I have a 1990 civic sedan and my exhaust manifold is cracked. I want to replace it with a header. I have heard horror stories of ebay header hanging to low, hitting oil pans, hitting cross members, and clearance issues with ac lines etc. Does anyone have a ebay header that fits with none of the issues I mentioned. I dont mind extending it to fit to my exhaust. Any links to a specific header they bought would be awesome. Please help people!

 

in that case if you still have your d series engine in your car
go for the 2 peace eg header it fits nicely in the ef civics

all aftermarket headers are going to hang low it dont matter what brand

and ebay is not a brand of header
its just a web site where you can buy stuff

 

i say get the dc sports one. It's cheap enough now and it's the best fitting one performing one.

 

Every person I know, including myself, has had issues with cheap, 2 piece headers. I recommend that if you get a cheap header, you get a 1 piece one, sand the flange face flat, (most have some warpage) test fit it, and use MAPP gas torch to heat and bend the header to fit better if you have any issues. That's what I did, on my Civic, tucked the header nicely under the oil pan.

Or you can get a decent header used, which is really a better option if possible.

 

I had a ebay 2 piece for about 6 years and sold it to friend who used it for 4 years, sold the car. Still see the car occasionally.

 

DC sports two piece Header is less than $300 on Amazon, you'll also need a Vibrant VPE-10532 donut gasket.

 

300 for some pipes!!
haha

 

the thing with eBay headers (and other cheap Chinese stuff) is that the "discount" comes from stretching the tolerances and quality control wide open. if it looks like a header it gets packed and shipped. sometimes it's a great fit and all of the welds were strong enough, other times the collector/down pipe is trying to occupy the same space as the transmission or one of the primaries breaks loose from the head flange, before the ceramic coating paint burns off... I've seen all three cases!

long story short, I've got a $50 ebay header on my daily D16. it needed to be chopped up and welded back together to fit. it was cheaper and easier than building one from scratch thought long-term that's probably what i'll do to replace it. but it got the car back on the road for a low cost.

generally the more you spend the better chance you have of it fitting well. if two cost about the same, fair bet they both came out of the same factory despite what the "brand" says. another fun fact of Chinese production methods.

you really are better off finding a used Z6 or Y8 OE manifold. unfortunately for me our best local self-serve wreaking yard removes cat. converters with some sort of robotic lobster claw therefore ruining every single down pipe.

 

I have a cast iron Y8 style manifold and downpipe if you want it, LMK. I lost the heatshield for it though, and like I said its cast but worked well for me.

Most 2 piece 4-2-1 headers will work without a problem, ebay junk may have fitment trouble though. I'll say though that my car came with an ebay 4-2-1 on it, had no fitment issues but it got quite rusty.

 

Just get the ebay header. Bunch of people here just mad that a decent header can be had for so cheap.

 

Yeah, that's it, I'm just mad. lmao excuse me for offering my actual first-hand experience.

 

So much fear and loathing in this thread, lol.

DC Sports fit really well in my wagon with A/C. Just don't waste money on the ceramic coating (are those even still available?), wasn't worth the extra coin.

My hatches have always had ebay headers (3 different cars and counting). Never had a crossmember issue or A/C line problem. They do hang low but hardly lower than the crossmember (just enough to make a flat spot when you go sliding over curbed medians, so don't do that). Only two consistent issues in my experience; the angle of the flange to the cat is inconsistent, and the O2 bung almost always points the wire into the radiator fan. Either get a low pro fan or make triple sure that wire is properly secured to the transmission. Otherwise you should expect something bad to happen.

Thanks for that Vibrant part # Mr. Coop, been looking for that for a while.

 

authentic dc header only comes ceramic coated. And the o2 bung is located at the rear, near the cat. It also comes with an extension cable for the o2 sensor.

 

the DC sports header for the D16A6 is 2 piece 4-2 and 2-1 and has the O2 in the OEM location, near the radiator.

The DC sports header for the D16Z6 is 1 piece 4-2-1 and has the O2 near the cat, behind the oil pan. It fits the D16A6 in a CRX fine (i have one), and the O2 location is not a problem, every bosch o2 sensor ive replaced iwth it just lays out over the tranny and down. no extension needed.

both came ceramic coated. stainless was a higher end option.

i would definitely get the Z6 header over their A6 if you had the choice, but seeing that its long discontinued, thats kind of moot.

I would recommend the OEM d16Y8 exhaust manifold for a D16A6. theres actually two versions, with upper cast manifold and individual pipes. but pretty much the same. the 4-2-1 design is just all thats needed to bump torque.