Review on Dorman 674 777 Exhaust Manifold Kit by Chase Cooper

I installed this header and warmed up the engine. I haven't driven a car yet. Therefore I have no long-term evaluation.1. The processing is very rough. It looks like it was planned when the Chinese kicked it on the concrete floor. 2. Gasketed flanges were wrong by 0.006-0.007 from start to finish.3. There was a casting gap near one of the bolt holes. I don't think it hurts, but it doesn't inspire confidence. If I had more time and were better prepared I would have this brand new header repaired at a local machine shop to fix the very poor surface finish and poor "flatness". This would also reduce but not eliminate the size of the casting cavity.4. I had a lot of trouble getting the heat shield under the cast lugs on the cylinder head. I had to bend the sign with pliers and a crowbar to get it to fit. The original heat shield is flanged all the way around. Dorman's shield had only a few protrusions connecting the outer shell to the inner shell.5. The supplied parts – studs and nuts for the heat shield and studs and nuts for the exhaust pipe – appeared to be poorly made and flimsy. I didn't dare tighten the heat shield to specification, the studs and nuts became "rubber" at about half the torque specified for the GM.6. The box it arrived in was damaged; The exhaust donut was crushed by objects moving on the show. I was able to reuse the original donut. Remember to install the gasket correctly; There is a small hole in the manifold flange that should line up with the smallest hole in the gasket. Use a swivel head when loosening the screws connecting the manifold to the head so that no lateral force is applied to the screws during removal. I think this may help avoid broken exhaust manifold bolts - a common problem with this engine. Don't let your tool push the screws out of the way when removing the screw! I really hope this Dorman will be a more durable product. I hope but I'm not sure. The time will show. [Later] This sewer has tens of thousands of kilometers. Still works fine. I would recommend this repair kit if you understand that it requires machining and fastener replacement to install correctly. "Genuine" GM parts are insanely expensive and have proven to be no better than this Dorman replacement in terms of durability.