I'm getting ready to install my new exhaust on Tuesday and now I'm having some doubts.

Here's the background:
I bought a full header back 3" exhaust setup off a member on this site that was supposedly used for a year and I've been delaying the installation due to finances and now I've got the cash for it.

I'm hiring a shop to do the work and they told me that if I wanted the smog stuff removed that I'd have to do it....fine, it's done. I hacked off all the tubes with a sawzall and crimped the ends and removed the rest. Exhaust still comes out of the tubes a little though.

So now I'm excited that I'll actually be able to get the exhaust installed but the shop brought up the possibility that the bolts on the heads will break that hold on the exhaust manifold and that this would be a lengthy process to get them removed if that happend.

My dad's saying its a waste of money and the headers aren't worth it but everyone on here says the exhaust is one of the most restrictive things on the engines, especially an LG4.

At $70 an hour I don't want this bill being $800 in labor costs.
My questions are these:

Based off experiences with your cars, what is the probability that the bolts will break?

Also, if I leave the stock manifolds on, will the rest of the 3" system bolt up. 3" y-pipe, etc. IF I did that I don't know how I'd seal up where the AIR tubes were because I can't the the bolts to come off.

The shop I'm taking it to is good at what they do and that's all they do is exhaust, but they are known for being really expensive but they're the only shop that will put on my own equiptment. They quoted over $1500 to do a straight pipe (no cat) dual exhaust on an '80's Monte Carlo and I think they quoted me over $2000 last year to do my exhaust if I bought the parts off them. I'm hoping to get away with 4 hours of labor.

Thanks for any input and sorry for the lengthy explaination.

Dave

 

The way I loosen up head bolts is run your engine for a few minutes till it gets hot, turn it off and spray some pb-blaster on the head bolts, try to get it into the threads. If possible let it set overnite and do it again. I have never had a bolt break if you give this stuff time to work. You should be able to get it at any parts house.

 

Ya, I didn't even run my engine, but when I was removing my stock intake I decided to spray the header bolts, I just soaked the underside of the manifold hitting the bolts. Then the day later the header bolts came un done like nothing.
Don't let the exhaust shop take your manifolds out and install headers.
Do it yourself then drive open headered to the exhaust shop.
I'm 18 and in April I drove my car 39 km's with open headers to get a ypipe fabbed.
Some say youll get ticketed, but if you keep your foot out of it and drive reasonable i'm sure a cop would understand that you need to fix your exhaust and don't have the money to trailor it to a shop. Just like if you had a busted tail light and they pulled you over, as long as you are going to get it fixed right then and there they won't issue a ticket.
Plus header installation is cake.

 

Damn those guys sound expensive I would do all the work yourself if you can. They will probably charge you more then 4 hours of labor also.

 

I'll try putting PB Blaster on but these things are on there pretty tight.

It seems the bolts don't break that often though from what you guys are saying?

I had a bolt break when I replaced the thermostat and I know I'm screwed if I break a bolt in the heads because theres no way I'd be able to get that out myself like with the thermostat, and even if i did, I don't want to have to retap the hole in the heads. Seems like a huge pain.

 

Do it yourself, save the money and buy more performance parts

 

I have taken exhaust manifolds off without any parts breaker or anything, and none of them broke.

 

Soak the crap out of the bolts. I don't think you'll have any problems.

 

I just bought some more PB Blaster today. I'll soak em. I'm guessing I'm better off with a long 1/2" wrench rather than a short one for more torque? I know the bolts only need to go about 1/8" in the heads or so, at least that what the guys at the performance shop I bought the header bolts told me.

Just curious what did you guys pay for your exhaust installs? Also, for the header gaskets, is there any special on to get and do you use any type of sealant on them? I didn't think so but might as well ask.

 

well, dont ever go to that performance shop again for advise, 1/8" is no where near enough thread engagement. You normally want at the very least 1.5x the diameter of the bolt of engagement.

I have never had an exhaust manifold bolt break off in the head of a SBC. For that matter, the ones i took of my 86 years ago were not that tight and came out with little drama.

for the OP, if you have tools, some time and patience, do the work yourself. Start learning how to work on the car now and save yourself a lot of money down the road.

No sealer of the gaskets. I used a set of perseys (spl?) 100% carbon gaskets on my 86 because the header flanges on my spl headers are sooo bad. they worked great, not cheap, but they worked out really well for me.

 

I did the same thing. But i just drove it about 3 blocks with open shorties. I had my windows rolled down and went through back roads. The echo was nearly deafening, and my buddies heard me the whole way from several blocks over.

In hind sight I wish I yould have just bought a y pipe and installed it myself. I paid the muffler shop $250 to make one and re attach my muffler. The y pipe goes from 3" collectors, to 2.5" pipe, to 3" pipe right before going over the axle. And the bends are shitty at best.....not to mention they didnt clamp the muffler back down, so it fell off the next day while driving down the street.

 

As to driving with open headers it's not possible. I'd have to go 2-3 miles and I already have neighbors that call the cops when I have the car on now with just the manifolds and y-pipe. I'd get it towed. The car isn't inspeced either and some cops around here have a thing in the car that scans the plate and can tell if the car is registered and inspected. All that high tech equiptment in a town the size of one square mile where I have to go.

I have no idea how you guys did the header install yourself. I just sprayed PB Blaster on as many bolts as i could reach this morning and it is tight in there even with the AIR stuff cut off. I can't get to the back bolts because of the A/C and heater stuff on the passenger side and the brake booster and lines on the driver side.

I found on bolt, or the threaded part rather, already broken on the driver side as well.

I'm guessing that the manifold bolts are different than the header bolts though because the manifold bolts I saw have threaded pieces coming out of the block and bolts in the middle and the header bolts I bought look like normal bolts with a head at the top and screw in.

 

yeah that pb blaster is amazing

 

So being that the shop I got the header bolts from gave me the wrong information about the amount the bolt goes into the block, I'm wondering now if they sold me the right bolts. Pics are below. I might do this tomorow so I apreciate the feedback.

 

The header bolts that I used were about that short, and they're working fine.

You may need to improvise with a longer bolt with the AC bracket, as it bolts through the bracket, into a spacer, than into the first hole of the header.

 

you may need a couple longer ones, like said before.

Those will work for the rest, unless you have headersi with really think flanges. My slp's have 3/8 flanges, and i needed 1" bolts.

 

I just got the exhaust put on this afternoon and I'm kicking myself. I spent a bit of money and the car sounds amazing now and how I'd hoped but the member on this site I bought the exhaust from never told me the "custom" y-pipe would be so low to the ground that my car would be basically undrivable!

Part of the y-pipe is sitting about an inch or so off the ground when I'm in it (I'm not a heavy guy either). I'm pissed and think this might be the last of my money in this car. Is there any free way to raise the front of the car?

 

video of the exhaust:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z1X2TOT2ts

 

I did a search and I didn't find anything showing y-pipes going along side the driveshaft like mine on thirdgens. Has it been done successfully? I'm not sure if I can just get a fabrication done to the front part of the pipe where it's lowest or not.

 

Ya dude, that ypipe is oh so wrong. It should run up under the passenger side floor pan and up along there like in the stock position. That's really weird that someone would sell that to you saying it'll work.
Sounds great though!

 

It was a member on here saying it was on his camaro. When I saw this pics I thought it did go over to the pass. side before I bought it. I've already got about $800 in this exhaust that's why I'm trying to make it work somehow. I do love the sound though.

 

i removed my stock exhaust manifolds, some of the bolts were a little stuck to the manifold, but none of them felt like they were close to breaking. i mean they werent smooth coming out, but they came out without too much of a problem.