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i finally got my headers on my 97 WS6, thank god. it feels very good i have had them laying around since june. $636 to install seemed a little spendy but they were one of the only shops around that knew how to do them. i dont have the tools or time to try them myself, i know how hard they are to do. how many of you have done them yourself and how many of you paid to have them installed and how much did it cost you?? just curious
It is a big/dirty job with no room to work so I can see the shop charging $600+ for an install.
I was quoted $450 if I bought the parts from the shop and $500 if I brought the parts to them. But I just did them myself and saved the $500 for something else. I didn't think they were too terribly difficult to do. I had a friend help me and we did it in a driveway on jack stands. But I didn't need the car because I have a beater, so I took my time. For some people, its their only vehicle and have time constraints.
my one friend payed about $800 i think to get them installed on his LT1Quote:
Originally Posted by SexOnWheels
Damn, $800? That's more than the cost of headers for the LT1. I hope he got complimentary plugs and wires or something for that. And I thought $500 was bad.
well i have installed lt's on my ls1 in the past......but hey BADBIRD you have shorties...those are so much easier....if you can change your plugs and wires with ease you can do it.....
I might consider paying someone to put lt's on but shorties would be easy so lifting the motor off the mounts to do that. Fortunatly mine came with lt's when i bought it. I am considering letting sqr fix my coolant leak which appears to be coming from the head and accumulating on my oil filter only cause I am really busy with work and really don't have the time...But then again most people don't have a decent air compressor and air tools which makes things so much easier. And a nifty stanley rachet that has a wrist action handle. I love that dam thing. The handle spins on it and rachets the end of it meaning you turn the handle like a screw driver and it spins the socket. If the rachet is set to tighten both left and right wrist actions tighten so you can sit there and speed the bolts off and on. My compressor isn't big only 8gal but it's got a 3hp motor so it will push a impact or rachet well for short bursts.
air tools and good compressor are a must for doing exhaust....i just drove my car halfway up the kirb n driveway so the hedders were almost in the gutter.....jacked it ip from the fron and dayum i had hella room to put the long tubes in......lts are a tad bit difficult..
Air tools aren't recommended on the header bolts. Over-torquing the header bolts that go into the heads is bad. But air tools on the cat bolts is almost a MUST.
well removing is really where it comes in handy..but you are correct...installing bolts into the heads with air tool is a no no..unless you give at least 3 finger tight turns to make sure threads are not crossed.... but im yet to over torqu anything with a 45 degree air wrench......
naw it was only 425 at speed inc fred....but those bastards broke my alarm,lol:no:Quote:
Originally Posted by 99blueZ
My uncle and I did them ourselves in about 5-6 hours. No way was I going to pay that much for a install. We did it in a driveway with jack stands. My uncle is a experienced mechanic but never had worked on a 4th gen. He is a mopar fan.
Nothin wrong with givin' some love to the Mopars.
well if i was doing the headers i would use a low powered air rachet with what a 50lb/trq rating. Thats not gonna hurt the heads is it? ANd yes always hand tite first.
I wouldn't torque aluminum head bolts to over 30 lb/ft or so. If you can get your hand on them, you might as well use a manual ratchet instead of an air ratchet.
Header bolts should be finally tightened by hand with a wrench if applicable.
whats wierd is when i installed long tubes on my camaro, i reused the stock exhaust gaskets...and they didnt leak AND they never loosened NOT 1 TIME...evry car ive ever had with headers would eventually loosen and eventually make noise...
If the stock gaskets are in good shape, you can reuse them. But if you have them off, its cheap insurance to go ahead and replace them. The metal OE gaskets are decent quality.
yes they are..i was very pleased...my dumbass friend...did the same but he was worried about them leaking and put orange silicon on them....it looked so fucking stupid
I paid 400 for lt's and ory installed on a 93 lt1.