96 2.7L exhaust manifold cracked. Header?

[Duane]

Well as you guys said save my money regarding a timing chain.... exhaust manifold started leaking too much.
Around $300 bucks ..... what a design..no wonder it cracked where it did.
Has anyone tried an aftermarket header or is that just asking for the typical leaks and more problems?

 

[vtcruiser60]

mine cracked. I bought new from toyotaworld.com for much less than $300. No problems since. It is a notable problem with these rigs.

 

[nullifier]

The ealry tacos are notorious for cracked manifolds. I replaced mine with a stainless headre from LCE. It came with factory gaskets and new studs. I have not had one issue with it and have run it for over a year and a half. The noise increase was next to nothing wit the rest of the exhaust being stock. It wasn't until I put on a highflow cat and short magnaflow that it got loud.

The late model tacos addressed this y offering a thicker manifold so if you source a new one make sure it is for the a later year like 99+.