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Flowtechs easy to install??

Old Aug 19, 2002 | 01:46 PM
  #1  
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
Flowtechs easy to install??

Have heard that flowtechs (although not the best) line up and are easier to install compared to other header brands.

Anyone ever installed a set? Easier to lower them into the engine, or from underneathe??
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 02:03 PM
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They were fairly simple to install, I just did it this weekend. The driverside sliped right in from the top. For the passenger side remove your starter and slide it up from underneath. Although I had to get the y pipe cut down from one header to the other and to the cat it was a fairly simple job. Get the ceramic coated from jegs or summit only $297 y pipe and all shipped.
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 05:04 PM
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
great...good for you..glad you got yours done this weekend. Thats awesome. How do u like them so far?

Yes, I'll prob get them from summit/jegs. Its a good deal and they fit well I've heard.

I'm not that proficient in welding so I was going to install them and run my car up to a muffler shop and have them weld in the y-pipe.

From what I remember, the bolts attaching the manifold are a pain to get off. Did you have any trouble? Or just spray them earlier?
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 07:33 PM
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From: Cincinnati, OH
Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
I have them and they were okay to install but I am not to pleased with the quality. Number one, the header flange was not striahgt at all and I had to torque the bolts down like a mother to get them to lay flat on the heads. Number two, the car runs great but sound like poo. I have this unidentified "metalic hiss" that I cannot locate for the life of me. I am going to switch collector gaskets to copper ones and see what that does. I used the percy's dead soft aluminum gaskets for the other gaskets.

ATTN: dreamsbird
Do you have a similar problem? The car runs strong but sounds like a metalic bee buzzing in my motor. I really think I have a leak somewhere. But the car idles and runs great so i am so confused.
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 08:25 PM
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i have flowtechs and i love them. everyone disses them becuase of the 1 1/2" primaries but those are great for making torque on a 305. the only problem with i had was gettting the back bolt on the passenger side on. it took a while to get a wrench on it. other than that i love them. i got them for 30 bucks so i really cant complain anyway.
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 08:27 PM
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and as for the hissing noise you probably have a leak somewhere as i dont have that sound.
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 08:43 PM
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Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
primer84z

I some quick ?'s for ya

1. What header gaskets did you use. i used the pecy's but I think i may have them on backward. There is a smooth side and a recessed side. I put the smooth side on the header but the recessed side does not look like it would seal very well.

2. What collector gaskets did you use. I think this may be my problem. It was a sloppy fit and i think i have gaps in seal down there. I used all the supplied stuff (which i hear is junk), but I heard the problem right away upon startup.

3. Did u you the supplied reducers? I did not because they looked pointless because the collectors on the y-pipe and headers were both 2.5", so why would I bneed the 2.25" reducer?

4. Was the flange on your set straight. Mine had a severe boq to thema dn i wonder if this cpould be a problem. They did not lay flat on the head and stuck off the head as much as a half inch!
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 08:44 PM
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From: Cincinnati, OH
Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
here is a pic of my collector situation
Attached Thumbnails Flowtechs easy to install??-mvc-023fwith-arrow-small.jpg  
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Old Aug 19, 2002 | 09:18 PM
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i used the supplied gaskets. bad choice but they havent messed up yet. i used all supplied gaskets. i used the reducers at first and had a 2.25 y made for like 25 bucks. i then bought the $100 ypipe and i havent installed it yet. the flanges were straight as they can get. maybe you just got a botched set. hope this helps.
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 01:53 AM
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Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
With my luck anything is possible
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 10:01 AM
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Shifty no bee buzz sound. I used the supplied gaskets for now and there are no leaks. The only problem was where the tubes all go into the colector there was one 1/16th inch of open area they forgot to weld. I just filled it with muffler mender and no problems. On the flanges they were fairly straight nothing that seemed off.

Last edited by dreamsbird; Aug 20, 2002 at 10:08 AM.
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 10:15 AM
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Matthew91-Z28, the exhaust manifold bolts came right out. I thought something was wrong as easy as everything went. Since normally if something can go wrong for me it will
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 12:41 PM
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I had these headers installed in about an hour. But I had just installed my engine too like 2 hours before haha. These were definitely easy headers to install, I love the quality for the price (excellent build quality) but the stock gaskets are complete junk. Oh well, you get what you pay for.
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 01:42 PM
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From: Cincinnati, OH
Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
Well I swapped out the crappy supplied collector gaskets for some jegs dead soft copper ones. These are great gaskets to get because they have a bead of copper around the center that compresses down, even if you have a gap. I torqued them down and the flange started to bend. Luckily that bead filled the gap and VOILA! no more noise. Car sounds so much better now, but I sitll wish is sounded better. Now it sounds like a truck with a full exhaust. Heads and Cam are th eonly things left, and I am pretty sure those will change the sound a lot
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 11:12 PM
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
Right on..glad to hear all this info now. Now undecided about the gaskets. Man I can't wait. About a month ago, I installed exhaust tips and that made the sound resonate so much better. SO I can't wait to hear it after the install.

BTW, has everyone noticed an increase in hp? Supposedly, headers will give an extra 30 oe so horses.
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Old Aug 20, 2002 | 11:33 PM
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From: Avondale, AZ, used to be seattle, washington
Car: 1978 Chevrolet C10
Engine: 350
Transmission: Turbo 350
i wouldnt know how they are to get them in with the engine in the car, but i put on the full length headers and they were easy to git in, along with the engine and tranny all together, then all i had to do was bolt on the galsspacks, sounds great, and easly acessable
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Old Aug 21, 2002 | 12:00 PM
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
where do the glasspacks go? In front of the cat or behind it (muffler side)?
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Old Aug 21, 2002 | 12:32 PM
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Matthew91-Z28's Avatar
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
by the way...which kind of flowtechs did you all get? I've been poking aroudn summit and found the "camaro/firebird emissions headers" which have y-pipe included and the black finish (list price $202). Is this what you guys got?
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Old Aug 21, 2002 | 12:51 PM
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Matthew91-Z28's Avatar
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From: Texas
Car: 1991 Z28 Convertible
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.23 with Eaton posi
another thing...do the flowtechs have A.I.R and O2 sensor fittings??
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Old Aug 21, 2002 | 01:22 PM
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Car: '90 RS
Engine: 377 LSX
Transmission: Magnum T56
They have an 02 bung that needs to be drilled out, but they do not have AIR. Good time to remove some smog and clean up your motor a bit. That is what i did and I am really happy. However my annoying noise has returned a little bit. I don't really car now because I am tired of messing with it.I may just use some muffler mender and spread it around each collector.
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Old Aug 21, 2002 | 01:35 PM
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Originally posted by Matthew91-Z28
BTW, has everyone noticed an increase in hp? Supposedly, headers will give an extra 30 oe so horses.
Yeah especially after you swap out that disgusting excuse for a Y-pipe and those tiny stock manifolds...
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Old Aug 22, 2002 | 03:25 AM
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From: Avondale, AZ, used to be seattle, washington
Car: 1978 Chevrolet C10
Engine: 350
Transmission: Turbo 350
cat... lol what the **** is that, i am bolting the blasspacks strait to the headers and having turn downs welded onto the packs, thats it, its going to be lould as F&$#
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