For those with coated headers.....

[BLLDOGG]

i have had my headers for a good 5 months or so and i have recently started to run pretty lean and my guess is probably an 02 sensor or two. i was at the track tonight hanging out with some f-body budies and i was informed that with coated headers, you run the risk of messing up your o2 sensors during the break in peroid cause i guess aome comes off or something. maybe some of those more informed would like to chime in and clear up this info for me?

[Firehawk N Wv]

Yea, I can believe that cuz my O2's went bad a lil after i put my headers on. So I bought some new ones and they are jsut fin now.

[viper98885]

I have never heard that before. The coating is baked on and I doubt that it would come off and ruin O2 sensors.

[BLLDOGG]

well, we have two people including me that might make it look like this might be true. lets see if more people chim in [img]graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img]

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

my O2 are fine,

the main reson the y got bad after header install is

1. all that bangin them around

2. they are getting hotter gas because the coating does not let heat escape from the header

[BLLDOGG]

i didnt bang mine around. i was very careful with mine but the heat thing does make since i guess.

[OneQuickV6]

Neh, also most header companies can't get the coating too far down in the headers by spraying it. Unless they dip them in a coating or something, most aren't coated through and through. My Pacesetters and most I've seen are this way. If they're bad, they already needed changing before the headers too, you just didn't realize it. Remember, you should be changing them every 50K miles or less anyway! It's just like your fuel, air, and oil filters.

[BLLDOGG]

ok, thanks matt. i was hoping you would throw in your opinion. well, i guess my theory has been killed.

[99W68Firebird]

is your guys coating from pacesetter? because i think thats just junk.. my friend showed me pic of his after 2 weeks.. coating was all burnt up.. i dont know about the O2 sensors, i got mine coated at some Powdercoating shop, and mine look same as before cept for just not as shiny cuz dirty, but still coated, but last week i threw P0420 code which said Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) i have no idea what that means i took to a shop they think its the cat, but cat is high flow and only been installed for 3 months so i have no idea what it is

[ellik]

Originally posted by 99W68Firebird:
is your guys coating from pacesetter? because i think thats just junk.. my friend showed me pic of his after 2 weeks.. coating was all burnt up..

Were they ceramic coated, or paint? The paint will burn up, the ceramic coating does not.

My O2 sensors went bad (to the point of throwing codes) after the install. Like Matt said, they most likely needed replacing before hand.

[T-Punk]

99w68firebird is your cat a catco? If so it may very well be the cat (they have been known to die really quickly). as for the sensors, it was probably just their time to go. Go ahead and change them and you should be good to go.

[98Camaro3.8]

P0420 is very common with high flow cats. It simply means the cat is not as efficient as it should be. No big deal...just get an O2 simulator to get rid of the SES.

[99W68Firebird]

ok im just wondering cuz its been fine for 3 months and now out of no where it throws that code at me, and i cleared it and came back week later so exhaust shop scanned and checked it out and i dunno the guy said its prolly the cat.. but i dont think he knows anything.

but no its not a catco i dunno what it is i got it from Bryan Schoch. but it did look like the one i saw at Murray's so i dunno.

[BLLDOGG]

i have one thing to say though. when i touched the inside of the header were coating had been sprayed, it came off on my hand like it wasnt cooked on there. :shrug: so mine could have very well burnt off and messed up my sensors. im just going to replace them and move on [img]smile.gif[/img]

[FirebirdGT]

Originally posted by BLLDOGG:
i have had my headers for a good 5 months or so and i have recently started to run pretty lean and my guess is probably an 02 sensor or two. i was at the track tonight hanging out with some f-body budies and i was informed that with coated headers, you run the risk of messing up your o2 sensors during the break in peroid cause i guess aome comes off or something. maybe some of those more informed would like to chime in and clear up this info for me?

What brand headers do you have?