Problems

Hooker 2138 LT's

Relocate knock sensor, pass side to drivers side of the block
Trans lines had to be bent and insulated
Starter shield is a MUST
Must use shorty plugs and all 90* boots
2 piece headers and the jointed primary is beyond the reach of a welder so they will always leak
Both motor mounts must be removed and engine tilted for each side's installation
#8 plug must be installed/removed from underneath, all others can be installed/removed from above
NO provision for O2 sensor, must be located down stream and heated
Both front brake lines must be bent out of the way
MUST heat wrap the starter wires
Does not come with collector flanges
Custom Y-pipe necessary
1 1/2" primaries ONLY option

Hedman 68460 LT's

Knock sensor must be relocated to drivers side of the block and clearance is still poor, the #1 tube will eventually melt the plug off again
Poor fitment, multiple dents must be made to clear the K-member, starter, A-arm mounts, header bolt heads, and spark plugs
Pass side brake line must be bent out of the way
MUST use shorty plugs and 90* boots
No provision for O2 sensor, but there is plenty of room on each collector
Drivers side motor mount must be removed and engine tilted for this side
Pass side header is 2 piece and the joint is above the reach of a welder so it will always leak
L98 oil cooler must be removed, the hardlines WILL NOT fit
Starter shield is not necessary but I still used one
MUST heatwrap the starter wires
Poor ground clearance
No provision for stock style catback



The good sides:



Hookers

Excellent fitment, no dents or grinding needed
Better than stock ground clearance
Easy bolt access for re-torquing, plenty of room pass rear where everyone swears the most
Easy plug access for 1-7 from above, #8 must be done from below but is still easy
Can use stock starter
Any stock style catback can be used and stock location cat is retained
LOTS of room for a manual trans slave cyl

Hedmans

Larger primary allow better performance
Cheap headers
Stock starter can be used with a few dents
Very easy plug access from above for all 8
Bolt access is decent after a few dents
Easy to make use of true dual exhaust
Aftermarket y-pipe available, even if 90% of buyers say it fits like poo
Well suited for auto trans lines



Since they are both in, Id say for my next set Im definitely going with the hookers
They are alot harder to install at first but once they are in, they are better for the car overall aside from the small loss from the 1 1/2" primaries

Hope this helps

 

I bought the Hedmans. They are not a 2 piece thing. There are two headers, bolt them onto the motor, weld nothing.

They don't leak so far and I had to dent nothing. I did have to remove the starter lift the engine get the header into place, replace the starter then bolt the header on. Driver's side went in ok although I there are some very tight clearances and I had to grind a little (less than 1/4") off the tab for the A Arm.

I have not had to run shorty plugs either, and the collectors do not hang any lower than the front frame rails.

YMMV

 

wtf? i didnt have to do anything with the headers, no welding, no dents, i put then on with the engine in the car and untouched...didnt have to wrap anything. they have better ground clearance that the hookers and most other brands. the pass header is NOT 2 peices, knock sensor is in stock location with no modifications, my l98 oil cooler is stock and hasnt been touched. im using stock plugs and regualar length with no problems. so far i have not had to do anyhting that u have stated so far and seems to be a load of bull.

only thing that have to be done is cuting a hole in the collector and welding in an 02 bung. and the use of 90degree boots is a better bet with fitment.

 

Installed mine with no dents, no starter clearance issues, and plenty of clearance around the spark plugs.

There's a brake line on the pasenger side?


Standard-length AC Delcos work for me. Why is a 90 degree boot a bad thing?

Installed both sides without unbolting the motor mounts at all.

Two pieces? Are you sure you're talking about Hedman 68460s?

No heatwrap here, lots of room.

Better ground clearance than the Hookers. The headers typically aren't the lowest point in the system anyway.

Of course not, these are long tubes.

 

Despite the problems that you may encounter with the installation, i've always used hooker headers and havent had a problem with them. in most cases they may be more expensive but the extra money is worth it

 

Good for you, I made this thread as a help for people searching for issues with LTs in an effort to keep the number of "I installed X parts and this thread said they would fit but they dont" threads down
Mine didnt clear in about 15 places and needed dents, i cant take pics if you dont believe me

Yeah, it goes along the K member and feeds the pass front brake caliper and it kinda important

90*s arent bad, just something else to buy because you didnt think youd have an issue with your old wires

So have alot of threads i read about LTs. This car required it, as well as the last one i did

Yes

Even with wrap, the primary still rubs on the wire bunch, Im planning on rerouting it later, just not something I was expecting to find

Nope i scrape collector flanges on just about everything

Read the part about the hookers having a specific routing for stock style catback and then read 90% of threads asking about headers and factory systems

Exactly

 

Sorry, I forgot part of what I was trying to say. I avoided denting anything because I was willing to notch the K member in non-structural areas. I'd rather do that than dent the headers any day.

