The idea of pumping hot exhaust air into my throttle body isnt very attractive to me. My truck is slow enough as it is. So id like to get rid of this. The question is can the hole in the header be capped?I dont wantwater rushing into it when i go wheelin.
Ive tried searching the web but ive come up with nothing.
My dad did this to his chevelle. Told me it was a good idea. But he sold the car and doesnt remember what he used.
Thanks in advance

 

According to how big the hole is, you may be able to JB weld it.

 

The heat riser isn't directing exhaust into your intake. It is just air moving around the exhaust manifold which is heated by it. This does help your truck warm up when cold, but if you don't have a problem with that, just remove the pipe that goes down to the manifold heat sheilding. Problem solved.

 

with the temps around here its has to sit for the heater to warm up so im not worried about it. i dont want to leave the hole in the header open. i think its too big to weld. so far the only option for not have a hole ive found is replacing the headers.

 

If the heat riser valve is the same as the one on my old '87, it's about 3" long and fits between the exhaust manifold and the "Y" pipe.
I took the valve out, cut the plate off the shaft that goes through the valve, put a little JB Weld on the shaft so it wouldn't rattle, and put the valve back in.
The only reason I did that is because it was rattling.

 

Wait, what exactly are we talking about here? The heat riser to the intake or the exhaust restrictor? They are both on the same side of the engine and will basically do the same thing, help the engine warm up.

The heat riser itself does not open up into the exhaust stream. It is only in the heat sheild around the exhaust manifold. No need to do anything with it, but if you really wanted to, pop rivet some sheet metal flashing over the hole and call it a day.

For the exhaust restrictor, yes, you can remove the butterfly valve and plug the hole or just remove the temp spring and lock it in the open position.

 

hmm i was mislead. sorry for the confusion.
so now with the heat riser removed im thinking of a new air filter can. my stock intake pulls in water when i plow a puddle. i was looking into an open air can. but im wondering fi this is going to hurt my power, or be worse then what ive already got.

 

In doing some searching, I have found that the valve in the exhaust pipe is actually referred to as the heat riser, for that I have misled.. However, I did not believe this is what you were talking about. I can't remember what the actual term for the tube that runs from the exhaust manifold heat sheild to the air intake, but I was pretty sure that is what you were talking about.

As far as an open element air cleaner, well, I have always run one on my Chevelle. Doesn't mean it is right, but it worked quite well for me. Obviously the cooler the air, the better for making power. Now, between the stock, snokel type air filter housing and an open element air cleaner, you probably won't notice any difference in performance. If you are travelling through water, I would recommend that you get a foam wrap for your filter as this will keep the water from getting to the filter itself.

 

yeah the pipe from the exhaust manifold is what i was refering to. i was pretty sure it was called a heat riser as well. none the less i removed it. went and picked up an open air can. so now about this foam wrap. ive never seen it before. is it something that is intended to be used for this? or something i fab. also which side of the filter would be best. inside or outside?
thatnks for all the help

 

They can be purchased. There are many available. Here is the selection from SummitRacing.com. Looks like there are many other alternatives now. Some are still foam, some are a fabric, but they all perform the same function. Airaid actually makes one specifically for blocking water, but I'm sure that the K&N pre-filters do the same.