legacycentral bbs

So my buddy and I are building a battle-wagon out of my junky 1990 Legacy with the ej22e.

It's been a long time leading up to the fun parts because she's been overheating for quite some time. After replacing a blown water pump I realized the head gasket on passenger side had went, did that job and then realized the t-stat was stuck closed .

Anyway all that said and done she's running great, I've eliminated coolant leaks, and now I've got a pretty nasty exhaust leak coming out of the passenger side header. I honestly don't mind the sound because she's a scrappy little broad, but I live in California and the cops are gonna shut my ass down quick.

Basically I've got this one bolt on the header that feels like it's cross-threaded, but no matter how many times I take it out and try to thread it in nicely, it fights me more than any bolt I've ever tightened. Alas I tightened it as much as possible but she's still sounding like a motorcycle. I did replace the header gaskets.

I'm interested in aftermarket headers anyway but I don't think any exist for the ej22e naturally aspirated? I know there's one thread where some guy made his own, I don't think that's within my skill level. So alternatively if anyone has any advice for getting this stubborn bolt to tighten properly I'd much appreciate it.

Pics of the dirt wagon will be posted in the appropriate board soon. Happy to be a member of this board.

Are you sure it's leaking from there? I have a small leak that is coming from the weld from the second port to the exhaust. So check there first, I’ve had it happen on both sides. I'll put up a pic later for better understanding. If that’s the case then see if someone will re-weld it.