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Aftermarket exhaust manifold.

454 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  larumple, 
T12chodki
Hello all,
For people that went the aftermarket exhaust manifold route: what brand did you use? How long did they last?

I really don't want to go the header route. I searched the forums but there doesn't seem to be any updates on how long they lasted. Thanks in advance.
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primoV8
The problems with the aftermarket exhaust manifolds are they are designed as OE replacements. No changes were made in making them stronger; similar gussets welded on the runners to somewhat prevent the cracking of the manifolds. Also the cost of (1) exhaust manifold is just about equivalent to buying a set of JBA LT headers.
If you're paying a shop to do the work and only to have it replaced again down the road, it does become a very expensive repair.
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T12chodki
primoV8 said:
The problems with the aftermarket exhaust manifolds are they are designed as OE replacements. No changes were made in making them stronger; similar gussets welded on the runners to somewhat prevent the cracking of the manifolds. Also the cost of (1) exhaust manifold is just about equivalent to buying a set of JBA LT headers.
If you're paying a shop to do the work and only to have it replaced again down the road, it does become a very expensive repair.
Click to expand...
Cajunbpipes lists their shorties at $1300 with a tune recommended which is around 400-500 not exactly sure. Eastern catalytic on rock auto has them for 500 each side with reinforcement plates welded it where the manifolds are known to crack. Has anyone used these?
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larumple
T12chodki said:
Cajunbpipes lists their shorties at $1300 with a tune recommended which is around 400-500 not exactly sure. Eastern catalytic on rock auto has them for 500 each side with reinforcement plates welded it where the manifolds are known to crack. Has anyone used these?
Click to expand...
Here is the eastern catalytic manifold vs the Cajun B-pipes header, you can see that the one from rock auto is hardly different from OEM, same split head flange design, while the Cajun B-pipes header is one solid piece. Personally I wouldn't trust the manifold from eastern any more than I trust the OEM, even if it does have a reinforcing plate. Jeff at Cajun told me tuning would cost around $600. If you plan on keeping the car for quite a while, I would recommend the headers, they are going to last forever. But if not, you can get out $900 cheaper with the eastern manifolds.
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primoV8
If you’re worried about increased exhaust resonance when going the JBA LT route, you can always keep the OE catback as the increase in exhaust resonance will be very minimal.

Just like what I did on my 04, I modded my QX80 and the guys back home in NY says my truck doesn’t even sound like it has anything done to it. A buddy of mine even says it’s in “whisper mode” every time we meet up. Even with a modified OE catback, you wouldn’t guess anything was under the hood on my truck unless I hit WOT.
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seymore4
We've seen the OEM replacement manfolds (dorman, eastern, etc) ALL fail, sometimes in as little as 6 months. Sure they offer a warranty but that requires you to remove it, send it back, then reinstall the new manifold, all on your own dime plus all the associated downtime. The labor is what kills you with this... you don't want to end up doing the job twice.

Depending on your local emissions requirements there are several options... We sell catted headers as well as catted B pipes that you can mate up with a set of long tubes if you want (we don't sell long tube headers anymore but you can still find them online). Either way will keep the CEL off if you have emissions testing required.

Then of course the Uprev tuning to make sure its running top notch and give you that new truck feel ;)

www.cajunbpipes.com
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J
Installed JBA shorties January 2020 on my 06 Armada. I use the Armada almost exclusively for pulling our 25ft travel trailer and almost always in the Sierra's from 300ft to 8000ft and back. All that to say it works hard with serious heat cycles and I have nothing but praise for these headers. And you don't need to retune with the shorties.
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T12chodki
jklhill said:
Installed JBA shorties January 2020 on my 06 Armada. I use the Armada almost exclusively for pulling our 25ft travel trailer and almost always in the Sierra's from 300ft to 8000ft and back. All that to say it works hard with serious heat cycles and I have nothing but praise for these headers. And you don't need to retune with the shorties.
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Did you buy the shorties with converters on them? I'm guessing CEL was not an issue and you didn't have to do anything to the sensors? Is that correct?
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J
Still running the original converters. There was no option in 2020 to get them with converters and living in California they would need to be CARB approved converters to pass emissions. No CEL. Still running original O2 sensors.

