Header Confusion

[Stormey]

i want to put an aftermarket header on, but on the exhaust manifold there is some kind of metal hosing. the headers dont have a place for to reinstall it.
is it important?
what does it do?
Do i need it?

 

[Mark_88]

The hose is used to allow warm air to be drawn into the intake while the engine warms up...not really needed...I removed mine but if you live in a cold climate it actually helps on cold starts...once the engine is warm it's not needed at all...

 

[4b316]

header

The metal pipe on your 88 is the EGR pipe and is needed for emission.It is not just to heat up the air.You don't say where you are from but quite a few states require this to pass inspection.If you want to update to a better header,go to ebay or the junkyard and pull a factory stock tube manifold from a 93 or 94 as these years have the EGR fitting on them along with the O2 sensor bung.You can get the fittings and weld on to a aftermarket header also but a bit more work.

 

[Mutant Pony]

There are aftermarket headers available with EGR and 02 sensor bungs.
The ones without are designed for racing where you remove that junk.
You just need to look harder, do a lot of research and ask questions before you buy.
Also, you will gain more by installing a big tube, free flowing exhaust with either the cast or tubular manifolds than you will gain by installing a header with the stock exhaust.
You won't gain much on a EFI Ranger no matter what you do to the exhaust so, don't spend a lot of money there.

 

[Mark_88]

The metal pipe on your 88 is the EGR pipe and is needed for emission.

Oh, that pipe...forgot about that because there is an opening like Mutant said on some of the shorty headers...the 93 Mazda 2300 had two openings...one of which I used for my EGR...but it also had a pre-heater hose connector...some may not have that...

 

[Kenneth S]

Your 88 should have the cast iron header on it, you probably won't see any difference with an aftermarket header unless your regulary turning your engine 7000+ rpms, if your after any real power turbocharging, or a 302 swap is your best bet.

 

[4b316]

I think we just had this discussion a little while ago.I posted a link to somewheres that had a good read on tubular exhaust vs cast.Also Grassroots racing magazine said that on the dyno a EFI mustang picked up almost 4hp with a switch from cast to a Ranger tubular and bigger pipe.Now 3 1/2 hp isn't alot but coupled with the weight savings from cast to tube its worth the effort.We,re happy with gaining one hp on the race truck every once in awhile when we try something.Go to www.adirondackspeedway.com and look at our truck,the black 22 driven by greg roes