Just found a cracked manifold on my 94 f150 302. Would like to upgrade to some direct bolt in shorty headers on a budget. Its a weekend driver, cosmetics arent important.
Anyone have any luck with pacesetter shorty headers? Any fitment problems?

 

I bought a set of these ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ps...rd/model/f-150 ) from Summit and the way the collector fits on the stock pipe sucks. The collector design is horrible. My passenger side lined up fine but leaked. The drivers side didn't line up for crap. After some bending and tweaking I got it to line up close enough but could not get it to seal either. The collector is a much softer metal that the exhaust pipe so it bends and compresses as you tighten everything up.

Remember this was with the stock crossover pipe. If you had a 2 1/2 in. crossover pipe made for the headers they might work better. MIGHT.

 

I have this y pipe http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mpe-93307/overview/

 

Shorty headers for any gen of truck don't have the best reputation for fitment on here. I'm sure some people find success with them. Most of the headers I see recommended are long tubes. Stainless Works are one company that makes them, but I'm not sure they would make them for your generation of truck. I know Summit will have a a few different brands. They should have a review section. Might take a look at what other people have said about them before you decide which direction to go with.

 

Has anyone come across a method of helping the issue? Like exhaust donuts or sealant?

 

The main way I've seen is to do a custom exhaust from the manifold back. Either true dual, X-pipe, or H-pipe. The problem comes with installing cats and the O2 sensors back in. A lot of times people clock the exhaust pipe wrong and the O2 sensor doesn't have clearance or the wires are too short. You can piece together an exhaust fairly cheap, you just have to have a welder tack everything together then weld itout of the truck.

 

If you do custom exhaust, my advice is to-

1. Make the crossover one piece with a flare to fit over the downtubes
2. Make the beginning in one piece with everything mounted up for fitment
3. Tweek the exhaust while it's tacked up under the truck to check for clearances
4. Plan on having heat shields and look out for wire looms on the inside of the framerails

 

its been a few years and im not sure if they are still made...but i purchased a set of the ford racing ss shorty headers for my 5.8 in a 92 f150 i had. they fit great with no leaks.

 

I have used both Pacesetter shorty headers and Long tube headers on my 92' F150.

The shorty headers I have always had a had time trying to seal the donut gasket on the Y-pipe.

Long Tube headers you will not be able to get the starter out with out removing the header.

True Duel exhaust with Long Tube headers your transmission will run about 20-30 degrees warmer. If you have an automatic. I would plan on routing your fluid through a 20,000 BTU cooler along with your 2 core radiator.