93foxgt

Anyone have any good ideas on how to line the damn holes in the header up with the heads? I've been having problem after problem, stripped screws, stripped flanges, 2 destroyed gaskets, and now I just don't know what to do.

I tried loosening the H pipe (stock), and I tried using a pry-bar, tried pulling them, pushing them, standing on my intake manifold, etc, I cannot seem to get them to line up.

Please all, I need your tips and tricks, I have to drive 500 miles on saturday and it's gonna be hard to do that with 2 open exhausts starting at the collectors.

redmustang83596

Are they stock shorty style headers? If so unbolt them at the bottom of the header and thread a bolt into the very front hole. Then go the the one directly behind it and thread a bolt into that one. Then line up the gasket the best you can so you can put a bolt in the very last bolt hole. You should just be able to fill in the blanks after that. I dont know like any tricks that you would have to use to get them just right. I have long tube headers and I have to start from the back and work my way foward, or I wont be able to get the bolts in correctly. It helps to have someone hold the header in place after you already got the first bolt in place.

7upedition

have it towed to your mechanic and let him handle it

Boss_Hotrod

Remove your h-pipe to give you some extra room. If the gaskets are not slitted on the 1st and last hole cut them so they are. Line the header up, put in 1st and last screw, then slip in the gasket. ONce you have that push the header up to the head and put in the rest of the bolt and then tighten the bolts down going from the center out.

7upedition

^well said but he's been struggling for days, you need another person to help or take it to a mechanic

88BlueGT

Get a friend to help and save your self the cash of taking it to a mechanic.......

93foxgt

Well, I was having problems because bolts were getting stuck, and plenty of other crappy reasons.

I was under the car for 2 days and exhausted, I finally figured that I'm gonna take off the h pipe earlier today. I'm at work right now so I'm gonna try to jack the back of the car up too and pull the pipe down when I get home later today. Thanks for your help all!

5.0 MPG

here is what you need to do:


first clean out each hole with some carb cleaner and some shop towels. if you have an air compressor shoot some air in each hole also.

second make sure your bolts thread in easily using just your hands.

thirdly bolt on the headers to the h pipe BUT do not tighten the bolts.

fourthly get a scratch awl and slide it into the next to last hole in the header and the head. use this to move the header up and down while you get the bolt started with your hand. you want to start all the bolts with your hand first. do the same for the first bolt, being sure to NOT tighten them too much. then if you have the correct gasket it should slide between the header and the head and rest on the bolts.

and lastly tighten the bolts at the flange.............

89GTRed

yea you are supposed to undo the h pipe and slide it back so you have more room in there. sounds like you already figured that out tho. good luck.

93foxgt

Gonna try again tonight. I just need to leave work... I need to get the car operating by Saturday regardless. Am I supposed to unhook the H-pipe from the rubber hangers above the transmission cross-member also, or just from the cat-back?