n/m

 

how the hell did you mess up the dipstick?? didnt have a problem with my hookers.. maybe its because Edelbrocks tubing is different?? that sucks man... have fun pulling the dipstick and the rubber gromet its attached to... then have fun getting the new gromet in and then have some more fun getting the dipstick in.... while the engine is in the car.. it sucks..

 

did you break the dipstick off at the block?

 

ok, dipstick tube is not an issue, it just got bent up and i dont think the dipstick will read correctly. I cant seem to fit the headers in. I think it is impossible for cars with AC. The collector seems to be hitting against the upper control arm, if the control arm was lower maybe it might slide in. Right now i have the car on jackstands under the control arms. The pinch welds or whatever they are called (the place u can put the jackstands at behind the front wheels) was bent by prev owner. I really dont want to put jackstands there I also dont want to remove the AC, heater box, or starter cause that could possibly delay me another awful week....

any tips?

see, BENT!

 

I had the same problem (but mine slid in more then that, but still was not enough). I had to unbolt the passenger side motor mount, put a block of wood under my oil pan, and jack up the left side of the motor. Then I dropped the header in, screwed the bolts in, and dropped the motor back down.

It said right in the directions that came with my headers to jack up the motor.

 

With my edels and my hookers, I just popped the valve cover off and they dropped right in.

 

Actually, just noticed the AC. I think I still had that when I put my edels in, but I cant be sure. With the A/C, maybe tilting the motor might be the only way. Although it hitting the valve cover really decreases the clearances around the header that it has to drop in.

 

yah, try the valve cover (4 bolts, right? im still using beginning of time-86 heads).. just dont rip the gasket.. if it doesnt work, then do the motor mount

 

id rather remove the ac stuff than mess with the motor mounts....ive never done anything like that before and i dont have an engine lift. Where can i put the jackstands to the suspension is fully expanded

 

woah, woah!

motor mount is held together by !1! bolt... get the appropriate size wrench for the nut and a socket and wrench (impach would work) for the bolt.. shoud take you five minutes.. and take a CAR JACK with a block of wood on it and jack the engine up (via oilpan) just a little.. shouldnt take much to slide the header in

 

^What he said. It will be MUCH easier than what your planning to do.

 

I assume you want to get the control arm down to its full travel? If so, even with the stands under the spring pockets, the control arms still should be fully extended (they are on my car, anyway). Where do you have them now?

 

i always put my jack stands on the sway bar mounts (towards the middle of the car).. was up there all winter no problems

 

ahahaha i cant beleive how much trouble you are having Dan.. i dont mean to laugh but.. damn that sucks..

get the front wheels high enough off the ground.. get that block of wood.. take those mount bolts out.. jack the engine up a bit..

im just going to blame edelbrocks design for all the trouble.. just because the pair that my friend and i put on his 89 were this much trouble... he finally said screw it.. sold the bocks on Ebay.. bought Hookers and they just fell in...WITH A/C still in the way.. so.. i dont know what to tell you..other than keep on truckin


just out of couriosity.. how many days have you been at this now?

 

about three weeks mf'er, but i barely work on it...ive spent maybe 8 hours so far total. Im doin it all my self, this would be the most extensive thing ive done to a car so gimme a break.

Ive heard about bad sh*t happening by tilting the motor, and the oil pan getting smashed even with blocks of wood. Im going to try to get it in from the bottom of the car by removing the starter.

 

Where have you heard this? It's not like your jacking up the whole car by the pan, just the motor a bit to tilt it. It's your car though, but you are making a lot of work for yourself.

 

here is one example

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...eaders+install

 

dude you should remove the valve cover to begin with.....it will go in just needs a lil bit of work to get it in there ...but seriously remove the VALVE covers .....check out my pics on my thread ...

 

i was thinking of doing that.....will it leak oil? will it mess up the gasket?

 

Get new gaskets if your removing them. The center bolt gaskets are cake to put in.

 

ok, valve cover off. Didnt help much

how do i remove the ac stuff? Will gas spray out? I dont care about not having AC

 

this sux, and cant do anything untill i have more info. I dont know whether to go from the bottom of the car and remove starter or top and remove AC

 

does the ac work? cause if it does, then you can start on that.. but you should have it emptied professionally

 

the AC works and i would like to keep it, I refuse to get it towed to be emptied. I dont think it will fit from the top anyway, how do u remove the starter? I know just remove the bolts but is there anything i should look out for?

 

unbolt all of the wires (and remember which go where..) and take out two bolts

 

ahahaha did you just call me a "Mother F__Ker" ahahhaha thats funny stuff man..

easy there Dan.. im not trying to **** on you. i was just wondering how many hours you have put into it..


i can see another huge obsticle in your way.. that last bolt is being blocked by Edelbrocks great idea to route that tube over the rest of the tube what a great idea..














Did i ever mention Hooker 2055's? dont recollect if i ever mentioned Hooker 2055's before..

