I acquired "free" headers; keep or sell?

Jamison C

Jamison C

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The engine that was mated with my 42RLE has a set of AFE headers on it. They're about $820 new and are made in Corona, CA I believe.

https://afepower.com/afe-power-48-46202-twisted-steel-headers
All the specs check out as quality:

1/2" Thick Head Flange:
A 1/2" thick head flange is used for maximum strength and durability. The flange design is identical to the head port and is machined flat for a leak-free seal.

409 SS Construction:
This header is constructed of durable CNC mandrel bent 14-gauge 409 stainless steel tubing for maximum performance, corrosion resistance and strength eliminating cracking.

Anyhoo, I was thinking of throwing them on my Rubi because why not. I know the power differences are probably negligible just from a set of headers, but I also want to get a tune. Or should I just keep the OEM ones and sell these for a ROI?

Or will these help my Jeep pop and spit flames???
 
I have trouble messing with things when they work unless there's a pretty compelling reason. If it were me I'd probably either sell them or sit on them for later.
 
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No flex joints in his cast iron manifolds either, and they have been known to crack as well.

But with the shorty design, they aren't going to make a difference. A long tube header could be tuned to scavenge the exh at certain RPMs.
 
You likely wouldn't notice anh significant seat of the pants gains on an otherwise stock 4.0 with just those headers would be a much more accurate statement. And the bellows seem to have no impact on whether or not headers crack despite the often repeated line heard on here.
 
SkylinesSuck said:
You likely wouldn't notice anh significant seat of the pants gains on an otherwise stock 4.0 with just those headers would be a much more accurate statement. And the bellows seem to have no impact on whether or not headers crack despite the often repeated line heard on here.
Click to expand...
The only way you would notice any performance gains were IF installed them on a Stroker or Supercharged engine.
YES... tubular header on the 4.0L are prone to cracking too....
I went thru 4 of the Gale Banks headers on my '98 XJ which were a good quality header.
 
Making broad sweeping statements like that can be problematic, but note that I agreed OP wouldn't notice gains on a stock 4.0. Speaking specifically to strokers or superchargers, there's a lot more to it than that. The cylinder head is really the biggest bottleneck on the 4.0. Without touching that, there aren't huge gains to be had without forced induction. A ported head on a 4.0 could certainly benefit from a header.

I don't understand your point about tubular headers cracking. Never said they don't. I did say that the often praised version sold with the bellows on them cracks just add often as versions without it. I believe the split cast manifolds on later models have much less of a problem with that.

For JamisonC, if that's the only power mod you would likely ever do, it's probably not worth the time to install it. Sell it and invest money somewhere else. If that was a step down the road of modifying the engine though, those are supposed to be pretty good headers.
 
Sell and buy something useful.

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