Walk me thorugh header install

[Spikito]

Ok so I have a set of stainless pacesetters, and a TSP rumbler.

Ill have access to a home garage, jack stands, and basic tools.

How hard would it be for me to install?

My fear is that I'm doing this along with the LS6 intake, so AIR and EGR will be gone, first of all, will a shop even do that, and second, will my car run with those hooked up, or do I need to get them tuned out first.

I was going to dyno the car right after, and get them tuned out, and it would kinda suck to have to tune it twice for one install.

[0rion]

install is not that bad really....an extra set of hands would be really nice to have but I've pulled my headers out and installed them by myself. Not fun but can be done. The trick is to get the car up as high as you possibly can. The drivers header has to almost go in vertically from underneath....pull your oil filter to give you some extra room. On a 1-10 scale with 10 being the hardest I'd say headers is a 4 or 5.

Your car will run fine without the egr/air so just pull them and then get your tune.

[pajeff02]

Start by unbolting your factory Y-pipe and removing it from the car. Unplug your O2 sensors and tuck the wire harness out of the way. Remove your sensors from the manifolds so that you do not break them dropping the stock exhaust out from beneath the car. If they are the stock sensors, now is a good time to replace them with Bosch 13111 sensors as they have a long wire harness and no extensions are required.

Remove the coil packs, unplug the wires from your spark plugs and then remove the plugs. Pull the secondary air tubes by unbolting them from the manifolds. You will also need to remove your oil dipstick by unbolting it and gently prying it from the block. Carefully remove the bolts from your stock exhaust manifolds. I found that it was best to rock the bolt in and out a bit, rather than forcing it to unscrew. Loosen it a bit and if it starts to feel tight, stop and turn it the other way a bit. I left the cats bolted to the manifolds and they came out just fine.

As 0rion said, it is good to have someone lend a hand as you drop the stock manifolds out from under the car. I was able to do it all myself, but an extra hand would have certainly made it easier. After the stock manifolds are out, you can test fit your headers. I had to remove my oil filter and nip the flange on my K-member just a bit to get the driver side header in. If everything appears to fit well, clean up your heads around the exhaust ports a bit as the the stock exhaust gasket will probably leave a layer of material on the heads in spots. I shaved mine very carefully with a razor blade and wiped them down with denatured alcohol. I also cleaned out my new headers as they had some manufacturing debris in them.

Stock GM exhaust gaskets are probably the best. Some guys have re-used their existing ones. I just went down to the dealership and grabbed two new ones after tossing the Kooks gaskets off to the side. Not a bad idea to install new bolts, especially if your stock bolts are rusted up. I used Stage 8 locking header bolts and they worked great. Be sure to apply a dab of anti-seize to the threads before installation. If you are worred about a non-locking bolt backing out, you can use a threadlocker, however I would not recommend it as the heads are aluminum. Better to have a bolt fall out than break off in the head at a later date.

Carefully position the header and shove a bolt through an easily accessible hole. Again, extra hands are great at this point. Slip the gasket between the header and the head and run the bolt through the appropriate hole. Be careful not to crossthread a header bolt, especially if you are working solo. Do not tighten the bolt until you have all the other bolts in place and then work them in evenly. I was not able to get a torque wrench on all the bolts so some you will just have to guesstimate how tight to go. I think the torque spec is something like 18 lb.ft. on the header bolts.

Once the headers are in, put a small dab of anti-seize on your spark plugs before re-installing them. Plugs are only 11 lb.ft. which is not much. Also, you will want to put some anti-seize on your O2 sensors. New sensors should come with this already on the threads. Everything else just gets bolted back in place. A dab of di-electric grease in your spark plug boots is also not a bad idea. It helps to seal the plugs against moisture and the boots are much easier to remove down the road. You can also apply a drop of oil on the dipstick o-ring to help it slide back into place without tearing.

I think that about covers most of the process. Good luck when you do yours!

[sjsingle1]

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133419

[Spikito]

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133419

oh nice...I found a good write-up, but the pics sucked...and thats really what i need

[sjsingle1]

do the motor mounts too ..........and BTW a shop will not remove emissions in TX......big FINE

[Spikito]

I just commented in one of your threads, lol...

I just bought the block off plates, ill go ahead and pull those now.

[blindboy2k1]

car will run fine without egr and air , you will just have the anoying light come on your dash. but a trip to the tuner will get rid of that.

[Spikito]

my lights on anyway, lol...

[Spikito]

just checked out my new exhaust....no rear 02 bungs....uh oh

[sjsingle1]

rear........as in on the Y?

[0rion]

just checked out my new exhaust....no rear 02 bungs....uh oh

you can buy bungs cheap...then take the pipes up before they're put on the car and have them welded in. Jegs sells them with plugs I know. I mawked them up and marked where I wanted the bung put on for the wideband. Carried them up to a shop here in town and the guy did it for $10.

[SMWS6TA]

most exhaust shops have them cheap, I had one go bad and the shop that did my muffler welded in in for $10 bucks, I paid $5 for the bung.

[importhater81]

just checked out my new exhaust....no rear 02 bungs....uh oh

No big deal.
When you get your car tuned ,have the rear o2's deleted.

[Spikito]

well i was gonna do that anyway...i just know an exhaust shop wont install it for me...and id be screwed if i ever had to pass a visual