Header install help

[Jwithing]

This pretty well describes my past two hours...

 

[Wild one]

Ha! Not out of the woods by a long shot. The headers look awefully damn close to the steering rod joint... I don't even want to think about that at the moment

Are they 1 7/8's JBA's,if they are you might want to dent the primary tube in line with the steering knuckle.There's a good chance the headers will hit the steering knuckle on a left hand corner ,and bind the steering slightly.

 

[Jwithing]

Are they 1 7/8's JBA's,if they are you might want to dent the primary tube in line with the steering knuckle.There's a good chance the headers will hit the steering knuckle on a left hand corner ,and bind the steering slightly.

Nope, they're the little guys and I'm still concerned

 

[crackerjack1957]

I may be to late but was going to suggest a Dremel tool may have enough clearance & you can get small Dremel collets to hold drills at Lowes & Home Depot.
I know they have a .032, .062, .094, .125.

 

[Wild one]

Nope, they're the little guys and I'm still concerned

I haven't heard of anybody having clearance issues with 1 3/4 headers,but there's always a first.A few of us running the bigger 1 7/8" have had to dent the one primary tube for steering shaft clearance.

 

[Jwithing]

I haven't heard of anybody having clearance issues with 1 3/4 headers,but there's always a first.A few of us running the bigger 1 7/8" have had to dent the one primary tube for steering shaft clearance.

How much clearance did you end up with once dented? I'm hoping there is enough once bolted down.

 

[Jwithing]

I may be to late but was going to suggest a Dremel tool may have enough clearance & you can get small Dremel collets to hold drills at Lowes & Home Depot.
I know they have a .032, .062, .094, .125.

Ugh, now I feel like an idiot... That's what I get for being a ramy *******... Didn't even think of the Dremel... I'll at least try that for tapping the new threads. Hopefully that'll work and save me from having to order some extra long taps.

 

[Wild one]

How much clearance did you end up with once dented? I'm hoping there is enough once bolted down.

I had to dent mine in about a 1/4",but I probably should of dented them a bit more,as they'll still hit the steering knuckle on a really hard and fast right hand corner,but it's not enough to bind the shaft anymore,but you can still feel them just barely contact the knuckle.For static clearance it's hard to tell on my headers as I've wrapped the hell out of them with header wrap,but it's probably somewhere around 3/4" between the tube and knuckle. If you have clearance issues with the steering knuckle it'll show up if you make a hard right turn and nail the gas,but as far as I know most of the 1 3/4" headers don't have the interference issue.

 

[Jwithing]

I had to dent mine in about a 1/4",but I probably should of dented them a bit more,as they'll still hit the steering knuckle on a really hard and fast right hand corner,but it's not enough to bind the shaft anymore,but you can still feel them just barely contact the knuckle.For static clearance it's hard to tell on my headers as I've wrapped the hell out of them with header wrap,but it's probably somewhere around 3/4" between the tube and knuckle. If you have clearance issues with the steering knuckle it'll show up if you make a hard right turn and nail the gas,but as far as I know most of the 1 3/4" headers don't have the interference issue.

I can't even fit my pinky between the two with the wheels straight. I make a hard right turn going uphill everyday lol. I'm not going to mess with it again probably till Tuesday, so we'll see then

 

[crackerjack1957]

I can't even fit my pinky between the two with the wheels straight. I make a hard right turn going uphill everyday lol. I'm not going to mess with it again probably till Tuesday, so we'll see then

They also make a small drill chuck for the dremel.
I would wish ya luck but looks that ran out days ago.
Enjoy your Christmas & worry about it later.

 

[Jwithing]

The Dremel can't quite get in there straight due to the bellhousing either. I ordered a tap extension that should be here tomorrow. Looks like I'll be focusing on the driver's side header today.

 

[Jwithing]

Is there supposed to be an extra stage 8 bolt? Looks like the hole at the bottom of this pic on the driver's side isn't used, but is on the passenger side? I didn't pay close enough attention. Got all the driver side bolts in ready to tighten down and the dipstick tube bent as best I could.

 

[slightly_low_ram]

Is there supposed to be an extra stage 8 bolt? Looks like the hole at the bottom of this pic on the driver's side isn't used, but is on the passenger side? I didn't pay close enough attention. Got all the driver side bolts in ready to tighten down and the dipstick tube bent as best I could.

View attachment 116625

there are a few extra holes, don't know if there's supposed to be extra bolts. Look at your oem manifolds and see if there is a matching hole and if there's wear marks from there being a bolt in it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Jwithing]

there are a few extra holes, don't know if there's supposed to be extra bolts. Look at your oem manifolds and see if there is a matching hole and if there's wear marks from there being a bolt in it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Good call... Usually I'm pretty on top of it, but feeling brain dead at the moment. Driver side has one less bolt... I was just missing one uptop... Now if I can figure out where I put that bolt lol

 

[Nutshell]

I have oem gaskets with my BBK shorties. My mechanic hated the job figured it took over 12 hours he lost track just too tight and poor fit. I paid a crap ton to have them done.

Do you have stock exhaust?

 

[smiley]

Yes I do. Stock duals.

 

[Jwithing]

Got the driver side bolted up, still need to mess with the parking brake once the oilpan is fixed since it bolts to the bracket in front of the starter that I had to remove to get the structural dust cover on the bellhousing off. Checked the connection at the steering rod joint... Looks sketchy to me...

 

[Nutshell]

Yes I do. Stock duals.

How much louder did headers make it? I want to do shorties and keep the stock muffler

 

[smiley]

Not much louder I still have the garbage stock muffler though. I intend to switch out once it blows out.

 

[Wild one]

Got the driver side bolted up, still need to mess with the parking brake once the oilpan is fixed since it bolts to the bracket in front of the starter that I had to remove to get the structural dust cover on the bellhousing off. Checked the connection at the steering rod joint... Looks sketchy to me...View attachment 116627 View attachment 116628

You might be okay on steering clearance. Once it's drivable,try making a fairly hard right hand corner while giving it a good shot of the gas pedal.If the engine is going to rock over and hit the knuckle it'll be while doing that.