I am a complete newb when it comes to Hondas. I just bought my first one (1997 Civic DX w/ a D16Y7) a couple weeks ago and I am fixing some of the problems I inherited in the purchase.

My exhaust manifold is cracked. It is my understanding that these are prone to cracking, so I would like to replace it with something other than the stock manifold and cat. I would prefer something stock from another Civic, but I have no idea what is interchangeable (nothing in my searches answered me questions). I would like to keep the car as stock as possible.

If nothing stock is interchangeable I am open to the idea of a header as long as it does not make the car sound "ricey."

Please give me some suggestions and let me know if any modifications are necessary with them (lengthening wiring harness for O2 sensors in different locations, etc.)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by creep3286 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am a complete newb when it comes to Hondas. I just bought my first one (1997 Civic DX w/ a D16Y7) a couple weeks ago and I am fixing some of the problems I inherited in the purchase.

My exhaust manifold is cracked. It is my understanding that these are prone to cracking, so I would like to replace it with something other than the stock manifold and cat. I would prefer something stock from another Civic, but I have no idea what is interchangeable (nothing in my searches answered me questions). I would like to keep the car as stock as possible.

If nothing stock is interchangeable I am open to the idea of a header as long as it does not make the car sound "ricey."

Please give me some suggestions and let me know if any modifications are necessary with them (lengthening wiring harness for O2 sensors in different locations, etc.)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm sure you can slap a D16Y8 exhaust mani on there no problem.

Though I'd recommend going aftermarket, even if it's cheap e-bay **** aftermarket, simply b/c they'll allow it to breathe better.

 

I like the idea of a header but I am worried about it becoming loud and obnoxious. Will the header alone do that if I keep the rest of the exhaust stock?

 

You will be fine with an ebay header, they are usually made decent and hell cheap. OEM manifolds are very pricey.

If your mileage is under 150K on the car, you can get a free replacement though.. some extended emissions warranty.

 

It's got 213,000 miles. I'd like to get away from the stock manifold. My searching led me to believe that these manifolds are prone to cracking just like mine did, so I want to get away from the design.

It sounds like a header is in order. I guess if it is too loud I will have to deal with it.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

They usually crack for two reasons, constant heat/cold/heat cycles with age and secondly overtorquing the bolts. Buy an oem replacement new off ebay for less than 50 bucks with a genuine honda gasket and don't overtorque the bolts and you'll be fine for years. A header looks nice but the heat sheild won't fit causing your a/c hoses to fry eventually and also they make much more noise under the hood and inside the car. You wil get a little HP compensating for it, but in my books if its a standard engine keep the manifold stock.

 

The only ones I see on ebay are 175+. My manifold is the type with the cat bolted directly underneath it. I figured the weight of the cat was what caused the cracking. Are we talking about the same manifold?


Modified by creep3286 at 9:54 PM 7/29/2008

 

This is the manifold I have



Is this manifold interchangeable?

 

Bump for the day crew.

 

to my knowledge, yes, that mani is interchangable. i have always been told (with the very few and slim exceptions) that most b series things are swapable, as are d series parts.

 

So if I took an EX style manifold and downpipe, would it bolt up to the stock exhaust underneath the car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by creep3286 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So if I took an EX style manifold and downpipe, would it bolt up to the stock exhaust underneath the car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, you would also need an EX cat, EX mid pipe, and the muffler. Also, you need to extend your o2 sensor wires so the secondary sensor goes on the EX cat.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EL Vap133 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

No, you would also need an EX cat, EX mid pipe, and the muffler. Also, you need to extend your o2 sensor wires so the secondary sensor goes on the EX cat. </TD></TR></TABLE>

In that case, is there a difference in headers for different models? All the ones I have seen on ebay say they fit all models. Extending the o2 sensor wires is no big deal, but it sounds like I'd have to replace the entire exhaust system if I went that route.

 

Bump for the day crew.

 

Yes, the difference can be seen in this diagram:



Top one is from a DX, LX, etc.

Bottom one is from an EX, Si.