Mr. Brown delivered my Kooks headers, cats and x pipe yesterday. I called my tuner today and he can't get to me untill next week. And then he will keep the car for a couple days.

So like a true CFer, I am going it alone. Besides, why pay someone else for what I should be able to do myself.

So far, tonite, I removed the stock system and the passanger side manifold. Everything went pretty much by the numbers.

The plugs are still in, the valve cover still on and the starter still in place. Tomorrow I will remove what I have to and raise the motor. My goal is to get the passenger side header in tomorrow and if that goes well, to remove the driver side manifold.

A few questions for those who have done it. Do I need to completely remove the starter? Do I need to remove the plugs? Do I need to remove the valve cover?

 

I removed the starter but not the v-covers,it will make it easier if you do,youre doin it the right way by takin it in stages,thats the way I did the headers& just did heads/cam.

 

I did NOT remove the starter or the valve cover on the drivers side. I also did not remove the alternator bracket, I found that a crow bar fit nicely into it to helped lift that side up. Having said that, I'm sure it would have been easier had I removed those parts ESPECIALLY the starter.
Those headers are a pain in the butt to install, hope you get more HP than I did.....
Good Luck!

 

I had to remove the starter. Some people have posted that they did not, but I wasted about 45 min trying to install before I called KOOKS and they said to remove it. With a little they went right in. Just remember to bolt the starter back on (as well as the O2 sensor) before you put the headers in place and bolt them up.
I removed my old plugs and replaced with new ones before I put the header in. I had to be careful with the header but did not break any on the install
You might want to remove the temp sensor in the front of the driver side head. I, along with several others have popped that puppy off on the install.
Don't forget to remove the oil filter and get out the
A few hours and it'll all be over but the sound and power

 

SECOND DAY.

Got both headers in . Wore gloves for everything so far. Otherwise, my hands would be a bloody mess right now.

Passenger side, removed the starter, oil stick and tube, and the valve cover. Jacked the motor, 2x4d it slightly over, and finagled the header into place. Had to remove the second from the firewall, spark plug.

Snugged the header up, when I got it in, because I was so glad to get it in. And then had to unsnug it to get the starter back in Which I might add was a royal PITA. But finally got it back in. Then got the header bolts antiseized and snugged up. Used the old gasket.

Went to the driver side. So much stuff to take loose and remove. Started with the alternator, then the coil pack, then the manifold bolts. The last one on the driver side was a beotch, but got it. Then the vacuum hose, the oil filter and oil temp sensor, then the coolant sensor and lost about a cup and a half of antifreeze before wiseing up duct taping the hole shut. Then the lower steering bolt and moving the shaft to the side. Left the alternator bracket in place, but had to work around it.

Now the fun part with Mr 2x4 and the jack. The new, revision must be a good one, cause it took about 10 minutes less to get the driver side in than it took to get in the passenger side. Had to remove the frontmost sparkplug. It still took a good half hour of coaxing. Used the old gasket. The passenger side took slightly longer.

I have put the front of the car back together, and put the headers where they are to stay. My intent was to install the front O2 sensors, tomorrow, and tie them in to the harness, but I am reading above that I should have already installed the 02 sensors before bolting up the headers Oh, well whats another 45 minutes.

Plan to get the cats installed tomorrow and the aft sensors plugged in.
Will save the tie in to the catbacks for Friday.

Snags: Removing the spark plug wires from the plugs themselves. What a $#@%^$#%. Getting the starter back in. Forgetting to reinstall the oil temp sensor, had to reinstall it from underneath the car, not fun, getting antifreeze everywhere after removing the coolant sensor. Thought it would stop after a few seconds. It didn't. Ended up duct taping the hole. And buying more dexron for the top off after the install.

And finally melted a nice dimple in the top my coolant reservoir after placing a light on top of it. Fortunately, it was a small candleabre type light bulb Hope I didn't melt it too thin, cause if I did....

Impressions: This is a tough install, but not nearly as tough as it is made out to be. The key is to take your time, remove anything that might be in the way, and go in with the attitude that you are in for a fight. I can't wait for tomorrow.

