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Yea! Yet another project on this car to make me feel like a moron...
My Flowtech headers have strange fasteners on them that I wanted to run by folks here; it is 7/16” on the outside and super thin and has a Alan hex head on the inside. An Alan head wrench with as much torque as I can apply won’t come; off a 7/16” socket also and nothing. The headers have only been installed 6-12 months.
After taking the picture I realize it looks like the weird washer is welded to the nut.
Do I just need penetrating oil and a bigger lever or do I need to do something special with these things?
Those look like my old Stage 8 locking nuts. Like cruise said: take the clips off with a small flat screw driver and or needle nose. The washer with a cut for the pipes is just hex shaped inside and it lifts off. Then use a typical thin wall 1/4 drive socket or an open end probably 3/8ths.
You don't need those trendy bolts. I have yet to see a header bolt back out unless a little girl installed it. Remove all that PITA crap and install ARPs.
Keep in mind that an Allen bolt is still six-sided no matter how you look at it. So are hex bolts. Get the 12 point and you double your wrench-grabbing contact points.
Keep It Simple.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Sep 6, 2018 at 09:09 AM.
You don't need those trendy bolts. I have yet to see a header bolt back out unless a little girl installed it. Remove all that PITA crap and install ARPs.
Keep in mind that an Allen bolt is still six-sided no matter how you look at it. So are hex bolts. Get the 12 point and you double your wrench-grabbing contact points.
Keep It Simple.
Those are hardly pieces of crap. They do exactly what they're designed to do. Stay put! Each to their own!
Those are hardly pieces of crap. They do exactly what they're designed to do. Stay put! Each to their own!
Stage 8 fasteners worked great for me. If I was to buy locking fasteners today, then I would buy the kind with the
internal-allen-headed-setscrew; they just look easier to work with.
From: Arizona - If you don’t know CFI, STOP proliferating the myths around it...
Yep, those are Stage 8 headers bolts which I have used for about 15 years at least and have NEVER had an issue with the bolts coming loose and then a header leak. Best money spent on bolts. I wish I had those back in the day. Pull the "C" clip off and the locking tab and unscrew bolt...easy.
stage 8 bolts get a bad rap because people DONT UNDERSTAND HOW TO RETORQUE BOLTS
I used stage 8 bolts, and my headers leaked, because I didn't retorque my bolts like an idiot
I used to have header leaks all the time, as do lots of other people, this isn't due to bolts backing out... its due to the gasket material being crushed from thermal expansion of the header flange expanding and pushing against the bolts and the soft gasket material, header bolts have to be re-torqued THREE TIMES
go out get the engine up to temp, shut it off, let it cool off completely, DO THIS THREE TIMES, the 3rd time will be the last time you have to re-torque bolts
after I was told about the retorque part I have not needed stage 8 bolts anymore, HeadsUP is correct, you don't need them, I've never had issues with bolts loosening up anymore, but I thought I did, simply because they were becoming loose from gasket compression, so I paid 70.00 for no reason other than I didn't understand what was going on with the gasket and header flange. The ARP 12 point bolts also have the smallest heads which is invaluable when dealing with header clearances.
This is a constant issue for people and headers, follow this and you will never have issues. PERIOD (provided your bolts holes aren't full of oil from leaky valve cover)
You don't need those trendy bolts. I have yet to see a header bolt back out unless a little girl installed it. Remove all that PITA crap and install ARPs.
Keep in mind that an Allen bolt is still six-sided no matter how you look at it. So are hex bolts. Get the 12 point and you double your wrench-grabbing contact points.
Keep It Simple.
you haven’t fitted headers to aluminium head then.
you haven’t fitted headers to aluminium head then.
Nonsense. If you look at my avatar you will see aluminum heads with headers. Nothing but ARPs, sometimes a drop of Loctite blue, sometimes anti-seize.
You don't need locks, you don't need a torque wrench. Its not rocket science. Just muscle the bolt down with a box-end wrench. Check on them a couple times a year.
I have yet to see a header bolt come loose. Maybe that is the difference between $20 header gaskets and $35 gaskets? One shrinks, IDK.
Or maybe that is the difference between $199 headers and $500 headers? IDK
You can lock your doors, lock your wheels on but you don't need to lock your headers on unless you live in a bad neighborhood.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Sep 7, 2018 at 09:24 AM.
I noted you said allen wrench, you do realize theres sockets with allen heads, I prefer the 1/2 drive because it fits my torque wrench and my breaker bar socket adapter, probably knew about these but if u didn't then get them, well worth the cost.
Nonsense. If you look at my avatar you will see aluminum heads with headers. Nothing but ARPs, sometimes a drop of Loctite blue, sometimes anti-seize.
You don't need locks, you don't need a torque wrench. Its not rocket science. Just muscle the bolt down with a box-end wrench. Check on them a couple times a year.
I have yet to see a header bolt come loose. Maybe that is the difference between $20 header gaskets and $35 gaskets? One shrinks, IDK.
Or maybe that is the difference between $199 headers and $500 headers? IDK
You can lock your doors, lock your wheels on but you don't need to lock your headers on unless you live in a bad neighborhood.
while I agree with most of this I STRONGLY advise using a torque wrench, most especially on anything that enter the engine block, all it takes is one adrenaline fueled fit of frustration and you can easily find yourself pulling heads to get the proper angle to drill and ex out a broken bolt, and then theres the question of aluminum, which is very intolerant of being over torqued
on all iron applications properly torqued headers are done. once they are properly torqued after 2 or 4 heat cycles they don't need checking, same with all aluminum, but there you sometimes have to heat cycled half a dozen times, unless its iron/aliumnum mix theres no reason aproperly torqued and cycled set of headers should ever require maintance re torques,
Update: Using a screwdriver I popped the C-clips off, then the D-shaped washer thing, and it was easy peasy from there.
I got one side done between kid bedtime and my wife getting home but I now know how to deal with these. I quite like them.
-I'm pretty sure they got installed by the shop that was working on some things for me when I complained about an exhaust leak sound on the passengers side. -These headers came with O-rings and they appear to have removed them, added a traditional gasket and the stage 8 bolts. Not happy about losing the O-rings, but it is what it is. (The leak was actually at the header flange going to the rest of the exhaust- the heat majorly warped the header there.) They double gasketed it there and added RTV sealant but it STILL leaks. I'm going to try to reflatten it in my vice before it goes back on. I'm going to want to upgrade my headers before too terribly long so I just need them to seal for a few months after the engine starts back up.
Adam
Last edited by NewbVetteGuy; Sep 7, 2018 at 12:30 PM.
I noted you said allen wrench, you do realize theres sockets with allen heads, I prefer the 1/2 drive because it fits my torque wrench and my breaker bar socket adapter, probably knew about these but if u didn't then get them, well worth the cost.
I do, but I've been eyeing a set of ratcheting T-handle allen wrenches, instead. My intake has 6 alan head screws per set of 2 intake runners (24 alan head screws; and removing and reinstalling means turning 48 alan head screws... YUCK!!) and some of them with very small clearances; the ratcheting t-handle wrenches are just going to save me a ton of time and I think I'm less afraid of the amount of torque I can put on a T-handle vs. a ratchet.
Adam
Last edited by NewbVetteGuy; Sep 7, 2018 at 12:39 PM.
Header fasteners: I give up!
