My girl & I installed my OBX Racing 4-2-1 header...

When cranking the engine now (occasionally) the Cat will initially vibrate sooooo much it hits the MID CHASSIS BRACE...? While riding though... there is no contact.

The OBX Header does not properly fit w/ the stock xA HEADER BRACKET. I'm hoping to get it worked out today... not sure how I can get this to fit correctly???

2004 xA

 

savage,

Please check and make sure you didn't pop off one of the rubber hangers around the cat. When I was installing my OBX header, I was moving the exhaust pipes a bit to get the donut gasket lined up. The rubber hangers were moving a bit as well and sometimes looked like they were about to slide off.

Regarding the lower header bracket, you will need to bend the OBX's bracket a bit to make it fit. Another buddy of mine actually enlarged the hole on the engine-side bracket and got it to bolt in that way. This is the only issue I had with my OBX. Other than that, the quality was decent, and 0.99 HP "kick-in-the-pants" gain I got was worth it.

- Al

 

not to sure what to say bout your problem......i installed two hearders so far but not the OBX.......i installed the AlphaWerks 4-1 on my box and da DC-S 4-1 on my cousin's RS2 XA and havent had any problems with CAT vibration yet......well hope ta run into you one day to get a crack at your XA

 

Gonna get my locol shop to install my new shocks/springs & tower strut bars front/rear later this week...my car guy says he'll fab a new bracket if he can't make the stock part work.

Where in GA do you live itsme?

 

i stay down in southside ATL in the Clayton/Dekalb areas well dats were you will normally find me haha but yea im like 5 min from Southlake Mall

 

yeah about the obx headers wut would you say better dc or obx and wut does it mean by 4-2-1 and 4-1
im sorta new to the trick the car out thingy

oh and if anyone knows about the camcon plz tell me some stuff about it

 

Here's a good thread about headers kimchithunder...
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=122255

I REALLY like the OBX but I also like the DC Sports products...I have the DC Exhaust & am well pleased w/ the low/rumble *note & the modest hp gain. I went w/ the OBX because of the low-mid range increase as opposed to the DC mid-high gain. Both are excellent products for the $$. The OBX was cheaper though. I love cheap AND good With my I/H/E I'm finally starting to waste the local tuner Hondas. I even went heads up with a Dodge Neon w/ a turbo (god what a beutiful sound Turbos make)... he got me in the end but atleast only by a length & a 1/2 on a 1/4 mile street run.
Keep in mind--> it's 80% car ability & 20% size of your nutz.
Nutz=driving skill + desire to win
(just don't do anything INSANE because sometimes nutz=injured or dead. Trust me on this. As an EMT-B student, I've already had to transport by ambulance a few badly "f"ed up street racers.) The cars got transported too... to the car graveyard.

As far as you being new to the "tuner game"---> prepare for your NEW addiction. Buy smart & install it yourself whenever you can...it saves a lot of Ducket$ & you get an immense sense of satisfaction from DIY! ...and bragging rights.

Never heard of the "camcon"... is that a header?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
itsme...
Ahh...I am in NE Atl, Duluth/Gwinnett area. Just around the corner from Gwinnett Place Mall near the Atlanta Scion/Toyota dealer. You ride w/ any other Scions itsme? Clubs? I haven't been to any Scion events yet but now that I've finally done some work to my car I'm interested in getting up.

 

I checked the hangers & they're in-place as they should be. I'm 90% sure the vibrating is from the chassis mount not being attached. Should have it resolved by weeks end... driving it for now has me wigged out a bit. It's driving me nuts because I'm not pushing the car the way I would like too... "better safe than sorry" until it's resolved.

Thanks for the tip though

 

savage,

You could just unbolt the chassis mount from the engine block - two more 14mm bolts, and that's it. It would essentially be the same configuration as a DC or Strup header as neither of them have the lower mounting bolt. Then, nothing would be rattling freely against the header.

- Al

 

I considered that as well but the contact is with the cat and the Mid-chassis brace more toward the rear. I don't think removing the bracket/mount will really help. At first I thought it was contacting the mount but after inspecting closer my girl noticed it was hitting the brace... let me see if I can get a pic of where it's hitting...

 

Here's the pic link (I placed it in my profile)

https://www.scionlife.com/gallery/?photo=26260

Sorry for poor pic quality...

 

Interesting. I'm not convinced that the brace is going to solve your rattling issues. The header is a fixed point at the manifold, and the engine bracket will also be another fixed point. Essentially, the only point of movement should be at the donut gasket. I can't imagine the header is flexing independently of the engine or else the welds would fatigue. Is it possible you have a header where the collector was mis-welded off to the side/too high/too low? Do you have a picture of the donut gasket, in other words, is it properly centered between the two connecting bolts.

 

No pic... it all lined up nicely. I'm gonna recheck the spring bolts to make sure they're tight. I suppose it could be them. (I swear I got burely on them during install) I'll get a snapshot of it too. Could the vibrating be from them being loose or maybe too tight?

I see your point about the mount not really making it any more solid.

 

umm savage from the thread you gave me someone said that the obx you had to a lil customizing like bending a pipe and grinding out some of the stock engine part
if you ahve the obx is it true??
oh and if thats true then im not interested lolz i want someting to fit right when it comes outta the box
i dont want to go through wut did with my intake had to bend a couple of metal pieces lolz

 

If it was too loose, you'd probably have an exhaust leak. My thought was that it just might be twisted or skewed to one side.
I actually slightly overtightened my donut gasket using aftermarket hardware store bolts, and then reinstalled the stock bolts. I did this to force the donut gasket to "conform better to the new position/attachment surfaces, etc.

 

Read upward... the last few post in this thread kimichithunder ^^^ :D Not really "bending a PIPE", it's the mount on the header that needs MINOR modding & the mount on the engine block. It can be removed & the bolt hole grinded wider. From ASCs experience it isn't a vital connection point...& I'm begginning to agree.

 

This is probably the case... I didn't really focus on the equal tension for both sides DOH! I don't hear a leak though...?

 

No leak is good. I'm just throwing suggestions out there - it's kinda hard to see what's happening without actually being there. Sometimes, just loosening everything and systematically retightening each section one by one can help.

 

yeah... thanks man I appreciate the suggestions. Sometimes it takes another perspective to solve a problem. I'll re-post after I've gone back & rechecked the Nuts&Bolts.

 

This is how I got it fixed...

Bent the engine mount & NOT the OBX header bracket & grinded the mount's hole bigger/higher.

https://www.scionlife.com/gallery/?f...le&photo=26432

No more rattle on engine start or during bumpy roads. :D

Thanks for the help scionlife... you guys ROCK!


OBX vs. Stock...
https://www.scionlife.com/gallery/?photo=26433
https://www.scionlife.com/gallery/?photo=26436