Car runs terribly after header install
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 608
Likes: 70
From: Richmond, VA
Car runs terribly after header install
Hey all,
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,472
Likes: 1,171
From: Dyer, IN
Hey all,
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,472
Likes: 1,171
From: Dyer, IN
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 165
Likes: 7
From: Newmarket
Hey all,
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Yesterday I finished the install of my LG Street series headers. Now, the car runs really badly....so somehwere something went wrong. I expect it to run rich until it gets tuned, but it is missing, has intermident acceleration/power, and idles extremely low(400RPM).
The only things that didn't go according to plan, was the replacment of 2 wires I had to remove to get the drivers side header in place. They were near the collector, possibly above it. One black wire, and one silver/mesh stlye wire, grounded in the same area(firewall perhaps)? After I installed the header on that side, we couldn't find where it went....so we found a spot on the engine to ground it to.
Any thoughts would be great....this is driving me nuts!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Did you remove the spark-plugs prior to the removal of the old stuff and installation of the headers. Ive see WAY TOO many header installs go wrong due to broken plugs. Carefully inspect your spark-plugs and make sure that they do NOT look like this:
If the spark-plugs check out fine, make sure that the spark-plug wire boots are FULLY seated on the plug and fully seated on the coil towers. The coil ends actually SNAP into place when there properly seated.
Yea, those ground wires are critical. There a 15mm bolt on both sides of the block above and forward of the starter and oil filter housing. The block grounds connect there. The silver braided wire and a black ground wire need to connect to that bolt on the drivers side.
The battery ground and black ground wire connect to the passengers side.
Your in good hands with LUCKY!
BC
If the spark-plugs check out fine, make sure that the spark-plug wire boots are FULLY seated on the plug and fully seated on the coil towers. The coil ends actually SNAP into place when there properly seated.
Yea, those ground wires are critical. There a 15mm bolt on both sides of the block above and forward of the starter and oil filter housing. The block grounds connect there. The silver braided wire and a black ground wire need to connect to that bolt on the drivers side.
The battery ground and black ground wire connect to the passengers side.
Your in good hands with LUCKY!
BC
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 608
Likes: 70
From: Richmond, VA
I spoke with Lucky on the phone earlier, and I think we've got it figured out. My O2 sensors are hooked up backwards....I'll switch them tonight when I get home and follow up with the result. The ground wires were installed properly I've discovered.
As far as the installation of the headers, I'll never do it again on any car. I like to think I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but this job was a real PITA. All in, I probably had 16 hours invested in the job, lost a few pints of blood(ok maybe not that many...but my hands are cut to pieces), and I'm sure my neighbors wonder who exactly I was cursing at in my garage all night. It would be a bit easier with a helper.
As far as the installation of the headers, I'll never do it again on any car. I like to think I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but this job was a real PITA. All in, I probably had 16 hours invested in the job, lost a few pints of blood(ok maybe not that many...but my hands are cut to pieces), and I'm sure my neighbors wonder who exactly I was cursing at in my garage all night. It would be a bit easier with a helper.
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