StainlessWorks Full header/exhaust install notes

NY04snake

track rat
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Upstate NY
I guess I don't have enough postings to get attachment rights so I will have to add the pictures later if someone wants to see the pictures that I took along the way.

Here are the steps taken to get my headers installed with a few small pictures (if requested) so it can be printed more easily, for better illustrations you may want to refer to the modularfords.com Stainless Works GB thread, where the pictures are bigger and possibly more detailed. The instructions supplied were a little thin on the details so I will try to fill in the blanks and share what I learned. Prior to attempting this install I searched all the manufactures sites for full header install instructions but was still left to figure out much of what is specific to these size and shape headers. I believe many problems were a result of trying to keep it street legal, isn’t that always the case. Doing this on jack stands may present you with a different set of problems eliminated by doing it on a lift and I also recommend having the special tool for pushing the hooked metal pipe hanger from inside of the very stiff rubbers that connect the pipes to the frame and a set of ratcheting wrenches, they are life savers for this type of job with several studs that can only be turned a couple of degrees at a time with your arm extended to the max.

1) REMOVE THE FACTORY EXHAUST, or what ever you have on, I can email you the Ford Instructions from the Helm CD, so I won’t go over that, PM me if you want them, I can save them as a PDF. Be very careful with the manifold gaskets, you will need to reuse them as well as most of the manifold studs, their advantage is that they can be threaded in prior to placing the header over them and will hold the gasket(s) in place thus making the initial placement of the header easy. The front top and back top and all four on the bottom can be left on.
2) Disconnect the battery cables.
3) Remove the short G-load crossmember, if you haven’t already and remove both motor mount nuts. You will need a second guy up top when jacking the motor because there is only 2-3 inches travel available before you start bending stuff and you only want to jack (using a wood block) one side at time because you will get more travel rocking it from the side than straight up. Now is the time to replace your motor mounts with poly ones, they are actually easier to work around and you won’t need the factory heat shield put there to protect the rubber OEM mount, giving you a little better visibility from below.
4) Remove the steering shaft pinch bolt from the coupler at the rag joint and let it hang down out of the way if you haven’t already.
5) If you had the dipstick tube notch mod done to you drivers side header you don’t have to touch the dipstick, if you have a solid flange on the driver side you WILL have to remove the dipstick.
6) Drop the starter and let it hang down completely out of the way, the passenger side header will not fit by it, even after jacking the motor up.
7) Connect both sets of O2 sensor extensions now while you can easily access the factory harnesses, if you leave this step to the end it is much more difficult to get at the front ones. The aftermarket extensions are made for the rear, so on the front you will need to shave the plastic guide nipples where they interfere. The back set of extensions is long enough to run inside the frame rails for extra protection.
8) The drivers side header will fit up past the cross-member without jacking the motor, we got at most of the studs on the drivers side standing underneath the lift, reaching way up, not sure jack stands will allow the leverage needed so if you jack the motor you may be able to get at more of the top ones easier from above? Remember to use the supplied bolts (we added a lock washer not supplied) for the top two middle holes and start them while the header is loose because they are the only ones with clearance issues with the tubes, making them harder to get started, even if the header is only hand tight. After hand tightening all the bolts torque down the studs from the top rear forward, alternating from top to bottom.
9) The passenger side header has to be wiggled up past everything with the motor jacked, now you have a choice at this point, you can now reinstall the starter using all three starter bolts before you tighten the headers, but I think you would then have to loosen the header (as well as disconnect the exhaust) to change the starter (or clutch?). I decided to leave the starter out of the way to make it easier to deal with tightening the header but I could only use two of the starter bolts when I put the starter back. I expect to be messing with the clutch in the near future and this low compression motor doesn’t require a lot of starter torque so that was why I decided to go with two bolts, but I will be checking them every once and a while for snugness. The same deal for the top two bolts on the passenger side, using the supplied bolts with lock washers worked best and starting them before everything is tight is a must. This side must be attacked from above to help in dealing with the AC lines which you need to push as far as you can out of the way so jacking seemed to help get the tiny bit of extra clearance to help allow working the ratcheting wrench with one arm and pushing the AC lines out of the way with your other hand, your forearms will be tore up when you are done. After hand tightening all the bolts torque down the studs from the top rear forward, alternating from top to bottom.
10) If you haven’t already reinstall the starter. The top bolt is pretty much hidden by the tubes but the second one down is no picnic either, using a 30” extension attack it from the area of the A-frame, there is a spot you can thread it all the way through and use a ratchet.
11) Now you have another choice to make, if a shop does this install for you they will take option A and you probably will be none the wiser, the place I was dealing with told me that they could do that and save me a little labor but they preferred to do option B which would keep the car as close to stock as possible, well we struggled a bit with option B until we figured out the “trick”, decide for yourself. Either way while it is still attached up top try to match the angle of the tube with the angle of the attachment point on the drivers side header, making slight bends with a socket extension placed into the tube and/or an oversized box end wrench slid over the outside of the tube, but because the attachment point simply can not be in the same exact place as the stock manifold, you will have great difficulty getting the threads started, at this point just get the angle close and then pick a method below to loosen the tube at the top:
A) Follow the EGR tube down from the EGR Valve and pick a spot that is straight for about 3 inches, cut away about 2 inches with a hacksaw or a small tubing cutter, clearance could be an issue with what ever tool you use, but now attaching the EGR tube to the header should be fairly easy (grease the threads) if the tube can move around enough. Once attached at the header clamp a 3” piece of rubber hose where you cut the tube, many stock applications have a rubber accordion hose to allow the ends to be more easily connected, the cobra has a solid EGR tube.
B) Remove the EGR tube from the EGR valve near the throttle body and disconnect the whole EGR/Vacuum harness from the driver’s side of the motor, the throttle body cables and anything else in close proximity of the EGR valve to allow the EGR tube the ability to freely move while lining it up and getting the threads started into the header. Once the EGR tube is attached to the header using wood pieces, a padded pry bar and a 1 1/8 box end slid over the tube and great care, bend the tube to line up and match the angle where it needs to go into the EGR valve. The top end of the EGR tube has a flat squared off lip (not rounded like where it attaches to the header) making it nearly impossible to push into the valve bung and get the threads started under the tension required to hold it in place but if you remove the EGR valve body being careful not to wreck the gasket, you can then thread the tube into the EGR and while one person is holding/pushing/prying the EGR valve where it needs to be a second person will be able to get the bolts started and tighten the valve body down. Replace all the electric plugs, vacuum connections and any assembly removed to allow access to the area around the EGR valve.
12) If you removed your dipstick tube, you will now have to bend it so it goes out around the solid flange, then quickly back in under the arm of the motor mount, then another bend to line it up to slide into the hole for it. Be very careful not to kink it too severely or the measuring part at the end of the flexible rod (stick), which is almost the same size as the tube will not pass through, you also may have to alter the connection point because the multiple bends will shorten the length. Sorry I can’t help you with this, it looked nearly impossible without sacrificing a tube or two getting it right so I decided to ask for the modification I had done to mine.
13) Replace the steering shaft pinch bolt in the coupler at the rag joint. I added some header wrap to the nylon sleeve of the steering shaft to protect it some from the heat of the now close header tubes but there is an inch of clearance which is more than most and probably fine.
Some full header install instructions actually say to beat a hollow area in any tube if they rub?
14) Replace and tighten the motor mount nuts and the cross member, reconnect the O2 sensors and battery cables.


