After i got my TES headers and catco cats installed this weekend, i get a rough idle every once in a while that i dont like, and i didnt'have this problem before. Another problem is that my temperature guage is not registering... When i turn the car on it stays at 100 and doesn't go up even after a long drive, i do believe the fans go off, but i am not sure--and am too scared to go for a long drive to check it out... The thermostat and hoses are new...

any ideas????
THANKS,
mike

 

The rough idle could be caused by a burned spark plug wire grounding out on the header.Did you have wires installed that work with headers,usually have 90 degree boots on them.Stock wires will not work for long without frying on one of the tubes.As for your temp gauge check that the sender wire on the front of the driver side head is hooked up,between cylinders 1 and 3.Sounds like the wire is just not plugged in,or it possibly came into contact with the header and burned,check it out.hope this helps

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1982 Z28:355,4 Speed,Lots of bolt ons

 

Do you have to advance/retard timing after installing headers? If so... could that be his cause of rough idling?

 

one bad z, i checked all that stuff before, it all seemed fine...

i'm getting it checked out tommorow by the guy who installed it tho, b/c i can't seem to figure it out...
thanks for the responses!
mike

 

The temp gauge sender probably broke during the header install. At this age after the kind of heat exposure they're subject to, the plastic they made those out of is brittle to the point that if you grab it it'll crumble like a potato chip. I'd say it's more likely an install issue, rather than a tuning issue. Tuning will always help after a header install, but I don't think installing headers is so drastic a change that it would make the car run rough when it otherwise ran smoothly.