This is only a partial review as I've installed the headers but haven't driven the truck. (Still finished the rest of the exhaust)

Hedman 89350 (Longtubes) 94 f150 xlt 4x4 (e40d)

I ordered these from Summit after reading many reviews of other brands. Reviews indicated fitment was good and Summit includes the header bolts, reducers (ball type), plug wire guards, etc.

The good:
All necessary parts included. Plenty of clearance once installed.
The ball type joint for the reducer makes aligning your y-pipe or dual setup a breeze. Shipping was quick.
The drivers side header went on without a hitch. (Have to relocate dipstick mount)

The Bad:
Packaging was rough. I didn't get a fancy coating but the factory paint was all sorts of scuffed off.
No bung for 02 or whatever that egr tube is(really not an issue as this was expected)
The hardware is just basic short bolts. No studs means no support for the intake support, egr (emmissions?) pipe, nor for the oil dipstick.

The really bad:
The passenger back two pipes were not perp to the flange. I didn't notice this until trying to put the bolts in, It was impossible to start the bolts straight due to the bolt head hitting the pipe at an angle, which would result in a cross thread if forced. (Luckily I caught that in time.) There was not enough clearance to start all the bolts simultaneously with the flange held back from the head, this would also cause the bolts to start crooked...So had to tweak the last too pipes with a pursuader bar. (bummer)

I thought all was well but the 2nd bolt hole for the first pipe was missaligned and had to be re-drilled/filed to allow the bolt to start straight.

In my opinion the above is a huge QC mistake. If the pipes would have been perp to the flange (like the drivers side) instead of slightly off a few degrees and they would have checked bolt alignment (assuming they have a jig for this?) everything would have went very smooth.

The Lame:
Now that I had everything test fitting fine I grabbed the gaskets only to find Summit sent me header gaskets for the inline 6

After all is said and done I'm sure these were still worth it but I'm always dissapointed when I have to take a hammer to a brand new part to make it fit what it was meant for.







Missaligned Bolt hole. A portion of the silver part had to be re-drilled





Definitely not for a 302 V8





Image shows how crooked the bolt must be to start threads.

 

Thanks for the review. Too bad for the QC problem. What are you doing for the rest of the exhaust? Running cats? Let us know the sound difference. I'm wondering how much louder headers make it.

 

2 1/4 custom duals. No cats. added crossflow x pipe just behind trans. After that its a cherry bomb welded chambered muffler. dual in dual out. Then i might just dump out the side. I fired the engine pre muffler install and it was ear piercing. If the muffler doesnt bring it down enough cats will go back on Or a second muffler. The headers with open x pipe was very mean and responsive but tickets would surely ensue.

Thanks!

 

Follow up:

Welded up the x pipe and muffler last night.
Good news is that everything has quited down quite substantially.
I've not had it on the road yet but idle is definitely tolerable.

So current setup is Longtubes to 2 1/4" duals to x-pipe to muffler.
Just need to finish up the tailpipes after the exhaust. It looks like I'll be carrying everything over the rear axle and exiting both pipes out the passenger side.

FYI the muffler is similar to this:



I'm guessing its going to drone quite a bit at highway speeds but this is a work truck not a daily driver and I welcome the added hp/torque over some added noise. The real reason for this setup was to get the giant cat away from my trans solenoids as it was cooking them.

 

Ive always ran into the bolts hitting the pipes making it crooked to start. My solution?? Put the bolts through the header flange all the way then start it into the head. The bolt can go straight when its all the way in.

 

Finished running the pipes this past weekend.
Everything went together swell and bonus points for being able to take it on/off without any problems.

I will have to get some pics of it installed. I plan on cleaning it a bit and running some high temp paint at least around the welds and hangers. Still need some decent tips.
Forgot to mention this is actually a 2 1/2" setup not 2 1/4"

I was worried it would be too loud but normal driving is just fine, subtle drone on the expressway but in overdrive its not bad at all.