header wrapping

[MiNi Beast]

ok so I just got sick of all that damn heat in the cab from the exhaust. So I want to eliminate some heat and aide in helping the new cooling system. So order 100ft of black exhaust wrap and i be fixin to wrap the jeep headers. But want to know  if anyone 😕 done this with good results? And shall I also wrap the down pipe as well as it runs under the cab? 

[Pete M]

out of curiosity, does your trans tunnel have the lower shifter boot intact?

[Dzimm]

Be very cautious about doing this.  It works well for performance cars and such but when you throw in the dirt and mud that a Jeep sees, the dirt can't escape the wrap and I've seen some guys have there headers rust completely through because of it.  

[75sv1]

I have wrapped a header. This was on my '75 Bricklin. Trust me, that's like sticking your head in an oven. Yes, wrapping a header will cut the heat down, a lot. I experienced rust on those headers. Scaling type rust. I had those headers ceramic coated, Jet Coated. Reduced the heat as much. No, rust. Doug Thorley makes a good ceramic coated header. 

[coolwind57]

I used to own a ceramic coatings business where the vast majority of my work was for exhaust components.  Here's my experience:

 

One of the issues with using header wrap is that it causes so much thermal damage to the headers.  Ceramic coatings allow for adequate, normal cooling after the engine is shutdown.  Wraps hold that heat in, causing significant thermal damage/fatigue.

 

I've unwrapped SEVERAL headers and 9 times out of 10 it isn't a pretty sight.  Usually flaking, rotted out material and busted welds.  I thinking one is asking too much of the metal when you put it under those conditions.  Ceramic coatings are actually good for exhaust components--cuts down on underhood temperatures quite well, and it is purported that they affect exhaust gas scavenging--you may get get a horse or two just by the coating.  Your underhood temps get dropped, which is good in many ways--even helps to preserve your little plastic connectors and tubing from aging so much and shattering as you mess with them.

 

57 minutes ago, 75sv1 said:

This was on my '75 Bricklin.

I'm a big Bricklin fan.  I once bought #360 on eBay, a '74.  I officially owned the car for less than an hour.  I reneged on the deal as it turned out to be such a basket case.  It was terrible what had been done to that car.  I once talked with a guy that worked at the factory.  Fascinating stuff he told me.  Great, yet bizarre automotive history.  I still long to have a Bricklin one day.     

 

[MiNi Beast]

Well now I'm kinda reluctant on doing it. 

[gogmorgo]

I’ve also done it on small race cars. It seems to do its job, but it’s a pain in the @$$ to get it wrapped nicely and secured in a way that looks good, and yeah, it hangs onto everything that will soak into it. Water is bad because rust, and yes any pipe I’ve unwrapped looks like a piece of junk, but if you’ve got oil leaks, it’ll turn itself into an oil lamp on you pretty quick. On one of our cars we had a bit of a tuning issue that lead to super high exhaust temps, and it burnt through aluminum components around any tiny gap in the wrap. 
After that incident we switched to the ceramic coating, and it lead to much better results. 

[Pete M]

so what's the state of the rubber boot?

[JMO413]

13 hours ago, Pete M said:

so what's the state of the rubber boot?

Agreed. Mine was tore pretty bad. Installed a new one and much cooler in the heat and warmer in the cold.

[MiNi Beast]

What rubber boot?  I need new floors before I care about the boot, which is in ok shape. ok so thinking wrapping 🤔 and get real exhausted to worry about the down side of it this year.. run it through the lake to keep it cool on the inside i reckon. 

[Wounded_Fighter]

Pacesetter headers actually states it voids warranty on headers if you wrap them.

 

(Found out after the fact)

 

[MiNi Beast]

On 6/18/2020 at 6:35 PM, Pete M said:

out of curiosity, does your trans tunnel have the lower shifter boot intact?

Confirmation of negative on the lower shifter boot. Heat source.....

[MiNi Beast]

On 6/20/2020 at 3:52 PM, Wounded_Fighter said:

Pacesetter headers actually states it voids warranty on headers if you wrap them.

 

(Found out after the fact)

 

nice. How so you get those bands to tighten? 

[75sv1]

On 6/20/2020 at 3:52 PM, Wounded_Fighter said:

Pacesetter headers actually states it voids warranty on headers if you wrap them.

 

(Found out after the fact)

 

Nice wrap job though. Looks like you have the Armour coat headers. I'd doubt they would rust then. It would be interesting about the gains or less heat from just a ceramic coated header. And the Brown Dogs look good too.

[Pete M]

your floors are what seals out the heat.  I would focus on getting some steel/rubber in there before getting too crazy with insulation.

 

a TJ shifter boot is supposed to be a good fit for our trucks  

[Wounded_Fighter]

3 hours ago, 75sv1 said:

Nice wrap job though. Looks like you have the Armour coat headers. I'd doubt they would rust then. It would be interesting about the gains or less heat from just a ceramic coated header. And the Brown Dogs look good too.

I left it on, I figured by the time it actually rusts out I'll throw a turbo at it too.

don't remember actual time frame, but I want to so 5-10m idle I could still grab the header. (Had to tighten something up so I had to test it lol)

[MiNi Beast]

I'm going to get a lower boot and some new pans as I would like to get carpet back in it. 

[mnkyboy]

I run a wrapped header on my MJ, first one lived around 10 years before it cracked at one of the tubes, when i put the new one on a couple years ago I wrapped it too.

 

The wrap will hold in heat, overheating the metal making it more brittle and causing the header to fail faster, but it lowers temps under my hood and keeps heat away from my supercharger and intercooler, so the possibly shorter life span is worth it to me.

 

 

[MiNi Beast]

10 hours ago, mnkyboy said:

I run a wrapped header on my MJ, first one lived around 10 years before it cracked at one of the tubes, when i put the new one on a couple years ago I wrapped it too.

 

The wrap will hold in heat, overheating the metal making it more brittle and causing the header to fail faster, but it lowers temps under my hood and keeps heat away from my supercharger and intercooler, so the possibly shorter life span is worth it to me.

 

 

That's what I wanted someone to say to justify myself doing it. Sounds like me, solve current issues and deal with any new ones as they come up. If I get 10 years out of a header I'd be damn impressed wrapping or not. 😆 

I'm wrapping it tonight and wet and glass like.