[Hell Driver]

hey y'all.
I got my JBA shorty headers on and they sound great, except for when it rubs against the frame on left turns.
I've heard from others this is the norm with these headers and some have realigned the engine to make them fit.

I've been driving with them for 3 weeks now waiting for room in my schedule to get my engine realigned to fix the rubbing.

After talking with some car enthusiasts here at work they brought up points that I never thought hard about... "who designs headers that rub?!"
Is realigning the engine really necessary?... since other companies make headers that DON"T rub?

From posts I've read here, JBA apparently doesn't believe the calls that their headers are rubbing... despite the number of complaints.
Anyways, to my point.
I'm going to remove these JBA headers and get myself some headers that are designed to NOT rub and just wanted to ask you folks for recommendations.
I've heard of Gibson and hookers?
I'm specifically looking for shorty street legel headers so I don't have to deal with smog.
Any help will be appreciated.
Sorry, I am a little pissed about this so excuse the angry tone.

 

[dudeiwin86]

a lot of the lx car models dont rub. it depends on build date. as to which build date does or does not rub, i dont have a clue.

if i had to guess id say they designed em on one car, that probably never rubbed. and other cars it does.

i told my speed shop mechanic about the rub issue before having them installed incase he came across it, to bump the motor away from the passenger side. i havent had a problem with em and ive only had em a week.

 

[RTracer]

I dont know man, but I've had my headers on for nearly a year, installed on my back on my driveway with no rubbing ever.
Did you remove the motor mounts upon install?
I installed without that step and I've never had any rubbing issues.
I'm wondering if when folks do that, they misalign their engine upon re installing the mounts?

 

[RTracer]

Gibson makes a nice set. The pipes are a bitsmaler though.
I think they are 5/8ths vs the JBA 3/4 inch

 

[metgo]

I've never heard of headers rubbing. Can you hear it rubbing? There was one guy over at LXForums that said that jba catbacks are bad, and it melted some fitting on his drive shaft. Other than that I haven't heard any thing bad about JBA.

 

[RTracer]

I've never heard of headers rubbing. Can you hear it rubbing? There was one guy over at LXForums that said that jba catbacks are bad, and it melted some fitting on his drive shaft. Other than that I haven't heard any thing bad about JBA.

His problem was a result of a bad install

 

[TorRed #1169]

Had my JBA headers put on yesterday.

Didn't get a chance to really test drive them yet but I'll report if I see or hear any issues.


(Crossing fingers while typing....):ninja:

 

[PlumCrazyDaytona]

Mine rubbed but only because I caused the issue. Mine hit on the cross bar under the car. To fix this you need to rotate the down pipes or cats so the pipe runs higher in the tunnel under the car. Once you do this they won't rub taking left hand corners. I am sure if you get under the car and look you will see this is where they rub, also check to see where you mufflers end, make sure they are a fair distance from the chunk of rubber on the drive shaft and rear diff or you will have issues down the road. As to the headers rubbing I have a good 1/2 to full inch between my headers and fender wells

 

[blacksax1]

My JBA mid pipes rubbed, but I fixed that by loosening and then re-aligning
the pipes. Headers never rubbed.

 

[Hell Driver]

I had the dealer install my JBA shorties and they started rubbing from the getgo.
I took it in the next day so they can take a look at it and while the car was up on the lift he showed me, the the right header was making contact with the frame.. a vertical beam.
It's not necessarily rubbing but contact. When making a left turn I can feel the vibration.
A year ago I was T-Boned by a dodge neon but the frame was not affected.
A couple months ago my left wheel hit a curb but again the frame was ok.

 

[Ciscokid]

I thought Kooks had good headers. Does anyone have a set of those installed?

 

[dudeiwin86]

they do, but theyre long tubes. and they dont pass the cali smog whatever.

 

[Hemi_charger]

I had the dealer install my JBA shorties and they started rubbing from the getgo.
I took it in the next day so they can take a look at it and while the car was up on the lift he showed me, the the right header was making contact with the frame.. a vertical beam.
It's not necessarily rubbing but contact. When making a left turn I can feel the vibration.
A year ago I was T-Boned by a dodge neon but the frame was not affected.
A couple months ago my left wheel hit a curb but again the frame was ok.

um you might want to double check that! I haven't had an issue and have had them on the car for almost a year. I wonder if they pulled both of your mount and put the motor in a little off. I have yet to see the header rub on the frame

 

[BrianG]

Good to know Hemi Charger im getting mine on this week but i dont want any issues with the rubbing ill be watching the thread for any updates but thanks for the input makes me feel better about the install.

 

[Hell Driver]

that's a good point. I will have them check the motor mounts to make sure it is properly set.