I've had my pacesetter LTs and ORY for about 5 years now. Got them brand new ceramic coated. Looked amazing out of the box, but that quickly faded.

Currently they look heinous with heavy rust starting halfway down the pipes. only small sections of ceramic coating remain near the very top on each side. The Y-pipe is FINE, no rust at all. The rust has actually now gone strait through and now that it's colder outside I can see leaks puffing out of the pin-sized rustholes right before the collectors. Not to mention the wonderful sound of the exhaust leaks.

This is my year round daily driver through rain, snow and salty roads. I fear one more salty winter is going to to ruin them beyond repair.

How can i save them before they completely disintegrate? I think header wraps would make the rust even worse. Weld the holes up? exhaust putty? JB weld?
I've gone through cans and cans of Rustoleum High Heat and other header paints rated to 1200* and they've all quickly worn off offering no protection.

Any advise to save my headers?

 

Mine are starting to rust too. Must be a common issue. And I havent really driven my car in much rain or bad weather.

 

Im worried the metal is so thin that a tig welder might burn a bigger hole than I already have.

dissapointing product quality

 

I had the same issue with another set of headers. I didn't drive in the snow, but they still rusted under the car. I didn't realize how bad it was until I started the car up after winter storage and backed it out of the garage. Right where the car was sitting was a pile of rust under each header and a few chunks still in shape of the primary.

Luckily I had bought a set of LPP headers and just put them on this summer. I have a friend with PS LT's and he is in the same boat as you. No winter driving, but the coating is 90% gone under the car. Looks great from the top though after 4 years.

 

I suspect severe rust will be the case with any mild steel header.