S8 The Gibson headers are a perfect fit but they are a pain in the ass to bolt to the motor block. I recommend to retorque the bolts to the motor block and to the Y-pipe when warm because you won't be able to torque them hard enough for a tight connection. The connection between the headers and the Y-pipe is a metal on metal connection and needs a certain amount of pressure to stay tight.
You may also want to get yourself a new set of spark plug wires and six new spark plugs in order to replace them once you are in there and have removed the factory manifolds. Other than that you will need good hand tools, WD-40 or similar, light and more patience/time than you would expect.
I did not replace my cracked factory manifolds with direct OEM replacements as they are known to fail again and again. I did not choose the Gibson headers for performance but for reliability in that regard. The install was tough but mainly because the manual did not recommend to remove the fender flares. If you plan to do the install on your own do yourself a favor and remove the fender flares first thing! Otherwise it is almost impossible to get proper access to the hardware.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzyvqmv0S8 The Gibson headers are a perfect fit but they are a pain in the ass to bolt to the motor block. I recommend to retorque the bolts to the motor block and to the Y-pipe when warm because you won't be able to torque them hard enough for a tight connection. The connection between the headers and the Y-pipe is a metal on metal connection and needs a certain amount of pressure to stay tight.
You may also want to get yourself a new set of spark plug wires and six new spark plugs in order to replace them once you are in there and have removed the factory manifolds. Other than that you will need good hand tools, WD-40 or similar, light and more patience/time than you would expect.
01-09-2014, 05:48 AM
#9
I can say that if your looking for performance gains you will not see any. Only long tube headers will provide that, shorty's do nothing. If you do not currently have a problem leave it alone. If it does crack later I would purchase stock or spend the money on ripp or borla. Just remember the borla are not "street legal" if your state does emissions testing.
The other problem with long tubes in general on the JK is it turns the driver's side exhaust bank into a straight shot. They sound great at idle but a pre-pubecent boy yelling at higher rpms. You will have to get a super quiet muffler to counter act the effect.
01-09-2014, 10:42 PM
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Make sure you put heat resistant booties on all of the plug wires down by the headers........coming from someone who has replaced melted plug wires after headers- even without contact.