headers glowing red

pacesco

New Member
Jan 21, 2004
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0
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first let me give you a little info on my build on my 95.
i have a 347 with;
cast RHS 200/64 heads
i am running around 9.8:1 compression (just running 93 oct pump gas)
70mm tb
80mm mass air calibrated for 30lb injectors
30lb injectors
255lph fuel pump
comp cams .555 int lift .570 exh lift 224 int duration 236 exh duration
mac long tube 1-3/4 ceramic headers
trick flow box r intake
anderson ford motorsport series 4 pms

ok, so here is what is going on. after i started it up and left it idle and some quick small revs for approx 10 min i tach it up to around 3000 rpm for 30 seconds and the headers turn cherry red on both sides. is it possible to run the engine to lean with fuel injection on a naturally aspired engine? it doesn't seem to have any miss to it and has good throttle response. i pulled one of the spark plugs and it doesn't show signs of being lean.....:shrug:
 
headers don't get coolant....and can't run stock exhaust with long tubes.

i had this problem with my 331 when i put it in. the distributor was shot. I had tons of problems with the idle, it seemed to make a lot of noise when you got on it, but it never went any where. check to make sure your timing is set right. it's probably not anything to do with the fuel since you put a 255lph pump in it.
 
i am runnig at around 10 deg advance base.. i am running the stock ignition and distibutor. for what it is worth the car only had 50k miles on it before i decided to do the engine upgrade..
i am runnning a bbk x pipe with cats (i have to have these for pa inspections) and 5" supertrapp muffles with the disc's out of them for right now.
 
headers don't get coolant....and can't run stock exhaust with long tubes.

i had this problem with my 331 when i put it in. the distributor was shot. I had tons of problems with the idle, it seemed to make a lot of noise when you got on it, but it never went any where. check to make sure your timing is set right. it's probably not anything to do with the fuel since you put a 255lph pump in it.

I was thinking heads DUH!!!!! I'm such a newb!!!
 
thought about that.... i also thought it could just be because i was not putting any load on the motor....

maybe being to cautious...:shrug:

i guess what i am trying to find out is if it is possible to run it to lean?


I'm not sure but I do not that when I was setting idle parameters, via the TwEECer, which required 20 second no load rpms between idle and 2K rpm, my headers were beet red (HOTTTT). So hot it melted the shield over the clutch cable (eventually had to be replaced). So I don't think theres anything wrong - just how it is. But I would suggest not doing it on a regular though.
 
same thing happened to me methodical. had to replace my clutch cable numerous times cause it was melting it. i started wraping heat tape around it.

as far as your lean condition, yes you can get too lean on a fuel injected engine. i still say you need to upgrade your ignition system. start with a coil.
 
Check fuel.

You could be either super lean or super rich.

Sometimes if the engine is soooo rich that it can't burn all the fuel it will burn in the headers and make them glow red. :(

I think it's going to be a fuel issue do the the new engine not getting enough fuel or getting too much fuel.

I'd start by checking your plugs to see what they look like and checking fuel pressure and see what it is.

Good luck! :nice:
 
I had the exact same problem with my car. When I installed an O2 sensor, I ended up damaging a wire. At the time I had a shortband mixture gauge hooked up, but it was hooked up to the damaged oxygen sensor. Anyway, it ended up running the car pig rich which caused the headers to glow cherry red. Probably running too rich.

Kurt