When I put a straight edge up to my headers the center makes contact with it and the outter edges are about 1/2" away. Will the bolts pull the flange to the heads and make them seal, or is it too far away? And is it possible to have the flanges straigthened out? The headers are jethot longtubes that are about 3 years old if that matters.

 

wow 1/2"?? might as well buy new ones man sorry. it should be totally flat all the way across.

 

I've read here of people cutting the flange so it isn't all one piece, which seems to make sense to me. As long as the flange seals around the port area, there shouldn't be any problem.

 

Are you sure it is a half inch, that would be a pretty noticable dip. You could try some copper or aluminum gaskets and see if that works. Otherwise, maybe have a machine shop machine the surface so it is flat.

 

yeah i read a couple posts about people using a belt sander to some-what straighten the flange and then cutting it in two places and they did not have any problems afterward

 

If they machined it flat there would be no flange left in the middle.

 

1/2"

I'd say your not going to get them to seal with any gasket. Drawing them in with the bolts will only run the risk of stripping the bolt hole and ruining them as well.

The flange should be pretty straight. You can have them straightened out at any local metal fabrication or welding shop. Its not a big deal to have them fixed. Probably wouldn't cost more than $30-$40. No big deal for a fab shop.

 

Nevermind, the straight edge must not have been flat against it last time I checked. I went out and checked and there is 1/8" at most. I feel like a dumbass