I've been patiently trying to install my headers all weekend. I've followed all of the readily searchable posts. I can't get the passenger side header in from the top or the bottom of the car.

My car is on jack stands, and I have about 19" between the oil pan and the ground. I have removed the starter. I have removed the passenger side valve cover. I have removed the engine mount nuts, and jacked the engine up to the point where wiring harnesses at the back of the manifold are just touching the firewall.

If I go through the top, the runner for the sixth cylinder contacts the air-conditioning hardline and/or the runner for the eighth cylinder, near the flange, gets caught on the hard line. The collector almost gets to where it needs to be, but the header cannot be rotated into position because of interference with the cylinder head, air conditioning hard lines, and the frame rail.

If I go through the bottom, I run into interference between the header flange and the cylinder head, and I can't get the flange near the eighth cylinder through the space between the bell housing and the transmission tunnel.

I'm at my wit's end... Supposedly these were supposed to go in easily. Can anyone help? Thank you

 

What year is your car? Not that it should matte in this case but ..... still good to know.

I installed the 1 3/4" ARH headers on my 2001 (manual trans) last November. It was a lot of work, but I learned a lot.
I don't think removing the valve cover is going to be of any help.
Once you figure out the angle of attack getting the passenger side is about as easy as can be. Install them from the BOTTOM.
There are no short cuts, so just take the time to do it like ARH shows on their instructions (they really do over-simplify those instructions, though).
Did you remove all spark plugs and wires?
Did you disconnect the battery cables and remove the battery, and the battery surround?.

Make sure there is an extremely clear path with NO WIRES hanging down - no starter wires, no O2 sensor wires, etc. It is worth the time to make sure the wires are tied back with string or wire.
I seem to remember that if you tilt the outlet end of the header down the front of the header flange will slide up and clear the block, etc. You may need to twist the outlet end in towards the center line of the car. As the flange gets higher you want to bring it horizontal and parallel to the cylinder head.
I used a really stout piece of bungee cord (about 4 foot long) as a helper. Much better than a piece of rope because of the stretch factor. When I got the header positioned at the bottom I could go topside and tie-off the cord to a hood-stop or other point and take time to analyze the situation.
The guys at ARH were not particularly helpful, but they assured me that it was not a complicated thing. I sort of liken it to the way a Kindergarten teacher would say, "You can do this Bobby. I know you can!"

Hope that helps. And you will like the final result.

 

BTW - jacking up the engine, or removing cradle bolts will be of no help IMO. Might even cause more trouble/problems. There is a normal path to get them in once you have the entire factory exhaust removed, and all of that other prep stuff in my prior post. And 19" is high enough.

 

My car is a 2003 manual coupe.

My ARH instructions don't have any pictures, but I read them, and thought I was following them.

All of the plugs and plug wires have been removed.

Your description of "vertically" feeding the header in from the bottom, and then twisting its orientation as the header is "leveled" is pretty much what I've been trying to do. Interference from the frame rail, bat wing, and bell housing has thwarted me...

I'll give it another shot, though. Thanks for responding. Anyone else...?

 

It is a real b!#ch until you figure out the path.
I think you need to BEGIN entering the header from further back than you might normally think. IOW - not directly under the cylinder head area, but rather about the same distance back as the firewall.

 

That's pretty much what I've been doing, beginning about where the starter was, such that the header is going straight up into the car, with the collector almost pointing toward the floor. Then, once the header clears the starter wires, there's no more room to go straight up.

That's where I run into trouble: as I rotate the header so that it's closer to getting level (collector pointed more toward the back of the car), and try to rotate it around the bat wing, the #6 runner seems to get caught on it. There isn't anymore space between the primaries and the frame, and then the flange gets caught up between the bell housing and the transmission tunnel.

I re-read the instructions after you posted. They say, "[n]ote: 304 S/S tubing can shift slightly during the assembly process. When this happens the install may require loosening of motor mount nuts and a quick pry of the engine opposite of the side being installed. Though this rarely occurs it does happen."

When I jacked up the engine, I raised the passenger side while attempting the passenger side header. It sounds like the instructions actually called for jacking the driver's side of the engine while working on the passenger side. I'll give it a shot, but I'm beginning to suspect either my car or the header is way out of spec.

Thanks again.

 

Just remembered something - my "ah hah" moment on the passenger side was that the front end of the flange has to pass by where the starter is (was). It was so obvious when I realized that the reason you must remove the starter is that it is an obstacle. Therefore, that extra space is the key to sliding the header in.
So I probably told you wrong about how far back to start.
Hope that helps some more.

 

When I installed my arh on my 02z I fought it for 2 hrs. Had starter off tried all that stuff and had to walk away and have a cold one. When I went back at it I had in position in 2 mins.
The key for me was to put in from bottom, looks like plenty of room but like you couldn't get the last mounting hole to pass batwind. Then I rotated the bottom of header so the last bolt hole on header flange was on the same plane as the frame rail at corner of batwing. It is real close but the flange bolt hole will pass between the corner of batwing and frame.
It went in so easy once I lined it up that I removed the header, put starter back on and reinstalled it in less than a minute.
Extremely easy once I figured out the path it needed to go. Try again and focus on the small gap between the frame and very tip of the pan.

 

Much appreciated advice. I'll give this a shot this evening or tomorrow. Thanks!

Anyone else have any tips?

 

03z here. Installed mine on jackstands in the garage. Drivers side when in from the bottom. Passenger side I was able to get in from the top. Removed coil packs, plugs and wires, and had to massage the ac line against the battery box a little. Didn't have to remove the starter though. The ac line was my problem. Now ithe ac line basically contours the battery box.

 

I have problems similar to yours with the a/c line. What did you use to "massage" the line? Did you just pull it toward the battery box? Did you use a pry bar or a mallet?

Does your A/C still work okay?

Thanks!

 

Not sure how crash did his but I also had to massage the ac lines and I did mine by hand. I just pull and pushed to get them as tight to the battery box as I could. Didn't take alot but every little bit helped

 

I did it by hand for the most part to form it to the battery box. Then a little massaging with a rubber mallet. The aluminum line is soft so it forms pretty easy. AC works great. Blows colder than my 2014 GMC. I can get you pic tonight of the finished product so you can see how the line runs.

 

Thanks! A photo would be great. I thought about trying to bend the a/c hard line, but I wasn't sure if it would bend or crack, and the instructions said the headers wouldn't fight me if I had them oriented properly...

 

Here is a pic. It doesn't need to move much.

 

Thanks for the photo! You guys have been very helpful. I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

In the interests of helping someone down the road, I actually called ARH a couple of days ago, and they said that if the headers are fighting you like mine, it helps to have another person slightly shift the engine with a pry bar while you work the headers in, and just keep working around whatever they might be catching on. ARH said thats how the guys who install them at Carlisle do it.

Anyway, thanks again. It's much appreciated.

 

Were you able to get your headers installed.

 

Not yet. I thought I was going to have today off, but got called into work. I'll let you guys know how it goes, though. It's a bit hard for me because my buddy who usually wrenches with me has a new born to look after.

I also was going to take photos of mine since I suspect my car is on the tight side - none of the suggested angles of attack, short of lifting the engine a bit have come close to allowing the headers to fit. I suspect bending the hard line will get them in. Stay tuned.

Thanks again.

 

When i.did my arh 1 7/8 i aldo removed the starter. After that, it went in from.the bottom. Sometimes, when it looks like it wont fit, just use some force, and itll go right in.

Trust me lol

 

Btw, take the time to make sure your AC line has adequate space so it doesnt burn through like mine did. You can try and bend the aluminum line coming from the evap with a good wescott and some thinking.