I finally made the decision(mistake?) to pull my exhaust manifolds and put the Edlebrock smog legal headers on myself (Thanks RUQWIK for being a 3rd gen encyclopedia!). This is my first major mod I'm doing myself. I also bought new plugs and wires, cap/rotor and new o2 sensor. At this point the manifolds are finally off(tight working spaces), and I go back to work today. It looks like I'm riding the Harley.(I know, I shouldn't complain.) Let's just say I have much more respect for the weekend mechanics (DIY) out there! It seems to be a bit more than I bargained for. The headers require more space than the exh. man. did. I broke the ECM sensor on the pass. side. Looks like the steering shaft will need to be disconnected to get the driver's side on. I might have to pull the motor mount pin to lift the motor to the side. I guess I'm just venting. I'm sure once I'm done the sense of accomplishment will out wiegh the bad, but right now I wanna throw in the towel and tow it to a shop. Well better get back out in the garage. I'm looking forward to having her back on the road without any exhaust leaks. I hope I don't mess up the gaskets during the install. On a side note: there didn't seem to be any gasket on the manifold when I pulled it? I guess that's normal for iron to iron.

 

working with that stuff can bit a PITA, i know when i droped my exaust to changed the oil pump in my car (had to take it off so the pan would drop) it was a BITCH to put back together.

 

You'll get it man. Just take it one step at a time! It took me 11 hours of working to get my LTs in my '97 and have her running again.

 

Well I go back to work today, so I'm gonna let her sit a few days and come back to it this weekend hopefully more inspired. My backs sore from bending over the fenders. I know "WAAAAAH!" Big deal. Anyways, I keep you posted with any and all future progress.

 

So here's some pics of the damage I did this last week.

I should be back at it this next weekend. BTW she's DIRTY under the hood. So be nice!

 

she looks as dirty under the hood as mine does...

 

good luck bro!! YEAH, just take your time and dont rush.... since your down there already, i would replace the fan switch with a better one... stay alive man!!

 

Keep at it man! Just use your head and take your time on the thing and all will be ok.

I would have liked to help and check things out but I can't get over there cause I have my rear end nearly out to get at my fuel pump.

 

my edelbrock headers take 20 mins lol hahahaha although no ac, no ac box, no cruise control, no washer pump, nothing hahhahaa

well remove those plugs before you crack the ceramic have a misfire and dont know why......

 

Both my fans come on @ 195 deg. thanks to Camaero!

 

ahh the good ol days, weve all been through it youll be fine and get faster n faster. I remember installing those headers way back when and wound up breaking the fan temp thing in the head...oh wellz good luck

 

lol I busted mine too, at least it was only like a 12 dollar part

 

Good luck with the project. I put mine on when I had the motor out. I can't imagine what it is going to take to put them on with all that stuff in the way. But even when looking at my6 engine bay now it probably wouldn't be that bad. However my car is now a smog and AC delete car so my case is alot easier.

 

Mine took all day too. I was ready to put the wrench through the windshield a few times and had to walk away but it was worth it in the end.

 

Hey daniel, you might want to pull the plugs, it made it easier for me to install the edelbrocks way back when.. Also removing the steering shaft thing is a plus, as I had to do the same. Lifting the motor might help but it can be done without the need, Unless your talking the passenger side, In which case could be different since I don't run a/c. Good luck!

 

Yeah, RUQWIk told me to do the steering shaft also. Funny thing, the driver's side came out easy, and goes in difficult. Vice/versa. I might go back out in the garage today though. The plugs are all out. New ones go in.

 

Driver's side is on & torqued down. Steering shaft is re-connected and tightened down. 4 driver's side plugs are in and gapped properly. New o2 sensor is on and plugged in. Fan switch is connected. ECM is in and plugged in. Smog tube is re-connected. Passenger side tomorro! Thanks for the encoragement guys! Feels good to be 1/2 way. I'll post pics later tonight.

 

So here's the pics of the driver's side.....

 

Yes, Yes, Looking good Daniel. Don't be afraid the first time you fire it up, Ok?

 

Nope, can't wait! Gotta get her to a muffler shop as soon as I get the other side on+new cap/rotor.

 

Let me know when it is done, I will tow you down there if I get a bit of free time....

Jason

 

Hey bud, I'll take you up on that shade for my 92 Camaro... I looked at the one in the car and it is pretty faded.

