for the longest time now, my pacesetter header has had a leak. no matter what i try, it just leaks somewhere else. i've tried a combination of different gaskets, still no help. stock or pacesetter. well in the instructions, it says to use permatex ultra copper gasket maker. well , you'd figure that would help, so i tried it. now it just leaks more AND, i went to take off the header, wont budge. its like trying to pull it off when it's still bolted on. i'm getting no movement. i'm afraid to even drive my car because i heard if you have a leak there it can warp some kind of valves or something. so for now i'm driving my beater, which is a peice, and i dont know if that will last. any ideas?

 

I havent had any problems with my pacesetter. Maybe its time u take it to a real exhaust shop and have them fix it right

 

Seems like solid advice to me.

 

well in my town, 'exhaust shop' means 'catback'. how would they get it off the engine? or even 'fix' it

 

get a new header. amd to get it off hit it with a hammer =)

 

well is it safe to drive it like it is? i mean, the leaks arent HUGE but they are there.
i have no money now, owe 270 to lawyer, 700 to mother, 250 to bank, and just dropped 1300 getting the beater fixed.

 

my advice, which you probably won't like, is if you don't have EXTRA money to spend, don't mod your car anymore... you should always have some extra money in case something does happen, and when you mod your car, something usually will go wrong at some point... as far as getting it off, not sure how it will work... i don't think the leak will be that bad for a while if it's only a small one, but i would get it taken care of as soon as you can.

 

as long as your leak isent bad you shouldnt have any problems

 

well i havent modded my car in a while, i've had th e pacesetter for along time, i just want to get it fixed in case i should need to drive it.

 

prybar and leverage while tapping on it with a mallet... i hate copper gasket seal.

are you sure the leak isn't at the collector or further downstream? i have quite the big leak on my cat-back/mid-pipe flange...

 

You have bigger problems then your header. You shouldn't have two cars if you are in debt like that. You need to sell one, probably the Cobalt.

 

I don't think the silicone would hold it on that tight are you sure you got all the nuts off.

 

pacesetter = ****! plain and simple. spend the money and get quality parts not cheep parts because it going to cost you more in the long run. sorry to hear about you header

 

yeah, i' had a leak at the collector too, but got that fixed. i know its at the engine, because i can see little brown marks where you can tell exhaust has been.

dont worry about my money...i've got it under control.. 270 to lawyer was from a ticket a while back, i gott apay him off so i can get probation., have a month to pay that off, 250 to bank was my own choice...wal mart had its last wii in stock and i couldnt help myself. the 700 to my mom was because she payed for half of the repair bill of the 1300 bill for the beater to be fixed, and hers i dont have to pay back soon. its been half a week and i have 150 dollars saved up in tips from my job.....i've been through this before...1000 dollars isnt much to me.

and yeah, the only reason i got the pacesetter was because some guy was selling it to me for cheap in my town, brand new in box still

 

question, when you installed the header, did you use a new gasket? or the one that was on there already

 

actually the pacesetter is the best for our 2.2Lers (next to gmpp). all the others have fitment issues hitting the firewall.

 

i used the pacesetter gasket.

update: got the header off...lifted car up and started movin the exhaust system around, came off like a charm. BUT, i cant get the gasket off of the engine, lol. thats going to be the hard part. should i even keep bothering with the pacesetter one? or should i just deal with it like it is, and just order like the gmpp one with a downpipe after i get some money?

thank you for that diagram, might help if i tightened it up in the right order next time :P

 

please tell me you put the razzi kit on a 2.2... because if you did that to the SS i'd have to condemn you

 

question, when you put on the pacesetter, did you 100% fully get off all of the old gasket? if not, that's probably why it was leaking.... even a tiny bit still left on will not give it a tight seal

 

use a copper gasket it will help seal the imperfections and not the copper gasket maker, a real ecotec copper gasket.

 

where would i get that? i think the pacesetter gasket is copper

 

I tryed to get my "exhaust shop" to put my headdrs on my stang and they said they dont touch headders with a 90ft. pole and i would have to go to a "machanic" to get them installed. (WTF)

 

SCE-9431

$23.69
Estimated Ship Date: 3/24/07
Overview Application Warranty
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Brand: Specialty Component Engineering (SCE)
Product Line: SCE Pro Copper Exhaust Gaskets
Port Style: Stock
Gasket Material: Copper
Quantity: Sold individually.

Exhaust Gaskets, Header, Copper, Stock Port, Ecotec, Set

* Check to make sure this part fits your application

Copper sealing for your exhaust.
Made from reusable .062 in. thick flat annealed copper, these SCE Pro Copper exhaust gaskets will conform to rough or damaged surfaces to provide a tight, leak-proof seal. They're recommended for race use only.

 

sweet info...but what site is that from? is that gm part number or something?

 

i know when i took my exhaust off, i had to pick with a screwdriver to get the old gasket 100% off.. it was almost melted on there it seemed... it was a big pain in the ass