Thread: leaky header tubes

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I had to build my own headers for my bb chev by piecing together mandrel bent tubing in sections. I tigged it and THOUGHT all the seams were totally sealed.
I was wrong.

One area where all 4 tubes came together real close is the problem area. Now I have that hissing noise that sounds like crap.

The reason the area is a problem is because it just isn't accessible with a welder, so re-welding it won't solve the problem.

Anybody have any solutions?
How about chroming (I don't mean decorative chroming), would that fill tiny holes?

I'd be happy if I just got rid of the hissing noise.

How about running a little brazing rod over the pinholes. It'll flow real nice into the areas that you could'nt get the tig in. That'll shut em up.

It's just that I really can't pinpoint them, I can only tell when it is running and coming out, otherwise they look fine.

I guess I could just glob the whole area, but I don't want it to look like junk.

Make sure it''s not leaking from the header flange instead, the "donut".

the only i know to fix it, if that is where the leak is.

that isn't the spot. I cut my collector real short when I was welding that up and I filled it real good, then re-welded the rest of the collector up.

It is leaking from a spot halfway between the flange and the collector. I can feel it if I put my hand next to the area.
But it is a jumble of all 4 tubes.

Originally posted by tcodi
that isn't the spot. I cut my collector real short when I was welding that up and I filled it real good, then re-welded the rest of the collector up.

It is leaking from a spot halfway between the flange and the collector. I can feel it if I put my hand next to the area.
But it is a jumble of all 4 tubes.

how far is it from the end of the pipes, where they all are weild togother?

Maybe a photo with a mark showing where you think the problem is would help the idea flow.

try having a buddy trickle a little transmission fluid down the carburetor with the engine running while ya watch for the leak,It'll send up smoke signals...

This pic is obviously from before I completed them, but the leaky part is just below the lowest part of these pipes, right around that original spring shackle, that's when they all got very close and jumbled because I wanted to keep them as far away from the tire as possible.
The leak is blowing out on the frame side.

I am building my own now, and here is something i found.

I believe it was braze, Heres another.

you want to weld a round the collector and up the the primaries tubes were they go in to the collector i go up the sides of the tube about 3/4 and if the tubing fit up was good you can reflow the weld with a tig or torch. i weld one tube at a time with a tig and clean each weld with a wire wheel. and look at each weld most of the time i use very little filler rod some of the steel has a lot of junk in the steel sometimes i will use 347 SS filler rod or FR70s-6 steel filler . a good fit up i will fuse it with no filller rod . i like 0.060 or smaller filler rod the very last thing i do is the collector some times you can pull out the TUNGSTEN out a bit more turn the gas up if you need to get some were tigth. i use a small cup on the tig torch on headers. i hope this helps some one .i have built many set of headers

I'll try to find a picture of the finished headers. The leak isn't anywhere near the collector though.
Just an inaccessible area.

I was thinking maybe that fiberglass header wrap would muffle the noise a little.

Originally posted by tcodi
I'll try to find a picture of the finished headers. The leak isn't anywhere near the collector though.
Just an inaccessible area.

I was thinking maybe that fiberglass header wrap would muffle the noise a little.

You can't be ridding around in your hot rod with an exhaust leak. If you want to find it use trans. fluid like HWORRELL said and you can find it. if its coming out where the pipes are close together and there is no other weld there, then its more than likely at the collectors. It will blow all the way back from the collectors until the pipes separate. Been there done that.