JBA Stainless headers Rusting

[L31MaxExpress]

They will surface rust a bit but the JBAs I had on my 2003 Dakota 4.7L were still solid 10 years later. The surface rust actually forms a bit of a protective coating.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

They will surface rust a bit but the JBAs I had on my 2003 Dakota 4.7L were still solid 10 years later. The surface rust actually forms a bit of a protective coating.

Yes exactly. I was looking at my headers on the 2012 the other day and they are dark brown surface rust for sure but they will be fine for 7+ years I’m sure unlike mild steel that would get soft quick. They are about 5 years old, speed engineering. For vehicles that see winter they will all rust but stainless is at least more resistant and long lasting.

On my 05 I did a magnaflow stainless dual exhaust and I was horrified to see it get surface rust the second winter. However 8 winters later it was still solid.

 

[KansasOBS]

You guys must have a complete different appreciation for stainless than I do, possibly due to where you live, but its not complete dry desert here. I have mild steel headers over 20+ years old, that have been through multiple vehicles, some sat over soil for years, headers still solid, and in good shape, as far as not falling apart.

I buy stainless because I do not want surface rust, which also collects dirt.

My cheap $85 stainless ebay headers are 304... $500+ for a set that look like mild steel in 6 months.....nope.

 

[caw_86]

i bought 1832sjs JBA headers. I asked them what grade stainless they were, they told me 409, so I got the silver ceramic part number 1832sjs, hopefully they dont turn out like yours

I could not find any 316 stainless short headers online which is what I would have preferred

 

[Skip Fix]

They responded and is 409 which they say will "surface rust with exposure to chemicals or rain. Well I guess Houston humidity counts also.
Yea I have a cheap set that looks 304 -and has better welds! Just no EGR hookup and a HUGE port opening at the flange.

 

[Schurkey]

I bought Edelbrock "Tubular Exhaust System" (TES) shorty-headers for my '88 K1500 5.7L over twenty years ago.

Supposedly "stainless". Yup, the tubes and welded-on flanges are stainless steel. The flanges at the lower end to secure the exhaust donuts were mild steel and rusted away to almost nothing. I had to install bolt-on split-flanges on both sides.

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My actual "stainless" tubes look worse than Skip's; but there's no leakage, no weakness, and they still work and seal perfectly.

 

[Sean Buick 76]

For us up in northern Canada it’s the ice melt chemical that they put in the roads that just eats metal. I literally drive beaters each winter to avoid having my nice vehicles rusted to bits. My Yukon and my 93 2500 are my current beaters. It’s the only way to keep the nice vehicles nice. I dont do car payments so I like to keep the nice ones nice vs rusting out. The good news is I have fun with the beaters! I may have too much fun at times lol!

 

[Sean Buick 76]

You guys must have a complete different appreciation for stainless than I do, possibly due to where you live, but its not complete dry desert here. I have mild steel headers over 20+ years old, that have been through multiple vehicles, some sat over soil for years, headers still solid, and in good shape, as far as not falling apart.

I buy stainless because I do not want surface rust, which also collects dirt.

My cheap $85 stainless ebay headers are 304... $500+ for a set that look like mild steel in 6 months.....nope.

It depends how much they are driven and if they are driven all year or not. Location makes a huge difference. The turbo headers on my drag car are mild steel but it never sees rain and sits in the garage when it’s not racing. They put nasty chemicals on the roads here each winter which is 6-8 months. These chemicals melt ice and eat metal big time.

 

[Caman96]

These chemicals melt ice and eat metal big time.

Probably not good for ground water either!

 

[Sean Buick 76]

Probably not good for ground water either!

No for sure I’m sure it’s highly toxic. This bumper is 5 years old and I need to sandblast it and repaint! Yes my tires are bald this cammed 6.0 burns rubber! New tires are here but I can finish these off this summer! The truck hooks up.