UEL Header Question

[Subieee]

So i got my headers on a couple months ago & the place that installed them said i have a gap somewhere, but dumb me can't remember where he said :smt017

1997 Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon
N/A 2.5l UEL Header (Knock-off)

Yesterday, my car was on a lift & i was looking where the headers meet the head and one of the bolts looked like it wasn't on all the way. All i remember is that he said something about the cat being too short (?) so i'd have to get a catback in order for them to fit right. So remembering that, i replaced the gasket where the headers meet the cat and i saw that it fit fine, so there is where i got really confused.

So, how do i fix this? Are the headers just too short so i would need a catback in order for them to truly fit? Or is there something i can do? Go back to stock headers? I just hate exhaust leaks and it totally kills the subie rumble lol

Helpful words are welcomed!

Matt

[Wiscon_Mark]

There is no difference in any N/A Subaru for headers (save for the H6 engines). Whatever that guy told you was either misinterpreted, or the guy's an idiot. The only different between Forester/Legacy/Impreza in the exhaust system on non-turbo motors is the catback. I really couldn't speculate as to what he meant. If you're not having exhaust leak issues, don't worry about it.

This is assuming that you have dual port heads and the matching dual port headers, which I'm guessing you do or you'd have a huge problem and it would obviously not fit.

[Subieee]

Maybe cause they're knock-offs.
You can tell that they are physically too short, it's either you make it flush with the cat and you have a gap where they meet the head, or go flush with the head and have a gap at the cat. -___-

Guess it's back to stock headers!!

[Wiscon_Mark]

It's interesting, because I've never heard of fitment issues with any brand of header for the Subarus.

[StatGSR]

Care to tell us what a gap is in some sort of unit of measutment? In any case make sure it is snug on the heads, then bolt up the cat as best you can, the exhaust should be able to compensate for a small differance in length...

[Wiscon_Mark]

The only problem I see with that is that the Cat is bolted up to the chassis, rather than hung like the rest of the exhaust. A picture would be really helpful.