New headers

[icecats87]

Well if you see the other post i just made you'll see the last thread i was repairing on LIM for UIM bolt snapped off =(

I put some jb weld on and have it on there with C-Clamps sitting over night. Im going to buy a smaller bolt and a nut and washer and use that tomorrow to tighten it.


With that being said i did how ever take pics of each step the thread prior to that. I used a helicoil kit i got from work and it worked amazing! First of all after the car was put together last night i went to start it, and it would make a whine and stall and pretty much sounded like a vac leak. all the threads from LIM to UIM were worn down. I was able to tap 4 of the threads and they are fine. 2 where to stripped to do that.

Here is drill bit getting rid of the old threads.

Special tap for helicoil


helicoil on the installation tool


Using a die on old bolt to clean it up

Bolt fits perfectly now =)

[02GT_SkyHigh]

Great job with the Heli-coil! That is a tedious process.

[icecats87]

Have some good news! this afternoon went to drill a little bit of the edge that broke off on LIM and well the jb weld didnt work and it just fell off. But I took a bolt twice as long as the UIM bolt, grabbed a nut and washer and it fit right in there. Got it pretty tight as well with the others i re taped and helicoiled. car fired right up! Havent taken it out of the neighborhood yet it started to overheat and said low coolant, the little thing to bleed the air broke off a long time ago so i couldn't bleed the cooling system. So ill just wait a little bit throw more coolant in etc.

The car sounds a lot quieter.. I would think putting these headers would increase the sound but it made it a lot quieter. I do hear a TINY exhaust leak around the Y-Pipe so ima check that out sometime, maybe thats causing it to be quite? I cant wait to take it on the highway and romp on it! =)

Here is a pic of the bolt and nut on UIM





I plan on getting ported and polished UIM and LIM early/mid November and a bigger TB in December.

[icecats87]

I can defiantly feel the HP gain while driving it! Im sure the broken part of LIM isnt helping any but i still feel a big improvement. Also i believe there is a small exhaust leak around the Y-Pipe and my o2 sensor is shot so i need to replace that soon and look at the Y-Pipe

edit: After driving it around all day I actually love the sound! It sounds like the exhaust tone completely changed and is more beastly! 2 Friends said wow i herd you pulling in that sounds beastly haha but i canf eel gain and they are pretty good! next up ported LIM and UIM and a bigger TB

[O1GAGT]

You my friend need to use a torque wrench and follow torque specs!

[chris_gt_74]

icecats87- You ever get around to getting a good overhead picture of the y-pipe fitment? I found a few pics of them assembled off vehicle but I don't know if they are positioned just right. I may not be messing with it until I actually go to install. I want to have my y-pipe welded at a minimum so I can eliminate it as a leak source.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

icecats87- You ever get around to getting a good overhead picture of the y-pipe fitment? I found a few pics of them assembled off vehicle but I don't know if they are positioned just right. I may not be messing with it until I actually go to install. I want to have my y-pipe welded at a minimum so I can eliminate it as a leak source.

Best picture i could get from above, It looks like one clamp is farther up then the other put its not. they are both next to each other. Very little room down there, Sometime this week ill take a picture from underneath, Want me to take any others?

[chris_gt_74]

Yeah a good underneath one would help and maybe a good view of the crossover position.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

Yeah a good underneath one would help and maybe a good view of the crossover position.

Alright ill try get one under it today

[chris_gt_74]

Thanks man! I'm hoping to gather enough installed info to start modifying mine soon and get them put on. Mine are going on my daily driver so I can't have my car down for very long.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

Thanks man! I'm hoping to gather enough installed info to start modifying mine soon and get them put on. Mine are going on my daily driver so I can't have my car down for very long.

I know what you mean this is my DD and i have too drive to class twice a week and work. Im only 19 so don't have a 2nd car, it was hard not having my car for weeks.

I really love the sound of the exhaust now. The first test drive i was disappointed, but it seems louder now and it just sounds beast. I plan on getting the Y-Pipe welded to the crossover pipe once i change my O2 sensor which will be soon. Im pretty sure it will work. Im going to put the clamp on the crossover and Y-Pipe and then try putting the crossover in from underneath. feed it from the bottom up.




The radiator hose hits the headers so i wrapped each in header wrap.




Hardest part about welding it is making it perfect so it would be able to slip over rear header pipe, and be lined up with front headers.

[chris_gt_74]

LOL I'm 37 and only have 1 car so don't feel bad. It looks good! I'm contemplating how to go about welding mine too.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

LOL I'm 37 and only have 1 car so don't feel bad. It looks good! I'm contemplating how to go about welding mine too.

I just noticed my Y-pipe is upside down I was worried because the O2 sensor barely fit, turning it around may change everything , fitment wise. Ill be able to reach bolt bolts on the clamps now. Im probably gonna bring my car to a shop i deliver to for work after i get off Thursday and have them impact it or something. Also i herd of people putting RTV silicone around the 2 pipes before sliding the Y-Pipe on. I might try that

[chris_gt_74]

I may be stepping into more than I need to but I'm looking at getting a MIG welder to learn with and hopefully do my own welding. The shops around here suck. The last time I had a muffler replaced the dudes weld look like total **** .

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

I may be stepping into more than I need to but I'm looking at getting a MIG welder to learn with and hopefully do my own welding. The shops around here suck. The last time I had a muffler replaced the dudes weld look like total **** .

Im lucky to have access to numerous people with welders/experience and i actually just thought of something on modifying them.

