Owners manual

COSMETIC TIP: Skin oils from your hands and engine compartment grime causes ugly “yellow” spots to
appear on the chrome as it “blues” from the exposure to exhaust heat.
CAUTION! Gloves or other protection should be worn to protect installer from burns due to hot
exhaust components during these final steps!
IT IS CRITICAL that all bolts be re-tightened HOT after about 20 minutes of operation to prevent
gasket failure.
NOTE: HEADERS ARE NOT MEANT TO SERVE AS “EXHAUST SYSTEM SUPPORT HANGERS”.
Additional hangers may need to be added at the time of the installation of the headers so that THE
EXHAUST SYSTEM SUPPORTS ITSELF when the collector bolts are removed. HEADERS THAT HAVE
“SAGGED” DUE TO THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT EXHAUST SYSTEM SUPPORT WILL NOT BE
REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY!
NOTE: Header bolts should be inspected for tightness from time to time to ensure optimum gasket life.
The bolts will STRETCH some at first due to the exhaust heat, so they’ll loosen WITHOUT TURNING
until they “take a set”. (Bolts hard enough not to stretch would BREAK!) We’ve experimented with the
various “locking devices” on the market, which prevent from turning. They DON’T WORK on HEADER
BOLTS, and they greatly complicate the process of re-tightening the bolts when it’s necessary.
What DOES work is this:
Go over the bolts again after the first DAY of driving (or about 100 miles- whichever comes first), then
after the first WEEK, after the first MONTH, and then EVERY 6 MONTHS. Our exclusive gaskets are
specially made so that the cylinder head SHOULD begin to melt before the gaskets can burn up. About
the only way to kill these gaskets is to let the headers get loose and then keep driving with a leak.
Due to varying conditions between geographical locations and usage, we strongly recommend having the
engine re-tune at a reputable tune-up shop after the installation of the headers. Doing so will ensure
that you get the maximum benefit from the installation of the headers.
GIBSON PERFORMANCE strives to deliver the highest quality materials, workmanship, and service.
Please so not hesitate to call our technical line if you have a question or experience a problem.