I see Cajun's say CARB compliant but then they say
  • Not FOR SALE OR USE IN CALIFORNIA
?????
Wish that was an option a couple years ago.
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seymore4
jklhill said:
I see Cajun's say CARB compliant but then they say
  • Not FOR SALE OR USE IN CALIFORNIA
?????
Click to expand...
What are you talking about??? There are 2 options, non CARB and CARB approved.

www.cajunbpipes.com
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J
Sorry Seymore4, I didn't scroll down far enough on the page. My bad.
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V
I think replying on this thread makes the most sense. I need more insight too - as a guy who's not mechanically inclined (at all) I pay people to do mechanical work. Initially when I installed replacement manifolds I used an aftermarket OEM because the tuning, installation and being non-mechanically able, I just wanted a better than original fix. I went with the Easterns, which now about 2 years later have failed as well. I am trying to decide whether to keep my old Aramada and fix it again or just go with something completely different - I LOVE my Aramada for space and travel trailer towing, but this is a big achillies for the Nissans and not something nice to deal with. So, two questions:

1) If I go with the Cajun's/JBA's (the same, right?) who do people typically get to actually install them if I can't? The Nissan stealership is going to tell me to take a flying leap, and other than them or a local Tuffy Muffler shop, I don't have anyone I know/trust who wont lay me away on labor. Is Tuffy maybe even a good option if they say they'll do it? Others?

2) What would be realistic to expect for labor to change them out?

I need to make a decision very soon, as the Nissan dealership told me my cat appears to have an internal tear and the Aramada is now running pretty rough, has lost a lot of its punch, and fuel economy is even worse than normal. We have several quickly arriving camping dates planned as a family, so I need to act.

THANKS FOR THE INSIGHTS!
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larumple
Vandy said:
I think replying on this thread makes the most sense. I need more insight too - as a guy who's not mechanically inclined (at all) I pay people to do mechanical work. Initially when I installed replacement manifolds I used an aftermarket OEM because the tuning, installation and being non-mechanically able, I just wanted a better than original fix. I went with the Easterns, which now about 2 years later have failed as well. I am trying to decide whether to keep my old Aramada and fix it again or just go with something completely different - I LOVE my Aramada for space and travel trailer towing, but this is a big achillies for the Nissans and not something nice to deal with. So, two questions:

1) If I go with the Cajun's/JBA's (the same, right?) who do people typically get to actually install them if I can't? The Nissan stealership is going to tell me to take a flying leap, and other than them or a local Tuffy Muffler shop, I don't have anyone I know/trust who wont lay me away on labor. Is Tuffy maybe even a good option if they say they'll do it? Others?

2) What would be realistic to expect for labor to change them out?

I need to make a decision very soon, as the Nissan dealership told me my cat appears to have an internal tear and the Aramada is now running pretty rough, has lost a lot of its punch, and fuel economy is even worse than normal. We have several quickly arriving camping dates planned as a family, so I need to act.

THANKS FOR THE INSIGHTS!
Click to expand...
Some dealerships will do headers, other will not, just depends on the tech. Also I cant speak for all muffler shops, but none of the ones around me will do header work, strictly header back only.

If you love your armada like most of us here do, I would invest in cajuns headers, and Id recommend calling up some performance oriented auto shops and getting prices, they wont be as cheap as a regular auto shop, but it will get done right. I'm unsure about labor cost though, hopefully someone that has had it done can chime in.

And I definitely wouldnt wait too long to get it done; that busted cat can cause grit and dust to be sucked back into your engine, and will wear out your piston rings.
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