For the part where the crossover/front headers meet is very hard to tighten. the bottom bolt is extremely difficult to reach.
You have a set and you see the front headers flange part is movable as the crossover is welded in one spot. I plan on modifying it somehow to make it like the front headers and movable. this way i can have easy access to each bolt and be able to tighten it very well. And as for the Y-Pipe i believe i found a solution.

Get exhaust piping same size as crossover and rear headers. When you have the crossover and rears removed from the car weld the piping on each one. find pre bent pipe and measure it. make it so it will go all the way under the car and curved so its straight just like all the other piping underneath the car.

See, make both pipes come a little past where this piece attaches, make sure its bent more so its lined up with all the other piping.


Then you can have alot of room to get the Y-Pipe to fit, or if you want can even get it welded now. (would have to cut it off if you had to remove headers for some reason.
Or you can make it like the stock ones somehow or the crossover where there will be 2 flanges and 2 bolts.
Make something like this (circled in black)


So modify it like that so it would be easy to connect and be leak free (hopefully)
you also wouldn't even need the piece(circled in red) you could now just get your cat welded onto the some piping after Y-Pipe

Im gonna do a lot of research/talking to coworkers/mechanics i deliver too about this. And this will be my project at the end of winter/beginning of spring.

[chris_gt_74]

Originally Posted by icecats87

Im lucky to have access to numerous people with welders/experience and i actually just thought of something on modifying them.

For the part where the crossover/front headers meet is very hard to tighten. the bottom bolt is extremely difficult to reach.
You have a set and you see the front headers flange part is movable as the crossover is welded in one spot. I plan on modifying it somehow to make it like the front headers and movable. this way i can have easy access to each bolt and be able to tighten it very well. And as for the Y-Pipe i believe i found a solution.

Get exhaust piping same size as crossover and rear headers. When you have the crossover and rears removed from the car weld the piping on each one. find pre bent pipe and measure it. make it so it will go all the way under the car and curved so its straight just like all the other piping underneath the car.

See, make both pipes come a little past where this piece attaches, make sure its bent more so its lined up with all the other piping.


Then you can have alot of room to get the Y-Pipe to fit, or if you want can even get it welded now. (would have to cut it off if you had to remove headers for some reason.
Or you can make it like the stock ones somehow or the crossover where there will be 2 flanges and 2 bolts.
Make something like this (circled in black)


So modify it like that so it would be easy to connect and be leak free (hopefully)
you also wouldn't even need the piece(circled in red) you could now just get your cat welded onto the some piping after Y-Pipe

Im gonna do a lot of research/talking to coworkers/mechanics i deliver too about this. And this will be my project at the end of winter/beginning of spring.

My modification thoughts are gonna be a bit more aggressive . I want to remove the front clamp (I hate the big ass thing and it's restrictive by looks) and weld straight to the crossover at an angle that will cause the crossover to not touch anything. Once that is done I want to cut the crossover pipe in a good open space more in the mid section and have some decent v-band flanges welded in. Next I want to weld the remainder of the crossover to the y-pipe and have the rear collector welded to the y-pipe. Last I'd like to cut off right before the clamp bracket your talking about and have another set of v-band flanges put on. Followed up by a short flex pipe and finally welded to the cat. The last part may change up depending on the angle and clearance down there.

How does that sound? I've already priced parts and I can get them for ~$100 then my only hurdle is the welding.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

My modification thoughts are gonna be a bit more aggressive . I want to remove the front clamp (I hate the big ass thing and it's restrictive by looks) and weld straight to the crossover at an angle that will cause the crossover to not touch anything. Once that is done I want to cut the crossover pipe in a good open space more in the mid section and have some decent v-band flanges welded in. Next I want to weld the remainder of the crossover to the y-pipe and have the rear collector welded to the y-pipe. Last I'd like to cut off right before the clamp bracket your talking about and have another set of v-band flanges put on. Followed up by a short flex pipe and finally welded to the cat. The last part may change up depending on the angle and clearance down there.

How does that sound? I've already priced parts and I can get them for ~$100 then my only hurdle is the welding.

Sounds good, would like to see a mock up of it, Im gonna do a lot in the future for my idea with measurements/parts and make some mock ups of it and see how it fits and how everything works out

[chris_gt_74]

Originally Posted by icecats87

Sounds good, would like to see a mock up of it, Im gonna do a lot in the future for my idea with measurements/parts and make some mock ups of it and see how it fits and how everything works out

Yeah I'm hoping it comes to materialize here soon. But like I said I have to get me some parts, find me a good welder and teach myself some exhaust welding . It'll have to be in between bills and all that good stuff. Maybe a few weeks to months unfortunately.

[icecats87]

Originally Posted by chris_gt_74

Yeah I'm hoping it comes to materialize here soon. But like I said I have to get me some parts, find me a good welder and teach myself some exhaust welding . It'll have to be in between bills and all that good stuff. Maybe a few weeks to months unfortunately.

Mines gonna have to wait months too =( Need to get a new LIM asap because of broken piece, Just dont like driving thinking of it. So im gonna get ported and polished LIM and UIM soon, when I install them ill probably take the heads off again and send them in to the machine shop and get some work on them.

[chris_gt_74]

Originally Posted by icecats87

Mines gonna have to wait months too =( Need to get a new LIM asap because of broken piece, Just dont like driving thinking of it. So im gonna get ported and polished LIM and UIM soon, when I install them ill probably take the heads off again and send them in to the machine shop and get some work on them.

I'm hoping to possibly build a new set of headers of my own design and see how that goes. I would like to have a set that fits the 3500 heads perfectly and clear everything. It would not be mild steel either . Of course I could be talking out my ass because it may prove to be near impossible for me atleast.