 

thats the key,allow yourself sometime,they made a big difference in mine,well worth it,also I had to remove them because I just finished a head/cam& everything install,just to put things in perspecive.

 

I'm sure you'll be pleased by the performance and the sound of the headers. They really make a difference. BTW did you get the 3" mid section with X pipe? Cats?

 

You were not happy with the HP gain?? This is the first time I have heard a comment like this regarding Kook LT.

Can you elateberate please.

 

what kind did you install. Sounds like you aren't happy with the results.
Please tell us more.
thanks

 

The fight is well worth it!!

 

Jason has a great deal on Kooks at the moment BTW. I am looking at getting the 1 3/4 with the 3" mid section and cats. Is that the way to go? Are the cats also 3"? Do you still need 02 sims like you do on the LGs? Thanks.

Great write up btw, can you come over and install mine.

 

Don't forget to fire that baby up before you bolt the rest of the exhaust system up (read; open headers) especially if you have "bad" neighbors
It will sound SWEET!!!
You will be able to feel the difference in hp. , especially in the middle to upper rpm range. Good torque increase too

 

Guys, I got it done. 12:54 AM EST My birthday was the 26th BTW. I came in after work and went at it with a vengence.

Let me first give a great big thanks to all who have done this installation and were gracious enough to share their insight. For if not for them and their efforts, this would have been 10 times worse. And it was definitely tough enough.

I was tempted to fire it up with open headers, interestingly enough.

But: It is possible to install the O2 sensors ( and BTW you do not need sims as the Kooks make use of your present sensors) after the headers are firmly bolted into place.

The wires from the starter solonoid and the starter are periously close to the passenger side header, I still have to resolve this to my satisfaction.

The wiring is a beast, ie replugging in the fore O2 sensor on the passenger side, the rest of the wiring especially on the driver side is a piece of cake.

The X pipe takes some patience. I used a small jack, with a small block of 2x4, to position and hold it into place while I tightened the bolts.

I put the stock bell housing bracket back and have every intention of using the V bracket which came with the headers. This is the bracket which attaches to the headers on each side and to the bell housing bracket at the top. The bolts which connect this V bracket to the headers were tough to gain access to because the bracket is slanted. After a while, I said to hell with it and will leave it for a muffler shop to do later..

I installed the tailpipes and bolted them to my corsas. The stock bolts do not fit the new tail pipes, so I used the furnished ones which require a nut. I couldn't get the gasket to go in the passenger side.

As you can see, I left a little bit for the muffler shop. But what the hell.
I'll have then install that gasket, V bracket, and align the Corsas on a lift, though they don't look too bad now. I'll have them retighten everything and double check my work.

Any suggestions on getting those starter wires away from the passenger side header?????

I still have to tuck the O2 sensor wires with the pre existing clips. I made sure they were out of the way of the headers before I fired it up.

It is still on ramps but nontheless sounds great. Initial startup produced a lot of steam and smoke. Steam from the spilled antifreeze and moisture, smoke from the handprints and oils in and on the headers. I "buffed" the stainless steel to a shine the day before install, with a bit of Mothers metal polish.

A few loose ends to tie, a few ts to cross and Ize to dot, but I made it.

 

Who can sleep at a time like this??? 2:54 AM EST. I went out after my last post, tucked the wires, moved the starter wires as far out of the way as I could, made sure everything was snugged up and took it for a spin.

It still stands. The Kooks rock!!!!! They sound awesome!!!!! Not much if any louder at idle and normal cruising through the Corsas. Got on it a bit and the SOP response was impressive. Still have to burn off the little crap which must have been inside the headers and pipes, but the "new" smell is drastically reduced now. They have a nice, almost exotic type sound.

Up next, installation of the bell housing V bracket, and I may take a shot at aligning the Corsas and installing that gasket.

 

Congrats on the install.
You will need to zip tie your wires (starter, O2, etc) out of the way of the header tubes. If you burn some wires, they will be a big problem to work on. I used "double" ties on each side.
As you mentioned, you can get the O2 sensors in with the headers in place, but it is SO much easier to put them in before you snug the header up.
Congrats again. Feels good to do it yourself, but even better to have that install money left for other mods!