New Pacesetter headers not lining up!

[jakegator]

Hello everyone! I just did a head job and with that added Pacesetter headers to my OHV engine. They dont seem to line up perfectly with the y pipe. Has anyone had this experience before? Do I just need to get better bolt and torque them down as hard as i can? Also can anyone confirm that there is NOT a gasket between the manifolds/headers and the y pipe? It seems to just be metal on metal and im not sure if I need to use a doughnut or something with the new headers?

As always thank you for the help!

Its a 98 explorer with a mostly stock exhaust (except headers and a new muffler).

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i dont think they need gaskets. they should be like ball socket type if you understand what im saying.
i helped a member here put in his then new motor with new pacesetters on it. we had to force them to line up with the y pipe. i think 3 or 4 years later the truck was totalled so we stripped it of the good parts. when i took the headers off, i noticed one of them had a crack in them. so be warned, if they are not lining up right, you might want to go to a exhaust shop and have the y pipe cut and refit them to the headers.

 

[jakegator]

Thanks for the info! Yea I see what you mean. After I bought them I started reading about how they can crack. The cheap nut they came with stripped so im going to get a better quality one and try to tighten them more. They are pretty close. I have a torch too so i may heat the y pipe and bend it if needed.