Hooker 2055's are great

ah... now i feel better

 

Be sure and disconnect the battery before this....and I would label the wires with masking tape.

 

Edelbrock actually notched out the flange so you can hand thread the bolt in and then put the header in behind it and tighten. I actually apreciated that more then the direct access with my hookers as I didnt have to reach behind the header and fiddle with the bolt to get it in.

If the starter doesnt give you the necessary clearence, then Id say its time to tilt the motor. The real things to be mindful of are the wiring on that side of the motor and the rear ground straps. Shouldnt stress the wires too much but its not a bad idea to keep an eye on them. Also a good idea to loosen the trans mount so it wont have to flex so much.

Id definatly avoid discharging the AC. R-12 is hard to get ahold of.

 

i wasnt serious on that btw

i hope removing the starter works cause i'd hate to mess up stuff jacking up the motor. Im doing this all alone so i wouldnt have anyone to watch stuff while i jack it up

 

ok, i removed the starter, the headers seem like they will go in but that temp sensor (i think thats what its called) is in the way. I unscrewed it but its taking forever to drain.... I gotta put the starter back on cause some of the antifreeze might get into the flywheel housing.

 

wont fit from the bottom. How do i tilt the engine?

 

unbolt the passenger side motor mount.. its one bolt, it will take a wrench on one end and a socket on the other (impact will make this a quick job)... then take a block of wood, set that on your car jack, and jack up on the oil pan.. just a little, maybe raise it a half inch at first, then go up from there.. just enough to get the header to slide in... make sure to check everything that this movement effects each time you check to see if you have enough height to slide the header in.

hope that helps

 

With my hookers, I didn't have to jack it up very far at all. Make sure to loosen the air intake before jacking it up.

 

i dont know much about motor mounts...so this wont bend the drivers side motor mount? Is this bad for the tranny? Do i put the jack in the middle of the oil pan or to the left?

thx for your help

 

No, it wont adversley effect anything (as long as you put the motor mount bolt back in once your done hah).

The torque from idle to WOT, or a cold start is more than enough to move the motor about 1/2" either direction.


The motor will not fall on you or anything... it's basically two clam shells that lay on each other, and where they join is where the motor mount bolt is. You take that off, and then they just lay on each other. Then you can take your jack, put the piece of wood on it, and jack it on that side to tilt it.

The only things I'd check to make sure you dont bend in the process is the braided ground strap, your distributor cap, and uh...that's about all I can think of at the moment.


I know I was scared the first time I took my motor mount bolts out, but once I realied I could have both bolts out, and the motor would still sit there just perfectly, I was ok. lol

 

ahhhhhahahahahaha!!! I WIN!!! I WIN!!! I GOT THE FREAKIN HEADER IN!!! it only took some hammering from the bottom of the car at the expense of the temp sensor, ti tech coating, and probably a brake line.... I never touched the motor mounts.....finally im no longer depressed!!! HAHA!!

now all i gotta do is:
spark plugs
new wires and boots
brackets
y pipe
valve cover
hook up all those coolant and air lines (i dont remeber where a single one goes!!! )
heat shields
new temp sensor
get custom pipe made between cat and y pipe

hope thats everything


HAHAHA!!! IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN!! OWNED!

 

Damn, you really like making things hard for yourself huh? Got any pics from the back of your car with the american thunder system on it?

 

Maybe next time you will see the light. Hope you don't have to jack the motor to replace that brake line!!

you can lead a horse to water.....

 

lol, just kidding about being depressed
about the american thunder system, its not hooked up yet. I bought it and the headers around the same time. The high flow 3 inch cat i bought is a little short so im gonna need some exhaust work done at a shop. Once i get it all completed, i will have lots of pics

im pretty sure the brake line is ok because it has that wire protector around it. If not, i will get a brake shop to do it for me, i hate working with brakes.

how do i get a part number for that temperature sensor that is on the passenger side of the block?

 

That is your elec fan switch. GM part # 10045782. I would get an aftermarket one to turn the fan on earlier. If you do a search in the cooling section, you will find a lot of posts on this one.

 

hmmmmm since my car has cooling problems, thats a good idea. How much will this cost?

 

$20 or $25

 

i saw a hypertech one in summits catalouge for 42 bux, it says "works with hypertech chip"....what kind should i get and how do these work?

 

for a new switch:

http://www.rodneydickman.com/n20.html

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=274674

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=260999

Once you get it, just screw in the new switch and plug in your connector.

 

ok, thanks. the coolant will not stop draining from this switch...its been going forever. How long should this take to drain? All the coolant in the radiator is gone...will i need to refill the coolant in the block?

so i need to do wiring if i want one of these?

 

gotta change the oil cause i think coolant dripped into the hole where the dipstick was

do i need to put these on?

 

yes, if it makes you feel good.

you only need those spacers where accessories mount to the front header stud.

 

what will happen if i dont put the AC bracket back on?

 

You won't have any A/C.

 

yeah i will, im talking about the black metal post that bolts onto the manifolds