Header install
Thread Starter
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 960
From: Kansas City
Header install
I had some BBk's here for awhile and finally had the chance to install. Before I did this though, I held them up and to the car and thought, " Damn thats gonna be tight". So I ordered some Ford Racing as well. I cant say I feel a power increase, but 10hp or so is onlya drop in the bucket to the 500+ flywheel hp I have.
First off, the BBK's have a thicker flange, and the ports are completely round. Ford headers have a flat spot on the bottom of the tube, just like the factory log. I decided I was going to try the BBK's first. The tuned length really adds to the space they take up under the hood. Thats why they appear to be a real booger to do. Also, unless you like working on a creeper with very little space, I wouldnt recommend doing this without a lift.
Step by Step:
Disconnect battery.
Passenger side O2 sensors are both on the h-pipe. Drivers side has one sensor in the manifold. The two lower sensors need to be disconnected before h-pipe removal. Getting to the connector for the passenger side pre-cat O2 sensor is a bitch if you have fat fingers. To get the BBK's or Ford headersin, the steering shaft has to come apart at the steering rack. Then two nuts inside the carhold the column in place at the firewall. Just remove those items andlift the shaft enough to clear the male end of the rack, and let it dangledown.DO NOT allow the shaft to turn, otherwise the clockspring will have to be reset.The manifold studs need to come out, they will be replaced with new ones supplied with the header. On my car, only one stud came out with the nut. Some of the studs will have to be pulled out before the manifolds will come out. Once the manifolds come out, it is much easier to remove the remaining studs. Disconnect the front sensor on the driver side, as space allows, once manifold comesdown far enough to do so.
The factory gasket is a thin metal sandwich gasket. Maybe after several years and alot of abuse they will be harder to come off, but for now, they fell off on their own.
Left side slips in and is easily put in place. I first got all thebolts snug, then went back afterwards and tightened them down starting with the center bolts top and bottom, then the outer bolts. Change the O2 sensor on the manifold before installing header, connect sensor to harness before header is completely in place.You can get to this sensor and connectorafter its installed, but its tedious to do. I first got all the bolts snug, then went back afterwards to torque them down, starting with the two center cylinders then the outers. Replace steering column bolts, after tightening all lower header bolts.
Now the fun side begins. Remove the starter. If you get the Ford Headers you can disregard the rest and just do basically the same thing with the studs as done on the drivers side. To get the BBK's in, the nut on top of both engine mounts needs to be removed. I placed a transmission jack on the oil pan and raised the engine about 3/4", and also had to pry it a little towards the drivers side to slide the header in. While the jack is holding the engine, the mount itself needed to be unbolted from the block, and pulled back a little bit to allow space to tightenthe bolt under the second runnerof the new header.Once that one is tight, place mount back in original position andonly snug the rest of the new header bolts in place. Lower the engine back on the mounts and tighten the top nuts back in place. Now the car can be lowered to alternate the tightening sequence for the header bolts.
While h-pipe is being positioned backin place,click top O2 sensor to connector. You will NOT be able to do this with the h-pipe bolted to the headers.
As always, double check yourself on what you disconnected and connected,loosened and tightened. Go over all that in your head and you should be ready to go.
For a less painful header install, go with the Ford Racing headers, or those of that style.
The only problem I had was the O2 sensor on the manifold. The threads were boogered up and I had to get a new one. Right now, I'm waiting for the car to cool off and put in another because a code came up for the heater element of the sensor as being inop. So I may have gotten a bad sensor. If the light comes back on, I'll call the dealer and get one from them. Right now, its an OE style Bosch sensor from Oreilly's.
I hope this can help others to decide which headers they want to get, and how much cussing they want to endure if trying to do this themselves. I could not find my digital camera, otherwise there would have been some pictures. It took about 6 hours from pulling it in to driving it out to do this, with a couple breaks in between. I think it would be safe to assume a considerable amount more time if doing this on jack stands.
After the Hot Rod Power Tour is over, the car will go back to ProCharger for testing a new locationfor the MAF sensor in the intercooler outlet, and be dyno'ed and tuned again.
First off, the BBK's have a thicker flange, and the ports are completely round. Ford headers have a flat spot on the bottom of the tube, just like the factory log. I decided I was going to try the BBK's first. The tuned length really adds to the space they take up under the hood. Thats why they appear to be a real booger to do. Also, unless you like working on a creeper with very little space, I wouldnt recommend doing this without a lift.
Step by Step:
Disconnect battery.
Passenger side O2 sensors are both on the h-pipe. Drivers side has one sensor in the manifold. The two lower sensors need to be disconnected before h-pipe removal. Getting to the connector for the passenger side pre-cat O2 sensor is a bitch if you have fat fingers. To get the BBK's or Ford headersin, the steering shaft has to come apart at the steering rack. Then two nuts inside the carhold the column in place at the firewall. Just remove those items andlift the shaft enough to clear the male end of the rack, and let it dangledown.DO NOT allow the shaft to turn, otherwise the clockspring will have to be reset.The manifold studs need to come out, they will be replaced with new ones supplied with the header. On my car, only one stud came out with the nut. Some of the studs will have to be pulled out before the manifolds will come out. Once the manifolds come out, it is much easier to remove the remaining studs. Disconnect the front sensor on the driver side, as space allows, once manifold comesdown far enough to do so.
The factory gasket is a thin metal sandwich gasket. Maybe after several years and alot of abuse they will be harder to come off, but for now, they fell off on their own.
Left side slips in and is easily put in place. I first got all thebolts snug, then went back afterwards and tightened them down starting with the center bolts top and bottom, then the outer bolts. Change the O2 sensor on the manifold before installing header, connect sensor to harness before header is completely in place.You can get to this sensor and connectorafter its installed, but its tedious to do. I first got all the bolts snug, then went back afterwards to torque them down, starting with the two center cylinders then the outers. Replace steering column bolts, after tightening all lower header bolts.
Now the fun side begins. Remove the starter. If you get the Ford Headers you can disregard the rest and just do basically the same thing with the studs as done on the drivers side. To get the BBK's in, the nut on top of both engine mounts needs to be removed. I placed a transmission jack on the oil pan and raised the engine about 3/4", and also had to pry it a little towards the drivers side to slide the header in. While the jack is holding the engine, the mount itself needed to be unbolted from the block, and pulled back a little bit to allow space to tightenthe bolt under the second runnerof the new header.Once that one is tight, place mount back in original position andonly snug the rest of the new header bolts in place. Lower the engine back on the mounts and tighten the top nuts back in place. Now the car can be lowered to alternate the tightening sequence for the header bolts.
While h-pipe is being positioned backin place,click top O2 sensor to connector. You will NOT be able to do this with the h-pipe bolted to the headers.
As always, double check yourself on what you disconnected and connected,loosened and tightened. Go over all that in your head and you should be ready to go.
For a less painful header install, go with the Ford Racing headers, or those of that style.
The only problem I had was the O2 sensor on the manifold. The threads were boogered up and I had to get a new one. Right now, I'm waiting for the car to cool off and put in another because a code came up for the heater element of the sensor as being inop. So I may have gotten a bad sensor. If the light comes back on, I'll call the dealer and get one from them. Right now, its an OE style Bosch sensor from Oreilly's.
I hope this can help others to decide which headers they want to get, and how much cussing they want to endure if trying to do this themselves. I could not find my digital camera, otherwise there would have been some pictures. It took about 6 hours from pulling it in to driving it out to do this, with a couple breaks in between. I think it would be safe to assume a considerable amount more time if doing this on jack stands.
After the Hot Rod Power Tour is over, the car will go back to ProCharger for testing a new locationfor the MAF sensor in the intercooler outlet, and be dyno'ed and tuned again.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Luke9222
4.6L General Discussion
19
Oct 22, 2015 11:55 PM
Boostaddict
Lethal Performance
2
Sep 8, 2015 09:56 PM
