Daviddear30

I had long tube headers installed. I know it will set off a CEL for no rear 02 sensors. Do these seem like the correct codes?? It is running like garbage.. I have a Diablo tuner and I am in the process of getting the 150 miles with it to send in my data log for a custom tune by diablolew (?)




Longer version with more details

So I bought some Hinson Headers. Paid a local guy with a full time shop $250 to install them. Great price. The car ran awesome.. no leaks no issues no nothing. The NPP open souned awesome. I thought to myself wow why did I wait this long to add headers.. That is when the problems started.
hit the clutch to shift into 4th going maybe 30 mph on a small road heading to Baskin Robbins on my way home from the shop... Clutch hits the floor, doesn't return, smoke everywhere,...... I coast into Baskin Robbins and slowly get into an out of the way parking spot..I popped the hood and inspected. Clutch line was on the header!! Not close to it, but on it....
It was a late Friday afternoon and we had no time pr way to get it home or back to the shop. My dad and I rigged up a piece of line for the clutch..couldn't get the clutch to bleed...finally gave up.
Sunday comes and the guy that installed the headers arranged flatbed to come pick it up and take it to the shop. They made a new metal clutch line and still could not get it to bleed. Apparently GM has a recall on that main part for the clutch? He got that part replaced and said my car was good to go.
Now it has some rattles which my dad and I think we have fixed today up on jack stands in the garage.
I did find a loose vacuum line at the front passenger side of the engine. Got that reattached and it seems to be running better but still not right.
plus at some point while it was getting fixed the battery was drained and had to be charged up. No battery issues since?? I read that can cause problems as well.

Right now I have some rough idling some rough acceleration and it just isn't running good or sounding quite right

Merry Christmas to me

Daviddear30

it says lean but it seems to be running very rich. Burning way too much gas.. mpgs are terrible

449er

These cars respond well to LT headers, BUT, after the install, need a good tune to run properly, the advantage of a install/tune at the same shop is obvious, you don't need to data log & forward the results & wait for a updated tune


From what you describe, your installer should have been more careful that NO lines/wires would be too close to the headers, that would trouble me that they overlooked that

Daviddear30

I'd love to get a tune for my diablo now but the instructions form the tuner say to drive with the diablo canned tune for 150 miles, then log some info to send in for a custom tune. He isn't local. The tune will be done by a forum member via email

I will not be using that shop again. Sucks t because he seems like a great guy and his shop is close by and he does a lot of LS work.

irok

all the sensor 2 codes are to do with no rear 02 sensors

Dcasole

I went the same direction with the Diablo and Diablow Lew tune , 75 to 100 miles is fine , Lew just wants the fuels trims to settle in

but that is not your problem .........I drove mine for the 150 miles and it ran great ..... did not even throw a CEL and believe me I did not baby it !

the rear O2 CEL will come on when the system does a test for it which I think is every 100 miles , it has nothing to do with the way the engine runs and everything to do with testing to see if your cats are working ....

Adding headers will not cause the car to run like crap and throw the lean code ... from the looks of the other issues you had I would start looking for a vacuum leak or other cause , check the O2 sensors and wires ..... make sure they are working and hooked up

Just an FYI , I recently installed a FAST Manifold , when installing it I inadvertently had placed pressure while installing the decorative cover LS3 cover , on the PVC line that goes into the front of the Manifold behind the throttle body . a few miles down the road .... CEL and a lean code ..... now mind you this hose did not come off .... just had enough pressure on it to cause a leak

Dave

Dcasole

But the LEAN BANK codes have nothing to do with it , especially if the car is running like " Crap" as he states

Dave

Daviddear30

I did find a totally loose vacuum line. Where the "T" was added for the newer easier NPP in a box hook up. I have since reattached that line and it seems to be better but still not quite right.

I also got some misfire codes earlier that I cleared with my phone. 1 factory spark plug heat shield was touching the header so I ordered a set of hinson spark plug wires that had a 45 degree connection at each end to clear headers better. I installed the new wires and heat sleeves late last night.

Is there a better scan tool that can help me narrow down where the lean issue is coming from? Now I have torque app on phone and a older diablo hand held tuner that looks like an ipod touch.

Not sure exactly what else to look for on vacuum lines etc as I am uncertain where they should be attached and where they go etc.. This was the 1st mod that I paid someone to install

Red Devil

As others have said when I installed my Kooks I drove the car for some time with no ill affects whatsoever. It was once I had a professsional tune that the true benefits came to life. Good luck.

