Hello all,

have a question. my mechanic told me to replace the manifolds on my 289 because they were a little stripped and could not be tightened. so i got my hands on a set of tri-y and i want to replace them. how long would this take? is it more involved than loosen bolts, remove, replace and tighten bolts?

also i have this very bad habit of leaving my lights on and draining my battery. those warning sounds like on a new car would be very helpful anyone know if anyone sells these or retro fitting one?

thanks all

 

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thanks for the help i can get the job done now. very insightful

 

I've never seen a header with the outlet in the same location as stock manifolds, so based on that you need to plan to have the exhaust modified to fit the headers. Your mechanic is the last person I'd let do this as his work is questionable if he can't fix a simple/common stripped manifold thread. Normally I'd take the time to offer how to do this but between this and adding headers? I vote for headers any time.

I've seen the headlight reminders you mentioned years ago and since these aren't a mainstream item, try a search in something more left field like JC Whitney.

 

thanks KMatch,
well to be fair to my mechanic he didnt offer to do it. he said i should get my hands on a set of used headers to replace the manifolds and thats something i could do. since this car is my daily driver i cant run the risk of screwing something up and be left up creek without a paddle. There is gas smell leaking into the passenger cabin and he suggested that the small leak from the manifolds might be the source of the smell. I tried looking around the engine to see if i could find a gas leak but there seems to be none so the exhaust leak is plausible

much more helpful than the oh so magnanimous
rat fink.

 

if anyone one is interested on the headlight on warning buzzer its Scott Drake part# C6AZ-14931-AR

 

--EDIT--

Sorry, I just saw KMatch gave the same answer already.

 

A simple hack to see if this leak is the source of your smell? If the stripped bolt goes all the way though the flange, see if you can't find a longer bolt and put a nut on the back to tighten up the seal. This can be permanent or for a temporary test, any bolt/nut will do for testing as long as it is long enough. If you're able to stop the exhaust leak this way and still smell gas, well, you'll be a lot less disappointed after spending $$ and still having a problem. If it cures all, then you can decide if headers are still worth a look. Helicoil is an easy option to many folks as well.

 

There is nothing on a stock exhaust manifold that could be stripped causing you to need to change to headers. If there is a problem with the bolts holding the manifold to the head then change the bolts. If it is a problem with the studs where the front pipe bolts up then change the studs. The reason your mechanic is giving you for changing out to headers is silly. Manifolds are basically no maintenance items and headers require regular maintenance to check for tightness. None of this makes any sense to me.

 

+1........What trans do you have?..The tri-ys can be a bit of a pain if you have a manual trans..You need the proper Z bar for clearance of the tubes...They are very easy to install on the engine itself..No harder than manifolds...