perdy! what size collector is that? Im going to permatex and wrap mine.

 

2.5 I was gonna coat and wrap but im still debating....other than keeping heat in, is there any other advantage to it?

 

Theoretically, keeping the heat in your exhaust results in increased exhaust gas velocity, therefore improving flow rate and exhaust scavenging ability. It also affects underhood temperatures, which keeps IAT down, and can reduce engine operating temperatures, oil temperatures, and coolant temperatures, and therefore also reduce the chance that your engine will pull timing due to excessive heat.

 

good to know. im in the process of getting the cat out now, but those bolts are so rusted not even my impact will take them off.....

 

I ran into the same exact problem when I pulled my cat off of my SVT. I PB blasted them for 24 hours, and they were still frozen on there. I ended up just breaking the nuts off of the studs, and cutting/grinding the studs down for clearance. It was really the only way. I hope you don't have to go that far.

 

Don't put them on yet... you need to coat/wrap them first. Ceramic powdercoat is easiest and looks great, wrapping is hard but a bit cheaper.

Definately coat or wrap them ,you won't regret it, but you will regret it if you don't.

 

Nice! I think I would have it ceramic coated before you put it on.

 

I put 2000F paint on it and am going to wrap i just want the old exhaust off ow cause i knew that these bolts were going to be a pain. I am grinding the studs from the flex to the cat now and i have no idea how im gonna save the studs from the straight pipe......

 

You won't be able to. Do what I did, get a bunch of drill bits that are designed to drill through metal, get some cutting oil, and drill them out. IIRC, the studs are roughly a 3/8" shank diameter, so if you get a bunch of 3/8" bits and cutting oil, drill out the damaged studs, and replace all of that with some grade 8 bolts and nuts, you're back in business, and it will be a lot easier to work around next time.

 

i think im just gonna order a complete flex back exhaust because even after i grinded out the studs its still stuck together.

 

Wow. Nasty. Sorry to hear that, brother.

 

i got pissed and grinded off the flang on the cat. now all i have to do is drill new holes on the straight pipe flange.....tomorrow

 

IFYP... I had to cut/grind my stock studs/bolts off for both flex to "cat-back" and cat to flex, but no such issues at the header to cat. Sounds like the spark-fest is over now though... good luck with the wrapping... your best friends are water and patience, lol.

 

i need to go buy a bit now, but i was wondering why i have a 3rd o2 bung.....

 

those look nice now but will rust super fast. did you get them on ebay? if so which set is it?

if it is the ebay one i would highly suggest checking the welds periodically.

I am all for anything powdercoated and esp ceramic for hot pieces to prolong longevity,

 

3rd O2 bung? Might be set up for a wideband AFR...

 

thats what i thought. at first i glanced at it thought egr but then i saw the pipe for that and was like wtf?! anyways it will be awhile before i ever get it all on because my drill broke while trying to drill out the flange.

 

i have the same setup, its nice, the egr tube was a pita it took me about an hour to get it lined up and screwed in, but like everyone says wrap them first.

 

When I replaced my header and had to deal with the EGR on my old FoFo, I found that it was easier if I disconnected the EGR from both sides, and barely started the threads at either end. Made it much easier to manipulate the tube. Just my $0.02.

 

I threaded the egr before i bolted it on the engine. still had a lil trouble. But damn is this thing loud maybe i will just buy a new exhaust, possibly one with 18" resonator.

 

Yeah, it's loud. Get a nice resonator and a straight-through muffler, and it will sound pretty sweet. I liked the tone that my old FoFo made with the race header, flex, and catback.

 

Don't mean to jack the thread, but I have the same set up, and I get the ricer sound at 3200rpm until 4000. It's only at part throttle, but cruising around town I look like a moron.

Leak problem?

 

Depends on the muffler and resonator combination. You might have a leak, but the most likely place for the leak to occur for you to get a sound without throwing a code is at the flexpipe to flexback union flange. I would check it out.

 

Mine is the FSW race header and cat back sport system (old one).

It gives a healthy bark when I start it, and idles/sounds like it's got a really mild cam. I like the sound 90% of the time, but it's that metal sounding rice noise the other 10%.

That section looks good, but it seems that the leak is on the front side of the short resonator just downstream from the flex flange. I don't know if it's fixable, but I can deal with it until it gets bad enough for a new system. Hello new 2.5" FSW!!!

 

is this item you got the FSWerks race header for the zetec?

i was thinking of getting the svt header used for my focus, as i've had it recommended to me by other users here, but am unable to find one ;\

how does this header compare to the stock svt one?

and when you say loud? how loud? will i give my neighbor a heart attack turning the car on with it + the fswerks race cat back? (no i do not like my neighbor )

 

^That's not an FS header. If you want the best all around header for a Zetec, just keep looking for the SVT header until you find one. Good luck.

A header and a race exhaust will not only piss off your neighbor, but also attract the attention of every cop.