Jeep Strokers

Hey there again, i feel like i abuse this site by only popping in when i have a question. Not that at all, just tend to get really busy. Anyway i'm getting closer to stabbing my 4.6 into the XJ and was wondering what your opinions were on exhaust and the common Thermal Wrapping made for headers. I've heard many people say how cherry red the manifolds/headers get during the initial break in and was wondering if this is something i should be concerned about if i were planning on wrapping my stock manifold with one of theses products. I have intensions on eventually upgrading to an aftermarket header, but for the break in do not want to risk ruining the finish on them. So instead I've opted to run the stock one for the first few miles or so. Any opinions on this or any first hand experience. Just curious, maybe ill be a genie pig.

~Justin

Thermal wrap does work, but for most headers it will void the warranty as it causes them to rust and/or crack. If you are going to run the stock one for break in and then switch to an after market header later don't even bother wasting any money on the stock one. However, for the aftermarket header you may want to consider something like Jethot 2000* or Turbo X 2000 powder coating. I just sent my thorley off to get Turbo X coated, so we will see how it holds up to cam break in.

Edit: under the header wrap the pipes will still glow.

Thanks for the info Silver. Warranty is not an issue for my old manifold I’m putting on there initially but will definitely keep that in mind for the new set whenever they come along. I’m actually familiar with the JET Hot stuff. My Uncle sent a pair of Thorley 440 headers off to them during his Ram Charger build and they turned out awesome. Unfortunately he requested a Satin finish and received the chrome like finish. After the cam break in and about 5000 mile the chrome looks satin at the top of all the tubes and starts about 8 inches up from the collectors. Now I do realize this is a completely different application but might be something to be concerned about yourself. Hesco actually vouched for that about 2 years ago when I purchased some of my internals through them. But I’ve never had any experience with it hands on. So who knows.

I personally will hold off on spending any large amount of money on something that is going to be replaced anyway. And some of that thermal wrap stuff can get a bit pricey for an old application. You made a very valid point there Silver. Was just looking for a cheap way to make the old rusted manifold look up to par with the rest of the engine. Anyone have any tips or tricks for a sensible price. I'm guessing there’s no paint out there that will last through those temps.

Justin

I've heard that about the lower temp ceramic that jet hot uses. That it will dull after a cam break in. I went with a higher temp coating comparable to their 2000* stuff. Also, what ever ceramic coating that thorley uses has flaked off on me. There are other companies that charge less than Jet Hot does as well.

Let me us know how that holds up for you, im very curious myself, might be taking the same route myself in the upcomming days.