broken header

[ITC Mercury]

Recently I blew the header on my itc rabbit. I am planning to pull the head and have it cleaned, vac tested, and inspected in case we did any valve damage. I'm looking for confirmation that I am doing th eright thing and any other suggestions on proper maintenance before I put the new header on and start running the engine again. Some one was saying I should deck the head as a matter of maintenance?

[metalworker]

I'm not saying it didn't, but how did having a header blow out hurt the head.

[ITC Mercury]

The header basically disintegrated. It ended up in six pieces; and continued to be driven for 15 minutes after the header was all but missing. I had been told that it is possible to have peices of the header enter the head and cause some damage, as well as a tendency to burn up exhaust valves. I'm just learning this stuff so I am looking for some guidence. Also I'm trying to get it put back together by 8/24 for NHIS. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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Erik

[Eric Parham]

Why did the header disintegrate? Was it due to engine motion or excessive temperature? If the engine was run for 15 minutes after the header broke, I can assure you that there are no pieces of it in the head! Although it's possible to burn a valve if you were already on the ragged edge of lean to begin with, if the engine was running smoothly when you shut it down, there's no NEW reason for a rebuild. I would:

a) check plugs for excessive lean
R&R engine mounts
c) buy a stronger header
d) use an infrared pyrometer to check header temps, if necessary

Good luck