Something's still not right then, there should be miles of room between the brake line on the K member and the header.


Understandable. New plug wires should pretty much be a given on any header install, though.

If you can't get the car high enough off the ground, you might need to.

I thought you were comparing to Hooker's real long tubes, the 2210s, not those bizarre stock-routed things. On a car with real long tubes, the lowest point of the system is almost always the exhaust pipe where you go around the frame rails and/or the crossmember.

Where and when did you get the 68460s?

 

It was right on top of it, only needed a minor bend

It didnt fit between the motor/frame rail with the mount connected on either set of headers

Part numbers were given for both, plus there is already a really good write up on the 2210's

New in box, ebay

 

Have you got a link to the auction? I think someone sold you the wrong headers.

 

mine fit fine twice!

 

my heddman lts fit fine on the ds droppd n like a glove with the motor up a few inches, the pass side was a completely diff story!!! i pryed lifted took about 20 mins to get the bad boy clear of the ac box, k-member and the damned trans lines which i bent! gotta replace em now GRRRR!

 

im not sure that u got the right pair then. just saying most ppl have no issues with the headmans.

mine went in with no dents... had no clearance issues, no knotching or bending of anything but some slight bends in the brake lines where all that twisty stuff is below the master cylinder. i had no issues witht he trans lines. the best thing u can do for then engine bay is get that thing outa there. get an AC delete boy or delete it completely or make something up.

my header was warped on the driver side but i will be fixing that with the new motor

 

Doesn't look like a two-piece passenger side to me.
I'm picking up a used pair of these today, will contribute my once I've installed them.

 

How did it go?

 

Not finished yet, I've been stupid busy lately. Most of the time I've put in was spent removing the stock manifolds. I've the driver's side in place and almost ready to fit the passenger side.

Here's what I noticed so far:
I had to remove the oil filter and the pressure sensor to get the driver's side in; those will fit fine once it's bolted up. Also had to grind about 3/8" off the bottom front corner of the rearward A-arm mount, and put about 1/4" dent in the primary that passes it. I'm certain that new motor mounts would have prevented this. On the passenger side, I removed the fan switch in the head and will have to pull out the starter. I don't think the fan switch was 100% necessary, but mine was broken anyway and I figured it was a good a time as any to replace it. Also, all the spark plugs are out on both sides.

I was unable to drop either header in from the top. The A/C box and hard heater line on the passenger side is in the way; on the driver's side, the steering shaft and brake lines interfere.

I had to buy an O2 bung to weld in. Because the headers I bought came already wrapped, I'm planning to install the O2 sensor just past the flange on the Y-pipe. There is plenty of room if it is oriented straight up.


Hoping to finish the job tonight, weather permitting, I'll post pictures and further thoughts when I'm done.

 

Alright, so a few things need modification. Would love some pics and any more insight you can add!

 

Well, I managed to get the passenger side header in last night - took me far longer than the driver's side. For the passenger side, I had to lift the car higher - got the driver's side in with exactly 12" from ground to bottom of the oil pan, needed another 4" for the passenger side. I had to remove the starter and the plastic dust cover on the bellhousing, and grind a bit off the corner - will post pics up when I have time to plug in my camera. I had to take almost half an inch off the rearward a-arm mount (don't worry, I welded some reinforcement in to make up for what I took off) on the passenger side just to get the header up into position, but it would have been necessary anyways for clearance once installed. The spark plugs and temperature switch most definitely needed to come out. I didn't need to move the transmission cooler lines and the giant stock starter fit into place with the header installed, though reconnecting the wires was a bit of a pain. I didn't have to make any dents for clearance on the passenger side, there is plenty of room (aside from the a-arm mount on the k-member). The headers are not bad for ground clearance, sitting at worst 1" or so below the transmission pan, though I am sure the y-pipe will be the low spot where it crosses the tranny crossmember.

Tonight I'll hopefully finish up by installing the y-pipe, spark plugs and wires, new fan switch, bolt up the accessories, oil change, and replace the antifreeze.