mine have rusted pretty fast i was very disapointed. the dont salt roads here. i think the coating is not every thing it is supposed to be.

 

OK, reading all of this is seriously dissapointing to read since I just had some JET HOT coated Mac's put on my daily-driver '95 Z28...

So I guess my question is how much harm will it do my car to run with rusty headers (once they do rust of course)? Is there just a certain point at which it will be unsafe for the motor/underhood temps to run with rusted out headers? Basically, how long can you go with them once they do start to rust bad? Remember, this car is my DD here in the salty winters of Chicago and will always sit outside unfortunately...

If this is really case, then I feel like I've completely wasted my $$$ and means I'll have to replace them with some stainless Kooks LT's once the time comes since I do NOT want to deal with the hassle of getting these headers off/on for re-coating if they're just going to rust out again shortly thereafter...

Mike

 

the rust looks like $hit but is not a big concern other then that.

 

I'm not exactly the most familiar with non-stainless header longevity, so if anyone could thoroughly answer my above question I'd greatly appreciate it...

I honestly don't care if they do end up rusting fairly bad over time (it's never going to be a show car! ), but as long as they'll do their job effectively I'll run them forever...I know people recommend the Jet Hot coating to help keep the underhood temps down, but I wonder how much of a factor this becomes both performance & safety-wise on a car that the headers have lost the coating?

Thanks again.

 

To answer your question: It won't hurt anything to drive with rusty headers. In fact, depending on your driving habits, even mild steel headers may last for a very,very long time. You can safely drive with them until they rust enough to hear exhaust noise from any pinholes that develop. Once they perforate at all, you should think about replacement. Header temps are high enough that condensation isn't as bad a problem as it is further back in the system, so you probably have quite a while before you need to worry.

 

Nope,but i slapped a v6 cat on the back of the y-pipe before i went through emissions.

 

When you guys got a quote for your headers was shipping & handleing included w/ your quoted price????
-brandon

 

I just sent my JetHots in on Saturday....
All I had to do was ship them and include a paper in the box with my customer number, which you can get from JetHot if you call them,
and what I wanted done.
They also instructed me to include my phone number so that they could call me.
So far I haven't heard anything.
I'll keep you posted as to time frame.

 

you should be able to send them back to jet for a full, no questions asked warranty for two years. then a limited warranty for one year after that. but jet is usually pretty good at re-coating for free.+ the reason us people up here in chi are getting fast rust on our jets is because contrary to pop. beliefe, the coating is not composed of ceramic, but a certain grade of aluminum. and it has NO rust protection. but the fact still remains that they DO the job they are supposed to.
if you bought them less than two years ago, you're fine. the re-coating shouldn't be questioned....

 

Even 304 will rust on the surface, but most likely when it gets scratched by mild steel. 316 stainless is even more rust resistant than 304. It is used in areas that may be exposed to salt. 304 will rust when exposed to salt, minor surface rust and in extreme applications will even eat or pit 304 stainless. I build processing equipment for the cheese and dairy industry and have seen some bad stuff before. It is hard to believe but salt will eat stainless. Stainless steel is rust resistant, not rust proof

 

"Stainless" doesn't mean there will be no corrosion. It is simply a term applied to steels with added alloying materials (most importantly chromium and nickel) that make it more resistant to corrosion to varying degrees. Virtually any steel will rust in a salt solution if the concentrations are high enough and the exposure is long enough. That said, 304 will last almost indefinitely in the environment a car will see (apparently not as corrosive an environment as a cheese vat ). 316 is an austenitic steel just like 304, it has more nickel though and a tad less chromium. It is not only more corrosion resistant than 304, but it can handle higher heat as well. Very pricey stuff.

 

uh... Are you reading that crap out of a textbook. I'll have to dig up my books from my apprenticeship, there Mr. Wizard I just wanted to let others know ,like you said, that just cause it is stainless that doesn't mean it won't rust. Most people don't know that, as the name fools most , but your "textbook" explaination was good. You made me feel like I was in class again, which was over 8 years ago!!!
It isn't the cheese vat, it is the brine tanks that most cheese floats in to help give it its flavor and other things( I build the equip. not make the cheese!!!). The salt content is extremely high most likely higher than the ocean. It tastes awful as it isn't just salt and water. I was on a job, not far from where I live that makes tons of cheese. We made a conveyor (316SS)to take cheese out of the brine so it could be blown dry and packaged. It wouldn't sit on the bottom of the brine tank and you can't see the bottom for sure. We had to stick our arms in there and find out what the hell was the problem. We found it. A Dewalt cordless drill in the bottom. All that was left was the case. There was very little left that was metal. I didn't even check the battery! Maint. Dept. was looking for one of there drills that an outside contractor used and didn't return. We found it!

 

Some valid points posted, but all scientific reasoning aside, I have seen 304 exhaust on many cars that still looks like new after many years. The 304 will turn slightly gold from the heat, but otherwise should look good & last for a long time. Mine are 6 years old & still look like they did after the first week of use.

 

94greenmachine makes some valid points. Based on similar experience in choosing materials of construction for the process industries, most stainless, except for those with very high molybdenum content, do not like exposure to chlorides. They will pit. Road salt would be a source of chlorides. And, contamination of stainless steel with carbon steel will expose the contaminated areas to high corrosion rates and pitting. During fabrication, use of a carbon steel wire brush, clamps or other tools will cause problems. It is possible to remove CS contamination with an acid wash.

 

I've been the route of acid wash also on equipment. Done by hand, pickel paste does work. When in contact with skin, it only takes about 30 secs. and it burns like hell. Passivation is also an option. If you do have to grind the rust, avoid using very aggressive grits sand paper. They tend to "smear" it around and embed it deeper into areas. Stick with a 120 Grit or lighter . I believe Jet hot will recoat headers, even rusty ones but I am unsure of their process. I would hope they would sand blast and then passivate . Never asked.