I hate how low the crossover hangs. I would probibly take it out on the first crawling run

 

That is the jist of their arguement against wrapping...

looking at those pics they were'nt kidding in the literature when they said the chrome was decorative only and would cook off after a while, do they use road salt in mo? I wonder if the ceramic coated ones would have done any better? The routing looks pretty good... an additional frame mounted skid plate might provide more protection for anyone seriously rock crawling [which would probably be a good idea to better protect the tranny anyways]... Did you need to heatshield the starter at all? i saw you had to wrap the steering column... what diameter is the pipe just before the o2 sensor after the two sides join? same as stock?

 

ive never hit it yet and ive been wheeling several times.

these are not chrome, they are the ceramic coated. yes i wrapped the starter just to help. everything i wrapped was only to be safe. and i went with 2.5 inch piping all the way threw, since the collector is 2.5. it runs and sounds great, i think.i also used the dynomax high flow cat., and the ultraflow muffler.

 

I see now... how did you weld up the joints if the pipes were Ceramic coated? [speaking from position of ignorance here, I thought the coating would have made welding impossible]... the collector is 2.5? great I'm running that size from the manifold back now...

 

i had the local muffler shop do all the welding. i wonder if thats what made the coating flake off? i should check on the warrenty info.

 

i wonder if theres a high temp substance that i could put on my crossover to keep it from flaking... when i get mine, that is...

 

well, i talked to my buddy who owns an exhaust shop, and he told me that the best way to keep something like the crossover from flaking like that is to just go and have it ceramic coated... so, i guess thats what im gonna do... he said the last set of SBC headers he sent over there to get done were 100, so a crossover, he reckons, might be a bit chaper...

not bad for a lifetime of reliability...

 

these where ceramic coated fron thorley. all the way to the o2 sensor. and it still flaked off.

 

thats odd... but the headers themselsves are still in good shape, huh??

 

the headers themselves still look good, its all in the y pipe a back where all the road grime hits them. and looking at the warrenty info they are not going to cover this. it says rust and corrosion, flaking after install is not covered.

 

are they close to rusting through?

 

wonder why they don't coat the inside of the header too?

 

was that a joke??? i dont understand...

 

if the ceramic coating is so good for retaining heat... why not put it inside the header tubing? It would keep the heat from causing the piping to deteriorate / become brittle (which is why they say to not wrap the headers).
Some companies do it for the chrome plated Harley exhausts... and the chrome on the outside doesn't turn blue like a typical chrome exhaust... and actually remains cool enough that you can keep your fingers on the pipe for several seconds.

 

Putting these bad boys on make different on this engine 3.0 how do they sound would they be recommended!!!

 

was there supposed to be a period in there somewhere??

 

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k52HCHOSpr0[/YOUTUBE]

 

Pictures??

 

Ok, so far I love the Thorley headers. The 4Runner is getting between 18 and 21 mpg and has a lot more power. Keep in mind that I also replaced the passenger side head while I was tearing things apart because the back exhaust valve was cooked. The headers fit great and I also replaced the rest of the exhaust. The only prblem I had was where the O2 sensor was it rubbed the frame breaking one of the wires and frying the EFI fuse, fixed that and all was well. I would recommend these to anybody who has a 3.0 and wants to make an improvement without going to a 3.4. I was a little surprised at the price at first because I am used to working on small block Chevys, but the fit and the improvement are great. The 3.0 will never have the power of a V-8 but these headers helped a lot.

 

I would recommend these for anyone with a 3.0 and especially if you do not enjoy changing the heads.