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depends on if you have a lift and the fitment of the headers. ARH & Kooks are good. AFE TriY a real SOB.
It took me two days to get them in. after spending a day removing the manifolds. Had to remove the starter, oil cooler and oil line loosen enginne mounts and jack up the engine. all in all about 20 hrs start to finish on a lift.
If I had to do it again I think I would go with Kooks
Taking my time on a quick jack it.took a total of 8 hours , plenty of write ups , if they say take it off , don't mess around, take it off . Nothing really hard just way more stuff to take off than my C6
^^^^ I agree 6 to 8 hrs if you never done it before the unpluging of the fuse box may be your big problem but if you look at it in here on a DIY the box is a piece of cake, Just make sure you unhook your batt in the car...The headers really is a easy job to do..Robert
Clover , I love my Quick Jack so much easier to get the car in the air , depending on what I am working on , if I am under the car, even though they say it can't come down, I still set a Jack stand at the end of each quick jack so that if somehow a cylinder fails, and some how the lock fails, it will just come down on the stand , highly unlikely but ....
I got mine from Summit Racing when all the 5,000 BLS were on backorder paid a little bit more but I live close to Summit so i was able to drive down and pick it up 😀
Sams Club , BJ's and Home Depot are always running a sale
I didn't install mine since I sold my lift to the same guy that bought my Camaro. He did in about 4 hours but he does this for a living and had all the tools lined out he'd need and did a great job. I shouldn't have sold that but we all make mistakes.
Last edited by 99vetteran; Dec 20, 2020 at 02:25 PM.
I didn't install mine since I sold my lift to the same guy that bought my Camaro. He did in about 4 hours but he does this for a living and had all the tools lined out he'd need and did a great job. I shouldn't have sold that but we all make mistakes.
When shops that don't do late model headers often, they'll charge between 6-8 shop-hrs by book -- PER SIDE. Shops that do it frequently, they'll give you real hours, which is about 8hrs total. Not an easy install by any means (amatuer-me tip: wear gloves).
It's not as bad as it looks. We charge $400 for a header install on any late model Vette. The key is to take out the fuse box on the passenger side. Once that is out of the way the passenger side is easier to get to then the driver side. Take off the coil packs and valve covers to if you need to. These tasks take minutes and save tons of frustration.
If you have experience working on cars, then it is time consuming and challenging in a couple of spots. But making sure you know how to address the common hang ups by reading the forums on here, you will breeze right through it. If you haven't worked on cars before or the most you have ever done is install a cold air intake, then I would recommend you let a professional do the install and save yourself some headache. It's not a job for a beginner.
I have put headers on a lot of cars over the years and I've never seen a set go on easy
Not sure what brand u were using or your skill set but my experiences were just the opposite I have done many header installs and most of them were easy , my C6 only took maybe 3 hours...
If you have experience working on cars casually (change oil, spark plugs, diagnose issues, know what all items in the engine bay are, etc) and you are willing to go slow and be patient, it can be done (especially if you're someone who doesn't mind the 'fun' of the work). For me, it took around 8 hours total, going at a slow/medium pace (no rush). Do your research beforehand so that you can avoid getting stuck on common issues. Here are some steps I wrote up to ensure things went as smoothly as possible on my 2014 Z51:1. Disconnect Negative Battery Terminal
2. Remove both 'Corvette' plastic valve covers with Torx T30, disconnect breather tube that might be in way of plastic valve covers coming off.
3. Remove fuse box -- Use impact on large nut securing battery cables at top of box (else it might not come off well). Remove fuse tray.
4. Remove spark plug boots (and spark plugs if desired) -- Use screwdriver to pry out boots. NOTE: Just remove the spark plugs... I initially tried to do the install without pulling the plugs and I cracked at least one, causing frustration later on.
7. Drain oil (replace drain plug bolt when done, put oil container in front seat so you don't forget to add oil before start). Don't forget to remove oil fill cap to help drain.
8. Unbolt/remove Xpipe. Install new gaskets on xpipe. Remove/swing diagonal aluminum bracing bars out of way.
9. Remove dry sump oil lines (or see if can just remove starter) -- Make sure to tie-off to prevent oil drip.
10.Remove OEM cat pipes - Use two-wrench method if needed to get around tight clearances (see picture saved in phone) or pass-thru socket set. Use ONLY 6 point sockets, fully seat all sockets before loosening. Can remove studs with socket if bolts are siezed. Consider loosening manifold bolts (to block) to ease access.
11. Disconnect O2 sensors -- Pull the white tab up and flip connector to the back and insert flathead between the connector and twist/pry-apart.
12. Remove starter heatshield
13. Remove manifolds -- Use only 6 point sockets.
14. Soak O2 sensors on manifolds in PB blaster.
15. Remove O2 sensors (using heat) and install in new headers. Take note of which sensor goes to which pipe. Inspect gaskets and decide if using OEM or aftermarket provided.
16. Cleanup header bolts and coat in blue loctite
17. Install headers from bottom (or passenger from top) along with gasket. Hand-thread bolts, leave loose. Note: Make sure to install gasket correctly based upon its labelling.
18. Attach O2 sensors to car. Zip tie safely from heat/touching pipes.
19. Install cat pipes.
20. Torque header bolts to 18ft/lbs
21. Jig everything up loosely. Check clearance to tunnel brace, starter, and frame. Need 1/2" of clearance to tunnel brace -- Push pipes to adjust.
22. Make sure no wires are touching header (including spark plug wires)
23. Tighten everything down. Torque specs: x-pipe to header 18ft/lbs, small tunnel bolts 20, large tunnel bolts 75, bolts for assembly of cat pipes to header ???
- Push the pipes up into the tunnel when tightening the rear clamps or the may hit the tunnel plate.
24. Reverse order everything above.
25. Install oil filter, add new oil. 9 quarts, then start and check. Don't forget to add oil cap back on.
Tip: remove manifold from heads to drop them down to reach the last hard to get bolt on the OEM cat to manifold. You can get the hard to get bolt without doing this, but its really hard to get much leverage. If you drop the manifolds down you can get the bolt easily. Save's some time and headache.
If you have experience working on cars casually (change oil, spark plugs, diagnose issues, know what all items in the engine bay are, etc) and you are willing to go slow and be patient, it can be done...
I could've used this checklist to save about 8-10hrs ... Nice write-up.
Tip: remove manifold from heads to drop them down to reach the last hard to get bolt on the OEM cat to manifold. You can get the hard to get bolt without doing this, but its really hard to get much leverage. If you drop the manifolds down you can get the bolt easily. Save's some time and headache.
If you drop it off the engine then you have a harder time breaking the bolt loose as the manifold is now loose, I was able to go right thru the wheel wheel and used a ratcheting passthru socket , tip came from Gary Barnes ...was so much easier this way
Agree with Dave above -- I already had a passthru socket set ($10 from harbor freight). Without that I'd add at least an additional hour to find a way to loosen that hard-to-reach bolt. You need a good amount of torque to break it loose and thus methods that would traditionally work on some nuts (like socket extensions, swivel extensions) won't work.
😀
