Header clearance

[98XJesse]

98 xj 4.0. Ive noticed that the aftermarket header is extremely close, if not touching the oil pan. Its obviously a larger diameter than stock but not by much. I feel this definitely affects the oil temp in the pan. Which affects oil pressure. Are there thicker gaskets out there? Anyone ran into this? Id hate to start grinding shit on my ol rusty jeep lol

 

[98XJesse]

Correction.. i meant to say the downpipe is touching the oil pan. The header is nearly touching the block.

 

[98XJesse]

Ok well i guess its a "nature of the beast" issue. The answer ive found to my own question is that its a mass production design on the 4.0 that isnt really practical for an xj with an abundance of space for exhaust manifold. It just sucks. As great as these jeeps are some things are real head scratchers. Typically always is a result of mass production.. so the fix is to make your own header using the factory port flange, and install a flex pipe before the first hanger so make up for any alignment error on the downpipe flange. Lot of work. Anything else would be a bandaid.

 

[75SV1]

You didn't list the make of the header. I don't think my Thorley header has any issues.