Stan's Headers great experience today
02-19-2008, 05:20 PM
#1
Contributing Member
Thread Starter
Stan's Headers great experience today
Ever since the Thorley headers were put on, I've been dealing with an EGR valve leak from the tube leading to the header. On top of that, I have been wanting to install the budbuild crossmember skid but was unable to because of the jardine exhaust design. I decided that a trip to Stan's headers in Auburn, WA was in order. They are the only local shop I know of who has mandrel bending machinery and specializes in headers. I drove out there this morning and met Eddie who did the work for me today.
My entire day was a good experience. Eddie is Hawaiian and I must say a master craftsman in addition to being a really, really good guy. He explained my current exhaust setup was suboptimal, as the thorley tubes were not joining to the jardine at the same diameter, and the collector tube was also a different diameter. It was something like this: 2 1/4" going to 2 1/2" and then a restriction of 2" at the O2 sensor, followed by 2 1/4" through the cat/muffler/tailpipe. So my flow was seriously messed up in addition to the EGR valve leak at the header and clearance issue. (I ended up not being satisfied with the jardine exhaust for the 3.0, it has some major problems and I am glad it's gone).
fast forward, Stan himself and I are talking together over lunch, about hunting, Ted Nugent's book "God, Guns and Rock&Roll", headers, gaskets, exhaust performance, and he told me some great stories about the early days of Stan's Headers. What a guy. He values his employees and takes care of them, everyone told me that it is NOT EASY to get a job there and nobody leaves, it is a family business and their headers are very nice, beefy flanges too. saw some sick (amazing) trucks there today too.
from the waiting room I hear the 4runner start and it sounds different already, Eddie called me in and showed me his handiwork, he mandrel rerouted the entire front exhaust so that it routes around the xmember skid, and the 2 sides collect at angles maximizing the flow. They are tight to the armor, the clearance is MILES better than before, I must have gained at least 8 inches from the lowest point on the jardine which was WAY too low. (below the budbuilt xmember in 1 place!) He fabricated a new tube from the EGR to the header, added hangers and support, completely sealed the exhaust, and the entire system is now 2 1/4", from header to tailpipe, with no restrictions.
Eddie advised me that it would sound and feel different on the way home and he was very right. I never realized how important exhaust is before, it is absolutely critical! if you have a 3vze with headers and performance mods like I do, don't skimp on the exhaust like I did getting a package price from jardine when I got the thorley headers. I would DEFINITELY go custom and not a pre-fabbed exhaust like downey/jardine etc. I never realized how much power I was losing due to my patchwork exhaust and EGR leak, I mean I was losing a LOT of power. Some may remember that I was even considering a re-gear to 5.29 with my 33" manual transmission because I couldn't figure out where my power was going. I have tuned everything, plugs, cap, rotor, still doggish. Today I finally found the answer in the exhaust. I was flying down the highway, and going up hills in 5th gear that I was taking floored in 4th before. The last thing I also want to mention is the sound, before today the resonance of the exhaust kicked in at about 3200RPM, now I am getting that solid resonance that tells me the headers kicked in at 2600RPM, this never happened before. I was hitting 70MPH at 3000RPM, it was absolutely perfect. Having this done today was one of the best things I've done. I can't recommend Stan's Headers enough for custom exhaust work, especially if you have headers. Stan was just a prince of a guy, and Eddie is a real Hawaiian with the aloha spirit in addition to his totally awesome work. I can't wait to drive again tomorrow as it has just become a whole lot more fun. I'll say it again that I had no idea how important the exhaust (and stopping exhaust leaks) is!!!!
My entire day was a good experience. Eddie is Hawaiian and I must say a master craftsman in addition to being a really, really good guy. He explained my current exhaust setup was suboptimal, as the thorley tubes were not joining to the jardine at the same diameter, and the collector tube was also a different diameter. It was something like this: 2 1/4" going to 2 1/2" and then a restriction of 2" at the O2 sensor, followed by 2 1/4" through the cat/muffler/tailpipe. So my flow was seriously messed up in addition to the EGR valve leak at the header and clearance issue. (I ended up not being satisfied with the jardine exhaust for the 3.0, it has some major problems and I am glad it's gone).
fast forward, Stan himself and I are talking together over lunch, about hunting, Ted Nugent's book "God, Guns and Rock&Roll", headers, gaskets, exhaust performance, and he told me some great stories about the early days of Stan's Headers. What a guy. He values his employees and takes care of them, everyone told me that it is NOT EASY to get a job there and nobody leaves, it is a family business and their headers are very nice, beefy flanges too. saw some sick (amazing) trucks there today too.
from the waiting room I hear the 4runner start and it sounds different already, Eddie called me in and showed me his handiwork, he mandrel rerouted the entire front exhaust so that it routes around the xmember skid, and the 2 sides collect at angles maximizing the flow. They are tight to the armor, the clearance is MILES better than before, I must have gained at least 8 inches from the lowest point on the jardine which was WAY too low. (below the budbuilt xmember in 1 place!) He fabricated a new tube from the EGR to the header, added hangers and support, completely sealed the exhaust, and the entire system is now 2 1/4", from header to tailpipe, with no restrictions.
