SLP install kit problems/questions
 

OK, I've never installed headers, so don't assume I know what I'm doing!!!

I think my kit is short.

I have the 2 donut gaskets. Simple enough.
I have the heat shielding/tubing, again, no problem.

I have 4 silver color bolts with 6 point hex heads, and 1 nut. Presumably these are for the header to Y pipe connection, and I'm assuming they just forgot three nuts, no biggie...Oh, and 4 lock washers.

Now the headers and bolts. of the 6 holes per header, 2 on each header have that inch long spacer, you guys know what I mean, right? Well, NONE of the header bolts are long enough.
...Here's what I did get: 10 black 12 point bolts (12 I think, I didn't count). 1 Allen bolt, same size as the other 10.

THAT'S IT!

WTF????

Anyone make sense of that?

I feel sorry for you if you actually paid for their install kit... so I'll shed some light.

2 Donut gaskets - OK

Heat shields/tubing - OK

4 "silver bolts" - Those are for the collectors. If you look at the header collector flange, they have the nuts already welded to them. No loose nuts needed. Lock washers aren't really needed as long as you use a little thread lock.

I can't help you with the bolts that aren't long enough. You should reuse the long factory bolts for the accessory brackets - that covers the 1" spacer bolts holes. The other holes take either a normal 3/4" or 1" long header bolt. They ARE long enough.

The single allen head. Thats for the rearmost bolt on the passenger side, on the back of the #8 primary. Its very tight there, and a wrench is near impossible to fit back there. An allen head bolt really simplifies things!

Anywhere there is a factory stud, reuse that stud. Where there was just a reg bolt, use the kit's bolt. They should be long enough. What's their length?
The nut is for when you secure the dipstick tube to the header with a bolt.

See, that's why I asked!:thumbsup:

As for paying for the kit, I figured for my first time installing headers, some extra money would be worth the "kit". Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm done, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience.

Thanks for the help guys!

i'm amazed u went with SLP for your first time header install. i've heard some bad stories about them and some good tho. hope u're one of the people who don't have any big problems. good luck man.

Well, I'm pretty good with a wrench, I just didn't know what kind of things I "didn't" know about. for example, the dipstick bolt, I woulda never thought about that. Same with the allen bolt for the rear bolt hole.

As far as the actual physical intsallation, I feel up to whatever needs to be done. Seems the steering column is sometimes an issue. Oh well, we'll get through it!:D

Hi I have a 92 z28 (L98) and I am also considering SLP 1 3/4 headers. However, I have a dual cat application and all the
1 3/4's on SLP's website are listed for single cat cars. Do they sell headers sets that will work with the dual cat setup or will one of their single cat options like # 30005 do the trick?

Thanks- :)

Couple tips:

Buy Stage 8 locking header bolts, the SLP ones will loosen up after a while


Also, drill the threads out of the collector flanges and use nuts. You'll thank yourself later if a bolt breaks.

After crossthreading all of mine, I've replaced them all :D

My experiences with the SLP 1/3/4" headers:

I used the allen bolt with the nut to secure the dipstick tube. I trimmed the attaching "tab" on the dipstick tube where it gets bolted to the header and then redrilled the hole so that it went together a little nicer.

I didn't really have too many problems with the 12 point bolt at the rear of the passenger side; I just tightened it up from under the car.

The brass 90 degree elbow in the kit is for the fan switch. If you have an aftermarket fan switch, it probably won't fit. I used a sanding roll in my Dremel tool along with a Dremel tool drill press fixture and slightly opened up the inside of the brass elbow to allow the fan switch to fit. I used a Sharpie marker on an old Hypertech fan switch as a cheap machinist's dye to tell me when I had opened it up enough for the fan switch to fit. Even after relocating the fan switch with the elbow, it's still pretty close to a primary tube. I put one of the firesleeves over the fan switch and its connector.

I didn't use the flange gaskets that came with the kit, as my flanges weren't as straight as I would have liked. I used Percy's soft aluminum gaskets.

The clamps that are for use with the new AIR hoses are too big. You would think that SLP would have noticed that.

I installed a new oil cooler coolant hose in place of the one that runs close to the #2 primary. It was only about 1/2" away, which made me nervous since it's rubber. I rooted through the auto parts store racks until I found a molded hose that curved away from the primary and then back to the coolant hard line.

I installed Taylor firesleeve over the starter wires and tucked them in as close to the block as I could.

I made small brackets to relocate the coolant hard line on the passenger side up a bit to clear the header. It now has plenty of clearance, and sits about 1/16" below the A/C evap box.

I had to slightly flatten a primary tube on the driver's side to clear the steering column. I was very careful to merely flatten the tube a bit, not dent it. Slightly reducing the ID of the tube for an inch or so won't significantly hurt flow; a big dent will. The casual observer wouldn't even notice that I reworked the area.

I had to trim the bottom of the passenger side plastic wheelwell liner to get the y-pipe to install correctly. It fit fine after that quick modification.

Wow, thanks. I've been diggin' around a bit, and I noticed most of what you mentioned. I have no brass elbow for the fan switch. I guess they forgot!

...and I thought sooo much of SLP!:rolleyes:

I didnt even use mine. Fan switch fine without it.