Dcasole

I am not a tuner by any means but right now your fuel trims are probably bouncing all over the place

This is barring the fact that nothing else is wrong , are your O2 sensors and wires ok ? Are your plugs and plug wires ok after the install ?

If you do a data log right now with the Diablo you can see the fuel trims and a whole bunch of other data like rpm's left bank , rt bank etc with their free viewer on your computer , it's pretty cool to watch a run and see everything that is happening

Force a relearn , Remove the battery cable for a bit and then hooked it back up . Take it out and run it hard [ not to hard without the header tune] run it thru the gears .... it is going to feel different ...but it should not miss etc . Once you get the tune and load it you will have to go thru relearn process over again but this time you can run it hard [ you won't have to disconnect the battery]

Nothing short of a GM Tech II or a HP tuners suite will give you as much detail as you need to figure out what is going on

I guarantee that it's something simple if it was running before the install , heck it's nothing but a bunch of pipes ..


Once you get it straightened out I guarantee the header addition will put a huge smile on your face

Daviddear30

The front 02 sensors look ok. The wires look ok as well. Is there an easy way to test them at home? Are the rear o2 sensors the same? I have them at home as well. Can I swap them in? I think the plugs are different

Dcasole

What is it doing when you say it's running differnt ??

How is it different , is it missing ?

No the rear sensors are different from the front,

Just make sure the fronts are tight and the wires are on , also check and make sure that the wires are not near the headers ...

Dave

Daviddear30

running poorly at times. rough idle. some hesitation. It doesn't seem consistent though. At times it seems almost normal at then at times it hesitates, shakes, etc.

The wires and the 02 extension wires are all ok looking and zip tied away from headers. The problems seemed to have started after the 2nd time at the shop. So I am thinking they maybe messed something up when they redid the clutch lines and header install etc??

Dcasole

If you had a loose vacuum line as you stated above that would have made the ECM richen up the mixture trying to compensate

Then add in the battery died ....I think you are talking about a few problems here

If you run the car at a steady state of around 2,400 RPM on the highway this should reset the fuel trims

The rich mixture that you are talking about is not really the engine running rich , I am assuming you are getting a gasoline smell right ...

That is normal with a header install as the Cats are farther downstream than the factory cats and sometimes don't get hot enough to flash off all the fuel . If you elected to eliminate the CATS then the smell is going to be way worse .....

If you say its running rough I would start with checking all the spark plug wires and the Spark Plugs . the best way to install the headers would be to remove the plugs and wires and if he did he could have messed up a wire or cracked a plug , Check both ends of the wire as well as the wire itself , put DIELETRIC Grease inside of both boots

Pull the plugs , check them as well , heck if you have to replace them do it as they are cheap , so are the wires , Stay with the factory plugs , do not use NKG plugs as there are reports of them causing alternator issues

I still go back to my original statement , its just a bunch of pipes .... something else is wrong and I bet its a plug wire or a plug

Good luck and keep us posted

Dave

Dcasole

See my previous post , I think its missing .. either the coils ( which I doubt) or the plugs (could be) or wires ( I would bet money on this one ) . When I did my headers I did not have one fully seated and it caused the exact same symptoms that you are describing ...

Other things I would check are the connections to the MAP and MAF sensors on the throttle body

If its not a bad shake ... that is normal for a LS3 ( not sure what year you have ? ) , many have reported this and even mine shakes a bit at IDLE , when I scan it with my TECH II I can see some random Misses going on ....

Check the plugs and wires ... replace them if you have to also load test that battery because if it was dead just driving it around is not going to fully charge it

Dave

Dcasole

I just saw that you replaced the wires ...., check the plugs and the connections to the coils , use grease in the wires , make sure you got them snapped on tight ...

Dave

Daviddear30

I will drive it again this afternoon and see if the new plug wires helped. if not I'll check plugs next on the list.

Thanks for all the tips​!!

Dcasole

No problem.... let us know .... if this stuff does not work I will send you my phone number ....we can do a data log

Dave

russ472

they probably had to remove the header and left the plugs in. they probably caused a small crack in one of the spark plugs. if you have a misfire, sometimes it can cause a lean code. I can't remember if the diablo tune had a trim reset, but just re flashing the tune would be easier than disconnecting the battery.

Dcasole

He does not have a tune yet .....