Eddie advised me that it would sound and feel different on the way home and he was very right. I never realized how important exhaust is before, it is absolutely critical! if you have a 3vze with headers and performance mods like I do, don't skimp on the exhaust like I did getting a package price from jardine when I got the thorley headers. I would DEFINITELY go custom and not a pre-fabbed exhaust like downey/jardine etc. I never realized how much power I was losing due to my patchwork exhaust and EGR leak, I mean I was losing a LOT of power. Some may remember that I was even considering a re-gear to 5.29 with my 33" manual transmission because I couldn't figure out where my power was going. I have tuned everything, plugs, cap, rotor, still doggish. Today I finally found the answer in the exhaust. I was flying down the highway, and going up hills in 5th gear that I was taking floored in 4th before. The last thing I also want to mention is the sound, before today the resonance of the exhaust kicked in at about 3200RPM, now I am getting that solid resonance that tells me the headers kicked in at 2600RPM, this never happened before. I was hitting 70MPH at 3000RPM, it was absolutely perfect. Having this done today was one of the best things I've done. I can't recommend Stan's Headers enough for custom exhaust work, especially if you have headers. Stan was just a prince of a guy, and Eddie is a real Hawaiian with the aloha spirit in addition to his totally awesome work. I can't wait to drive again tomorrow as it has just become a whole lot more fun. I'll say it again that I had no idea how important the exhaust (and stopping exhaust leaks) is!!!!
Last edited by taikowaza; 02-19-2008 at 05:24 PM.
02-20-2008, 12:06 PM
#2
Contributing Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: maple ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 9,055
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes
on
5 Posts
Glad you got it all worked out! I can't belive the jardine system bottlenecked to 2" at the o2 sensor! Sounds like they used the stock flange/pipe section in their system.
How about a new sound clip?
How about a new sound clip?
02-20-2008, 12:15 PM
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: St.Croix Falls WI, Calumet MI
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That sounds like an amazing experience and I just want to say that I commend you for giving someone what they gave you. An exceptional part of your time and attention.
02-20-2008, 04:06 PM
#5
Contributing Member
Thread Starter
Thorley Headers/Stan's Exhaust
Jay351 and slednutjetskier- thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I can't believe it either that the original 2" stock flange/pipe section was reused in the jardine exhaust. I also can't believe how much power I was losing, going from the headers into a 2.5" dead area and then down, and up again, and into the 2" bottleneck and then 2 1/4" again, what a mess that was. SO yeah! I'm so much happier now, I am going to take some pics of the new exhaust once I get the marlin clutch put in and the budbuilt xmember skid is re-attached (took it down for the clutch install). Even though Eddie and Stan wanted to weld everything together permamently, since I had a clutch install coming up, they used some really beefy round clamps made for big trucks, they do not deform the mandrel pipe like cheaper clamps do. This way, when the tranny needs to be dropped, it can be reinstalled without being cut and messed up.
skirig- as to your question " thorley headers all the way to the cat" the answer is no. I bought the jardine exhaust when I got the thorley headers (I think thorley was bought by jardine). At the time I was very happy because I didn't know about clearance, and pipe diameter, I just felt that since it was 'made for the 3.0' then it must be perfect. Little did I know, but now I am a firm believer in custom exhausts because everybody's truck will be different. The difference from the way it was before, to the way it is now, is really big. Before it was hanging down way below the budbuilt crossmember and was all over the place, now it is snug and all the same diameter, and with the leaks plugged and the new geometry, it really feels different and sounds way better.
Oh yeah, by the way, I remember having such a hard time choosing the brand of cat and muffler that I was going to buy back in the day. I was having an especially hard time deciding between magnaflow and flowmaster. Stan and I had a big talk, he is a huge magnaflow fan and also loves glasspacks I am also very, very happy with my magnaflow cat and muffler and I recommend also putting a resonator tip on there, it does make a difference and gets the sound even lower and rumbled without being aggressive and ricer
skirig- as to your question " thorley headers all the way to the cat" the answer is no. I bought the jardine exhaust when I got the thorley headers (I think thorley was bought by jardine). At the time I was very happy because I didn't know about clearance, and pipe diameter, I just felt that since it was 'made for the 3.0' then it must be perfect. Little did I know, but now I am a firm believer in custom exhausts because everybody's truck will be different. The difference from the way it was before, to the way it is now, is really big. Before it was hanging down way below the budbuilt crossmember and was all over the place, now it is snug and all the same diameter, and with the leaks plugged and the new geometry, it really feels different and sounds way better.
Oh yeah, by the way, I remember having such a hard time choosing the brand of cat and muffler that I was going to buy back in the day. I was having an especially hard time deciding between magnaflow and flowmaster. Stan and I had a big talk, he is a huge magnaflow fan and also loves glasspacks
I am also very, very happy with my magnaflow cat and muffler and I recommend also putting a resonator tip on there, it does make a difference and gets the sound even lower and rumbled without being aggressive and ricer
Last edited by taikowaza; 02-20-2008 at 04:08 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
GreatLakesGuy
The Classifieds GraveYard
8
09-04-2015 09:27 AM
