Just purchased my first cigarette. A 2003 with 525's. Have been reading the threads on how the CMI headers are a POS. If this is the case and they can do such damage to the motors, why not switch to a good performance manifold instead ?? If nothing else, it might give peace of mind...

I replaced mine with Stellings for piece of mind. I got great service from Randy.

I just posted some questions on this. How do you know if permanent damage has been done to the motor?

I am pulling my headers today. Will not be able to sleep till they are inspected and tested.

If there was serious damage/leak to the header, more than likely there would have been a serious engine failure. When you pull the headers, look into the exhaust ports on the heads and look for pitting on the exhaust valve stems.