Hey its me again. Question. I put BBK headers on my 2003 F-150 5.4. After the installation, I could hear what I thought was an exhaust leak. I dropped the pipes and reinstalled them, Same sound. So I took it to a custom exhaust place to have it checked for a leak. Quess what (No Leak). So my question is, does anyone in the forum world have these headers and do they make a ticking noise when you driving under a load or when your in overdrive?? SIGNED: Tired of the ticking.

 

how do you have the headers connected to the rest of the exuast?

If you still have factory cats on, you may have broken part of one of em, when you pulled them to gain access to the bottom of the block.

As for that brand, i wouldnt think that it should make a ticking. also you could check the gasket to make sure it is seated correctly.

Could be b,c your truck is louder, that now you hear it, b.c its like a fouled plug or something. Do you notice any drop in performance under WOT? if so it might be a spark plug
-Patrick

 

I have had a similar situation several times on my mustangs, especially when the headers dump into a fairly quiet exhaust. In my cases, when changing from cast iron manifolds to tube headers, you can hear the exhaust pulses inside the pipe as an audible "ticking" sound that is normally not noticable. A true exhaust leak from an individual pipe is much louder and can sound like a collapsing lifter on a pushrod engine. Leaks AFTER the union of cyinders generally sounds more like a hummm or a burble. I know how frustrating exhaust leaks can be, so i wish you luck

 

I have the BBK headers, just installed them about 1 month ago on my 02 Expy. My exhaust is louder now than it was before with just my catback system.

I do not have the ticking you are reporting at idle, load or WOT, try taking a piece of garden hose 3'-4' and placing it around the engine where you think the ticking is coming from,listen to the other end it may help.

Sorry not much help.

 

I wrapped the tubes of my headers in my mustang with Exhaust wrap that is used on race cars. This will help reduce the noice and also lower the temperature under the hood.

 

i just put a set of pacesetter shorties on my truck and at idle and reving it up in the drive way you dont hear anything but when you drive under load i get a ticking noise and i have a mac catback and the stock pipe behind the headers

 

i hope they are stainless or ceramic coated- if the headers get wet at all- the tape will retain moisture and rust them out-fyi

 

Its normal based on my experience.
I put some bassani equal lenght headers on back in 01 and it sounded like a rattlesnake under my hood when under load.Removed them 2 months later confident that I would find signs of a leak,but none were apparent.Removed them again 6 months later and still no signs of a leak.Basically its the thin walls of the header itself(which makes them"noisy headers").Im about to pull the trigger on the dynatech long tubes,which are heavier gauge than my shorties.

fwiw

Frank

 

How much better will a vehicle sound with these headers. I have the option to buy some dirt cheap headers however they are not ceramic coated so Im curious as to if I will melt my spark plug wires. I plan to wrap it and spray it with hi temp silicone if I buy these. But heres the probelm Ill give the guy 20 for uncoated lightening shorty headers I need gaskets and hardware. Plus I will have to buy the insulator and such. I think I may just be better off to spend the money. But I want the sound!