Thanks,

Jason

 

It's yours! Thanks for the offer, but you've helped me so much already! Glad to hear you're keeping the purple 92!

 

Any further progress?

Jason

 

Between family gtg's, house projects, and procrastination, the answer is no. I have been enjoying the HD though. I think I figured out the problem with the pass. side gasket. It seems to be riding on the ECM sensor. So I gotta notch the gasket for clearance. Other than that I should be ablee to have the entire thing done in 1 day off. Mabe this Mon. if I get my fence work done. It's tough only working when the little one is napping. As you can tell though, I'm in no hurry.... I'll keep you posted though.

 

Got to spend about 45 mins. in the garage yesterday while the kiddo was napping. I got all the pass. side header bolts in. One feels like it's cross threadding though and I have hand started it 4-5X's? So I'm stumped as to what's going on there. Any suggestions? I don't want to have to replace the head because of a stripped out header bolt.

 

get a tap and dye set.

 

Just got one. I'll have to figure out how to fit something to it to reach the awkward hole. I know I didn't cross thread it though, cause it hand threads in? I'll have some time tommoro maybe.

 

That happend on my other car when i put my headers on, i just moved the header back and forth while putting the bolt in.

 

Have you tried threading the bolt without the header in? I think it would be somewhat difficult on an iron head. The first thread or so may have been tweaked when you first tried to thread the bolt, without the header in the way you may be able to work it correct with just the bolt.

 

Nope, no way I'm pulling that header out again! I'll carefully pursue the tap/dye. Maybe next weekend I'll have time to work on her.....

 

Hey bud, I am taking a week off of work... !!!

As of 8:00 am Wed. morning, I am off for 7 days, give me a call and I'll get the header issue solved with you.

Jason

 

Good Times! Are ya doing anything with the fam? I'll call you tomorro and see if you'd like to meet up with mine and do something together if you have time.

 

I'll call you Monday if you're not busy.

 

Got all the header bolts on and torqued down to proper settings. The stubborn one went on with a little liquid wrench??? Dunno what the problem there was, but I'm glad it's on. The sensor just below the pass. side header (ECM?) has a wire that goes into it. Anyone know what the end of the wire should look like? I'm on my way to GM to see if they can help. I think I broke the end off when I broke the old one during the header install. I think the wire should "snap into place". Any help is appreaciated. This may go on record as the longest time to do a simple mod, hahahahaha.

 

It does snap in with a place on the end of the plug to pinch it together.

Like the grey end

 

Awesome, That's exactly what I need! Where did you locate the pic and what is the plug part # so I can verify through GM?

 

Hypertech Cool Fan Switches: HYP-4028 - summitracing.com

 

Sweeeet! thanks for the info, you rock!

 

No problem, glad I could help.

 

$18.00 at my local GM dealership. Installed it along with hooking up the smog crap. Just need to do the cap/rotor/plugwires and get the Y pipe welded up. Looks like I'll have to continue tomorro as my wife's gone and my son's with me.

 

Hey man, just think...I built my 57' by myself while working a fulltime job at night and watching Dane all morning...If I can go to that extent, you can easily finish your headers..


Jason

 

Yeah, but your "the man" Did I mention you've inspired me to do more than I would have pushed myself to do. Thanks for all of the help and pointers.

 

:cheers:

 

i really hope your not using the gaskets that came with the tes headers cause in the next 1000 miles ur gonna change them out again, it happened to me.

 

I used those gaskets and they work great.

 

Just wait till it's time for some of these to go in the car



They're actually easier to put in than the Edelbrock headers lol well, minus the minor clearancing. But they do slip in and out in seconds from the bottom.

 

I went with the Mr. Gasket type. This is the 1st time I've ever used headers, much less put them on myself. I understand I need to re-torque the bolts after about the 1st 1k anyways. I got all the plugs in today, new coolant and the fanswitch with new connecting wire shown above. Still need to put the cap/rotor and new wires on. My hot water heater takes priority today though...... Just took a dump this morning($650 for a new tank and $1800 for a tankless)

 

thats gonna be fun

 

So once I got the water out of the garage, RU-QWIK got the dipstick back in for me. I replaced the cap and rotor. I ran my plug wires and should be able to fire her over tomorro. I just need to finish crimping the other end of the wires and slide the boots on. As you can tell by the time of this post, it's 2:30 AM. Decided to take advantage of the kiddo sleeping. Thanks again for everything, RU-QWIK!