Long tube header install time?
CF Community Team
Joined: Apr 2016
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From: Pittsburgh
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If you are doing this in your garage on jack stands, better allow the entire day, if you have access to a lift, less time obviously
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,048
Likes: 1,479
From: South Florida
Depends on your skill level. I'm an advanced mechanic and tuner. Took me about 8 hours using a pair of quick jacks. I could have gone faster but I did it over two days time since I wasn't rushed to get it done and have to drive anywhere. The first day I worked on it for about 5-6 hours and had the new headers bolted up before I stopped for the day. Then the next morning I spent 2-3 hours positioning the cat pipes and buttoning everything back up. Since I have a Z06 I had to do an oil change due to the requirement to move the dry sump lines. I also took the spark plugs out so that I didn't damage any of them as I planned to reuse the plugs. Low miles so no need for new ones.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 8,679
Likes: 2,729
From: Atlanta GA
I did the same as Internet Ninja and I am also advance mech , also used a Quick Jack . I spread it out over two days so I was not rushed putting it all back together. Do your self a favor , read every thread you can read and if they say take it off , do yourself a favor and take it off . Spray exhaust bolts with RUST BUSTER before starting and don't be a hero , remove the plugs , so many reports or cracked plugs
Only problem I ran into was my passenger side header would not go up into position as the rear of it was hitting a wire harness . I finally got it to go after applying more pressure on the harness than I would have liked . After the install was done .... i came across a thread were someone had the exact same problem except... he found the bolt on the engine that was holding this harness in position ....... if I saw this ibwould have saves me an hour of fighting that thing
Dave
Only problem I ran into was my passenger side header would not go up into position as the rear of it was hitting a wire harness . I finally got it to go after applying more pressure on the harness than I would have liked . After the install was done .... i came across a thread were someone had the exact same problem except... he found the bolt on the engine that was holding this harness in position ....... if I saw this ibwould have saves me an hour of fighting that thing
Dave
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,048
Likes: 1,479
From: South Florida
I did the same as Internet Ninja and I am also advance mech , also used a Quick Jack . I spread it out over two days so I was not rushed putting it all back together. Do your self a favor , read every thread you can read and if they say take it off , do yourself a favor and take it off . Spray exhaust bolts with RUST BUSTER before starting and don't be a hero , remove the plugs , so many reports or cracked plugs
Only problem I ran into was my passenger side header would not go up into position as the rear of it was hitting a wire harness . I finally got it to go after applying more pressure on the harness than I would have liked . After the install was done .... i came across a thread were someone had the exact same problem except... he found the bolt on the engine that was holding this harness in position ....... if I saw this ibwould have saves me an hour of fighting that thing
Dave
Only problem I ran into was my passenger side header would not go up into position as the rear of it was hitting a wire harness . I finally got it to go after applying more pressure on the harness than I would have liked . After the install was done .... i came across a thread were someone had the exact same problem except... he found the bolt on the engine that was holding this harness in position ....... if I saw this ibwould have saves me an hour of fighting that thing
Dave
Yeah that F'n harness had me cursing for 20 minutes. I was about to unbolt it or jack the motor but then I realized if I positioned a certain way and pushed hard it squeezed through. Another tip that I can share is don't try to remove the cat pipes off of the manifolds until you completely unbolt the manifolds. You will want to remove all but one nut from the cat pipe on each side of the car, just leave the nut barely threaded on. Then unbolt the manifolds. This allows you to easily push teh manifold up and pop the cat pipes off. Another thing, there is one PITA nut on each cat pipe that is hard to get a tool on so that you can get leverage. Some say you need a passthrough, which I have, but I didn't need it. I found a 1/2 inch ratchet with a 15mm regular socket worked best. I put the socket on the nut, then put the ratchet of the socket but didn't snap it all the way down. This gave me enough room to get leverage on the bolt and break it loose pretty easily. Oh, definitely use WD40 or Liquid Wrench on these bolts prior to even trying. And be careful of the ride height sensors right in this area. You can easily hit them on accident and damage them.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 8,679
Likes: 2,729
From: Atlanta GA
Ninja , I did the same thing ... that damm harness , I finally just shoved it in like u did and prayed I did not harm the harness...
I could not believe i got that far with absolutly no problems. No curse words and now was getting stuck . Fuse box, all the reports of the nut causing issues , mine popped right off , plugs all came out without one brusied finger , i did use the pass through ratchet with a pipe for torque in the cat to manifold , manifolds and cats came right out . Moved the steering shaft and slide the driver side right up into place and ran the bolts in loosely and then the darn passenger side ...... an hour and a half later before I had the bolts in place and called it a day ... man it kicked my butt . Next day refreshed maybe 2 hours it was all put togther and a temporary drive away tune loaded
Dave
I could not believe i got that far with absolutly no problems. No curse words and now was getting stuck . Fuse box, all the reports of the nut causing issues , mine popped right off , plugs all came out without one brusied finger , i did use the pass through ratchet with a pipe for torque in the cat to manifold , manifolds and cats came right out . Moved the steering shaft and slide the driver side right up into place and ran the bolts in loosely and then the darn passenger side ...... an hour and a half later before I had the bolts in place and called it a day ... man it kicked my butt . Next day refreshed maybe 2 hours it was all put togther and a temporary drive away tune loaded
Dave
Last edited by Dcasole; May 26, 2020 at 09:07 PM.
