Glowing red headers...

[358stroker]

I changed my intake this weekend and when I put it back together and fired her up I noticed my headers were glowing red within 2 minutes or so.

My electric fan turned on within 60 seconds or so, so the car is obviously getting hot very very quickly.

any ideas on WTF is going on???

 

[86mustang5.oh]

is it a aftermarket intake? maybe its too rich.....friends s-10 did that and burnt a few valves fuqing chevy

 

[86mustang5.oh]

i mean lean by the way not rich too much air

 

[358stroker]

Yes it's a Trick FLow Track Heat. I had an old GT-40 before.

 

[poneypower89]

wow, just changing intakes should not cause that problem...

did someone stick some potatoes in ur exhaust for an extreme case of backpressure??? lol jk

 

[GREYFOX4INCH]

my old monte carlo did that when the cat went bad and clogged up, i guess to much back pressure can cause that. it may not apply to you but i thought i would mention it
double check all your fuel stuff.??

edit: someone above mentioned a lean mixture, maybe you have an intake leak and your sucking in air that is not being accounted for

 

[dragnazz5.0]

how is the timing? maybe its way too retarded and its firing as the exhaust valve is opening. maybe not, im just throwing out some suggestions

 

[358stroker]

I don't have cats, so that couldn't be the issue.

I suppose the timing could be off, but the car starts and idles. Although the idle is very high around 1200. Never was high before. I swear I put the distrubutor back in the way it came out so I'm not sure how the timing could be that far off...

 

[dragnazz5.0]

my guess would be a bad vacuum leak than, if its idling that high. probably wouldnt hurt to check the timing either.

 

[358stroker]

To check for a vaccum leak what's the best type of spray to use? Carb spray, Brake cleaner etc??

 

[dragnazz5.0]

carb spray or starter fluid. or you can take a spray bottle with water in it...it does the exact opposite and will bog the motor down instead of revving it up. id prefer the water method since you dont want to spray ether or whatever on a glowing red hot header.

 

[358stroker]

I can try it, I just don't want to start it for too long as those headers glowing couldn't be a good thing.

 

[dastang2]

you might as well not even try that. you know there is a leak somewhere. just make sure all the bolts are tightened and in the right order. replace gaskets if needed.

 

[Roland69]

you said it idles at 1200 that's a good sign of running lean. Also every time you take your dizzy out you should hook the timing light up at least I do just to make sure but that dosn't sound like it's the problem.

 

[358stroker]

Roland69, what is the "dizzy", do you mean distributor?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

yeah, he means the distributor

 

[crazypete]

Run a bead of clear rtv around the intake->head mating surface down around the intake->block surface and seal the intake to the motor. Dont remove the intake, just run it along the outside along the 2 surfaces. Then see what happens. This usually fixes it for me.

Also double check your oil. If the intake is leaking to atmosphere then it might not be properly seated and you may have coolant dripping into the lifter valley as well.

If it makes you feel better, took me 3 tries to get my edelbrock intake to seal up against my gt-40p irons. Finally I ran the RTV bead and no problems since.

 

[358stroker]

I guess I don't understand how a vacuum leak could cause my headers to glow...

 

[crazypete]

Your high idle indicates that the intake is leaking.

This causes the engine to run very lean...combined with the higher idle, it pumps out a lot of heat.

 

[mike50sa]

Sounds like the intake gasket is blocking the water passage, keeping the coolant from flowing through the intake and making it hot. Double check it. Vacuum leaks will make it run like crap, but won't cause it to get that hot, that quick.

Good luck!:SNSign: