Header installation procedure.

dale.baker

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Header installation on the 2013/2014 Shelby GT-500. Total Man Hours to install=18 (2-people 9 hours each)

0. Place vehicle on a two post lift and remove front tires at this time. Wheels must be facing straight ahead.

1. Remove the two nuts and bracket holding the steering column inside the car with a 10mm socket before raising the car on the lift.

2. Disconnect/remove the battery and battery box from the passenger side of the engine.

3. Remove the CAI/Box from the drivers side of the engine after the battery is disconnected. Tape over the TB inlet. Raise car on two post lift at this time.
Remove the starter and push aside, but do not disconnect the wiring
Remove 4- O2 sensors and wiring (mark the wires and sensors-LF LR RF RR etc.). Only the front two will be reused.
Mark the old intermediate pipes portion of the exhaust system on the body with a marker and the exhaust pipes to ensure the exact location is retained with the new system.
Remove the frame cross brace-4 nuts

4. Remove the factory H-Pipe/Catalytic pipe. Leave nuts on the old manifolds. Old 2.5" rear clamps will be reused. Leave O2 sensors and wiring attached to the H-Pipe. (Not Re-used)
Remove the 3 bolts holding the lower facia protection plastic shield and let the shield hang vertically. Do not remove it! This will give you better access to everything.

5. Mark the steering shaft, and knuckle for orientation and remove the bolt on the steering shaft and push the shaft up into the interior slightly and out of the way for the drivers side header to pass through.
Do not rotate the shaft as it will damage the switch. Your day will be ruined if this happens.

6. Remove the EGR pipe fitting from the passenger manifold from up top. Loosen the pipe where it goes into the intake to make it swivel easier when connecting it to the new header.
Remove the motor mount and frame mount from the drivers side only and support the engine from the edge of the oil pan (not the center or it may crack it) with a hydraulic post jack. .
Remove the 8-lower nuts from the stock manifolds.
Remove the dip stick by removing one bolt from the drivers side and pulling upward. Do not bend the tube in the process or damage the "O" ring.
Remove the 8-upper nuts from the manifolds using an air ratchet and remove the manifolds.

7. Remove and inspect stock manifold gaskets-re-use if possible (mine were perfect). These gaskets are very good quality and should not require re-torquing.
You will have used about 2 hours of labor at this point.

8. Find the anchor point near the bell housing for the stock O2 wiring harness and disengage it so that the front O2 sensors can be reached with out using the supplied extensions. (Must do)!

9. Install header from the bottom loosely and check to see which studs will have to be replaced with shorter ones on both sides. Avoid using carbon steel bolts due to aluminum heads and galvanic action possibility.
Remove header and install new shorter studs where required in both heads. Try not to use bolts in the heads.
Coat both sides of the old gasket with Ultra Cooper and install over existing/new studs.

10. Install drivers side header tightening all nuts correctly. This will take about 2 hours to tighten 8 nuts with every 13mm tool combination imaginable.
Reinstall the dip stick tube and tighten bolt. Failure to do this at this point will cause an extra 6 hours of labor to install it last. Do not damage the "O" ring!
Reinstall the steering shaft and tighten bolt correctly.
Reinstall motor mount/frame mounts at this time.
You will be at about 6 hours into this job at this time.


11. Install the Passenger header loosely and connect the EGR fitting and tighten it first.
Tighten all nuts correctly.
Reinstall starter. Make sure wiring does not contact headers.
Reinstall lower frame cross brace.
You will be at about 7 hours into this job at this time.

12. Measure the new "H" pipe and cut the new pipe not the factory piping to the correct length so the exhaust tips remains in the stock location.
Install 2 old and 2 new clamps over the "H" pipe before installing the new "H" pipe to correct elevation and depth and tighten 4 clamp bolts securely.
Install stainless plugs in the O2 holes. Recheck marking's that new exhaust is in the correct position as the old one was in.

13. Install 2-O2 front sensors in their correct locations as previously marked above.
Connect the wiring to the extensors. DO NOT USE SUPPLIED WIRING EXTENSIONS FOR ANY REASON!
You will be about 8 hours into this job at this time.

14. Reassemble the following:
Remove tape from TB and install CAI/Box first.
Install the battery box, battery, and re-connect the wiring to the battery posts.

15 Lower car and re-install the steering shaft brackets and 2-10mm nuts around the steering column.

16. Re-flash computer with SCR tool. Lund Tune. Van is the man!

17. Start car and check for leaks and any engine codes. There should be none. Smoke will be seen for about 2 minutes coming off the headers and out of the tail pipes-this is normal.

18. Re-tighten exhaust clamp bolts. It is impossible to re-tighten the header nuts, but I checked few easy ones and they were as tight as originally installed.

19. Replace front tires at this time. Torque to 100 lbs/ft
You will be about 9 hours into this job at this time. The end is near!!!!!!!

20. Enjoy you new system and all of the new power and torque. Place band aids on all cuts and have a few beers as you deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

GOTSVT?

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18 hour install?
I hope there are a few beers in the mix somewhere
 

GT500662

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I'm so glad I hired a professional to do this. I knew it was beyond my scope. But after reading step by step.... It would have been way way beyond my abilities!
 

Ghoust

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This is awesome. Thanks for posting the write up. My write up to this would be:

1. schedule appt with my favorite tuner shop.
2. drop car off
3. pay with favorite credit card
4. pick up car
 

dale.baker

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Step 13 it says to not use the supplied extensions for any reason. I should have said to plug in the original equipment wiring to the original
O2 sensors. This would have made this point a little clearer.
 

Spudz

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What's the typical cost for a pro to do a header instal?

This...

I did a header install on my '12 GT back a few years ago... Total man hours was about 144 hours between three guys over a four day period... never... never again. Granted, all three of us were inexperienced, the job was done on jackstands (major issue), and we made the mistake of having no beer on tap for the first two days. Also had the scare of my life torquing a bolt when my buddy decided it would be fun to break the A/C line right over my head without warning. Thought the damned car was going to drop on my face.

When I do the GT500, you can bet your ass I'm going professional. Already checked a header install off my bucket list. Don't need to do it again.
 

railroad

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Great write up, should be stored. I put shorties on my 99 Cobra, a pretty good job and I have a lift. If I get to the have to have it stage, I will probably contact Brenspeed. They did my son's Edelbrock S/C. Great price, job, benefits and results. I am sure there are others out there too.
 

Tob

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It was requested to stick this thread because the OP did such a good job. In order to keep the main forum cleaner up top I stuck it in Van's forum. I could have closed it and put it up as a "how to" (and closed it) but I strongly suspect that many still may want to contribute to it.
 

cdh027

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12. Measure the new "H" pipe and cut the new pipe not the factory piping to the correct length so the exhaust tips remains in the stock location.
Install 2 old and 2 new clamps over the "H" pipe before installing the new "H" pipe to correct elevation and depth and tighten 4 clamp bolts securely.

Can anyone please tell me exactly how much to cut of the ARH offroad H-pipe to keep the stock exhaust tips in factory locations? I'm having my ARH long tubes installed this week and want to cut the right amount off the h-pipe to avoid having to take it all apart again once I get it back. I've heard to cut 1.5 inches, but want to hear from others. Thanks guys!
 
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PhoenixM3

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It was requested to stick this thread because the OP did such a good job. In order to keep the main forum cleaner up top I stuck it in Van's forum. I could have closed it and put it up as a "how to" (and closed it) but I strongly suspect that many still may want to contribute to it.

Tob,

I'm all about using known procedures and hopefully providing tips to improve it.


Ciao,

Jeff
 

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