As the title states. I just got a used set of Hooker supercomp sidepipe headers & sidepipes. I spent about 6 hours today by myself installing them. The passenger side looks perfect, but for some reason on the drivers sit, the header hangs too low. It is probably .5-1" from touching the rocker moulding. Being so low, it causes the side pipe on the drivers side to sit way too low too. I could only get the back side mounted and that cause it to angle upward as it goes back, so much that my door bottom corner scrapes the pipe.

Is there any way to fix this?

Thanks
-Josh

 

wait for a better suggestion, but i'm thinking floor jack.. well maybe on second thought, loosen up the header bolts some, put a jack under the collector with a little upward pressure, then tighten up the header bolts, let the jack pressure off and see if its up just a bit. if that dont do it then jack it up more and try to tweek it a little more. Sorry not better help than to bubba it, but it dont sound like its gonna work the way it is. Good luck

 

Just a guess but could the engine mount be bad on the drivers side?????
Todd

 

That would be my bet.

 

Could be bad/incorrect motor mount and/or bad/incorrect transmission mount

I wouldn't jack on the header, may dent it or worse crack block/break off bolts in block

 

Hm. I don't think my motor mount is bad, but is there any way I can check?

Also, how do I change that if it is bad?

I was thinking about using an acetylene torch and heating up the bends on the bottom of the side pipes and trying to bend it up. That should keep them from breaking or cracking right?

 

I had a similar problem with mine. A member here told me to leave the bolts at the head loose and the side pipe to the collector loose. Then line up the side pipe and tighten those bolts, then go and tighten the head flange bolts and then the clamp at the collector, it worked.
Dave

 

You can brake torque it a little and see if the engine jumps up to check if the mount is bad. Also look at both mounts and make sure they are identicle, mixed brands or part #'s might set a little different?

 

Are you sure the header is bolted up tight to the head? If it is hitting the steering box or anything else it may be binding and not pulling up tight to the head.

I have AFR heads (.25" raised ports), but I did have to do a fair amount of dimpling on mine to get them to clear the steering box and fit properly.
I also had to bend the sidepipe mounting ear a little to get the pipe to clear the door and get the exhaust angle correct.

 

I just pushed the side pipe down with my foot to get the mounting tabs bent to where the pipe was level and cleared the door.

The only other thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is possibly a bent frame.

 

The exhaust on mine actually had to be angled downward a little.

If I put them on with the exhaust at 90 degrees the doors hit the top of the pipes.


These are the only pics I have that show the sidepipes installed:

 

I am sure the header is bolted up to the heads correctly. I don't have any leaks. I guess I'll try unbolting the heads and sidepipe, mounting the sidepipe in the right place and redoing the header bolts to see if it helps.

-Josh

 

I've been through this before myself, and I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it. You could very well have a bent set of headers. In my case, things fit close enough that I could mount the header, attach the sidepipe, and support the sidepipe and collector area from below. In my case I used phone books. I then started and brought the pipes up to operating temp, then shut it all down and used a wooden prybar to gently coax the pipes back into their intended position. The pipes shouldn't crack if you're careful about it and don't try to be a monkey. Once you have coaxed the pipes up into the proper position, support them with additional materials as necessary (more phone book sheets), until you can bolt the sidepipes in place. From there, check all the fasteners, and remove the supports. Then drive the car for a couple weeks, checking fasteners daily. After several heat cycles, the pipes will have returned to an acceptable shape and fitment to where they'll fit up easier the next time you remove them.

My right sidepipe hung about 3/4" too low, but after this procedure they fit just as normal.

I'm guessing you bought your sidepipes used, of course. (double checking) yeah. same here.

Incidentally, I ordered a new set of headers this week... should be here on friday. If anyone needs a set of hooker headers, I'll be posting them up in the for sale section soon.

the blonde weasel

 

Hey iNdigo. I didn't even think about using the engine heat to help bend them up. I will get my little jack out and try that! I'm worried they won't get hot enough from just normal running to make them actually hold that shape after bending though. I guess if they don't, I'll just use my cutting torch idea. I did try unbolting the headers, aligning the pipes, and rebolting the headers. That gave me a really terrible seal on the headers because they weren't making good contact on the head.

Glad to know I'm not the only one :]