The muffler install is much more straight forward some of the tips I can offer are:
I) There is a special tool to help remove the hooked solid hanger rods from inside of those stiff rubbers, they can be a battle without that nifty tool, just wish I knew what it was called?
II) Test fit everything and if the fit isn't perfect reverse the X-pipe and/or rotate the connecting pipes with a pipe wrench until the space around the mufflers is the same on both sides and the pipes are sucked up to the body and not hanging lower at any point.
III) Use 10 Walker or similar wide band clamps instead of the supplied standard clamps, they help make a muffler set like this one with several short pipes sections that much more rigid, keeping the pipes sealed and resistant to vibration. I couldn't fit them at the end of the header collector, where the Cats slide over, not enough clearance and I chose to use two of the supplied clamps at the tips for better adjustment control, the one around the hanger is tightened last and adjusts the spacing in the cutout, the front clamp can then be used to set the length and the rotation of the tip, placing the seam at 6 o'clock bottom center. You may have to go back and forth a couple of times but it was a lot easier to get the tips to match and be dead center this way.
IV) Be sure to tighten the Walker clamps completely down with an impact wrench, until the two jaws of the clamp are flush and you can see the outline of where one pipe slides into the other, you can't over tighten them.
V) After installing and tightening down everything recheck everything for proper clearance being sure that the bolts from the band clamps are NOT going to contact anything, causing a rattle or worse.

- 04_snake

<edit> I almost forgot I have a short movie clip that lets you hear the final result of the bloody knuckles, go here:headermovie
 
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