Header Swap FAQ

Penetrating oil is a must on a car like yours that has most likely never been apart. I would use the oil a day or so before you start.

I would install them with a couple of bolts and then check clearance with all the body parts before bolting everything together.

How did the rack rebuild go?

Mike

...Use Grade 8 Bolts! Get the Best Quality Gaskets! You will need to Keep tightening them as You Compress the gaskets with many Hours of running the Engine; In the End You will have them Very Tight! Anything lesser and Your sure to Snap One Off!! Believe Me!
NEVER let the Bolts Loosen up or You WILL blow the Gasket Out for a good Leaking Tick!!
Start with Two Bolts to Hang the Headers Over The Gasket, First! Most Gaskets Leave the Two Ends Holes Open so they can be slid down between the header and the Head AFTER the Header has been Mounted LOOSELY with Just the 2 End Bolts; Helps Alot!
Then install All the rest of the Bolts BEFORE You begin to Tighten everything Up. START with the Center Bolts and work outward to the Ends, Tightening Evenly.
I am 6'6", have Long Arms; and can lean way-in on the (protected) fender to reach all of the Bolts.
If You have the rear wheels Off, it is very Easy to reach the Bolts from inside the wheel well, once the WHEELWELL SPLASH Shield is removed, especially the Drivers side. The Most Useful Tools are: 9/16" Socket on a 'Universal Joint' at the end of 12 Inch Extension, Driven by a 'Ratchet Handle'; and a SHORTY 9/16" 'BoxEnd Wrench'.
The Right side is More difficult with the Coolant Pressure Tank in the way! Not any longer, for Me, as I have relocated it 3 more inches towards the 'Outside'. (Also Makes it Infinitely Easier to get to the #4 Spark Plug)
Good-Luck with it! Plan time, and Take Your Time! Make It Fun! And when You Hear the New 'Music', It will All have been Worth It!!

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How did the rack rebuild go?

The rebuild looks awesome. Went in with no issues. Now just need to get an aligment done!

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once the shield is removed, especially the Drivers side.

I have to drill out the rivets to get the gas tank heat shield out, right?

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Originally posted by Khan Smith:

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once the shield is removed, especially the Drivers side.

I have to drill out the rivets to get the gas tank heat shield out, right?

You do not want to take the gas tank shield out!

Mike

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Originally posted by Khan Smith:

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How did the rack rebuild go?

The rebuild looks awesome. Went in with no issues. Now just need to get an aligment done!

Did Dennis say what was causing the rack play?

Mike

Khan, are you redoing the tail pipe/muffler sections? I've also got the Hall headers and am redoing the exhaust system with a 3" diameter tube back to a Magnaflow 3" single inlet/dual 2.5" outlet muffler.

NO!! NOT the Gas Tank Shield! I'am Talking about the WHEELWELL Splash Shield...Take if off and You can get to all of the Header Bolts on the Drivers side, Easily. That is if You have difficulty reaching them from Above!

Glad I asked! Thanks for correcting my assumption.

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Did Dennis say what was causing the rack play?

I did not receive any type of post mortem on the rebuild. It just came back to me looking all new!

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Originally posted by Tom@Seal Beach:
Khan, are you redoing the tail pipe/muffler sections? I've also got the Hall headers and am redoing the exhaust system with a 3" diameter tube back to a Magnaflow 3" single inlet/dual 2.5" outlet muffler.

I am going to keep the stock exhaust but perform some motifications similar to Mike's on Panteraplace.com

Khan,

Having just helped a friend with this, I can tell you that access from the bottom is pretty good.

The advice above is all good. The splash shields should come off and having the shocks and springs out (as a unit) makes life a bit easier too, although not essential. There were (on my friend's car) a couple bolts that were very tight access (at the front of the engine) and having run the new bolts in and out of the holes (in the heads) a few times makes it much easier to finger-tighten them, saving tight-access wrench time. Obviously, as Marlin says, get all the bolts in a few threads before tightening any of them.

Mark

If not already installed, you might consider upgrading to 12 point head bolts.

Much nicer bolts with easier access.

Larry

I have this style bolt on my cobra headers. they are indeed nice. Was also contemplating Stage 8 Locking bolts as well

So I just attempted to remove my first bolt. Key word there is attempted. I put a lot of force to move it but it wouldn't budge. I have been soaking these bolts for past two weeks with liquid wrench. The fear I have is breaking off a bolt in the block. I feel like the bolt should have cracked open with the force I was putting out. What are all of your guys thoughts? Should I just replace the headers down the road when i need an engine rebuild or go at it again?

Did you stop at that bolt?

Perhaps luck had you go to the worst one first?

Try the others. If your luck changes, perhaps you will just have that first one still holding on. With the rest of the ones out, some header wiggle might encourage the SOB to break free.

Of course heat is your friend with sticky bolts, but I know room is at a premium around those bolts and getting a torch, O/A or propane, in there will be tough.

Good luck

Larry

Every few months I see a post about 50/50 Acetone/ATF being one of the best penetrating oils you can use ... here's a copy from one of the many bulletin boards that mention it (I think it showed up here recently too) -

..........

... from the April/May 2007 edition of Machinist's Workshop. They did a test of penetrating oils where they measured the force required to loosen rusty test devices. Buy the issue if you want to see how they did the test. The results reported were interesting. The lower the number of pounds the better.

Penetrating oil . Average load .. Price per fluid ounce
None ................. 516 pounds .
WD-40 .............. 238 pounds .. $0.25
PB Blaster ......... 214 pounds .. $0.35
Liquid Wrench ... 127 pounds .. $0.21
Kano Kroil ........ 106 pounds .. $0.75
ATF-Acetone mix.. 53 pounds .. $0.10

..........

I had a bolt on my compressor mounting bracket that some clown installed that was too long and was bottomed out in the block. It would not come out with reasonable wrench torque and there was no way I wanted it to snap off in the block. My solution was to set my air powered impact wrench on the very lowest setting, installed the correct socket on the wrench, and then let it bang away at the bolt. The idea is to let the shock of the impact wrench work it loose not torque. After a few minutes of shocking, I went back to the regular wrench and tested to see if it was coming lose. It took a few attempts but worked pretty cool.

Mike

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I have been soaking these bolts for past two weeks with liquid wrench. The fear I have is breaking off a bolt in the block. I feel like the bolt

50/50 acetone and ATF. It works!!