I had some shorty headers installed a while back. They tick very slowly when the engine is cold. I know it's the header, because I can hear them hiss if I immediately turn the engine off. I don't recall hearing it when after the engine reaches operating temperature. I had these professionally installed less than a thousand miles ago with Stage 8 locking header bolts, so I'm a little surprised that I have a leak already.

Is it common for headers to leak a little when the engine is cold? Or am I looking at a bad gasket?

 

I know its annoying but i THINK its not a major concern. If not you can go and tighten it up a little more.

 

eh could be a botched install, if its not on quite tight enough it can leak when cold, then as the metal expands with heat, seal itself, that would be my thought, or of course bad header gasket

 

I guess it's safe conclude this leak isn't normal. I think I read somewhere online that a fiber gasket can compress after a few heat cycles leaving a small gap behind and creating a leak. I'm willing to bet that's what's happened to me, especially since I'm dealing with new gaskets.

I'm going to drop it off at the shop on Monday and have them tighten the header bolts and leak check the system. Thanks for the help!

 

when i got mine done at jba, they told me that you should retighten after 100 miles then again after like 1000 miles to make sure the bolts dont become loose or because of heat cycling it can change the pressure around the gasket.