DOH! i figured i might as well post this so you can all get a laugh.



im putting a exhaust on my car... including headman shorties (headers to flowmaster to 4thgen tips: $50 ) and i welded a O2 bung on.. (PITA because i ran out of gas in the welder yesterday..... ended up using gas less wire... YUCK.)


anyhoo..... to slip these headers in, you tilt the motor.... i had the motor tilted the whole time, makes it easier to put the bolts on....


so the O2 sensor is screwed on... tighened the header bolts.. even went the extra step of putting a stud in the front bolt, tightening it, then using 2 more nuts to properly hold the alt mount....




well i goto finish tightening the last bolt... 2 threads left.


and i look at the O2..

then i think.

then i realize. when i lower the motor, the O2 will hit the K member.

DOH!!!



so now i have to cut my bung off, weld up this nice massive hole right in the collector, and do all this over again....


*sigh.*
i guess things were just going a lil too well.. ive put these headers into various thirdgens about 30 times by now, so it was going smooth.. my car was a mostly garaged, southern car, so no rusted bolts, no PITA things... nothing but smooth sailing...... and now this..

ah well... i guess its a good thing.. if it wasnt for this, id probly still be there putting the rest of the exhaust in... and its almost 1am already..

that outta teach me not to eyeball stuff..... (but it wont )

 

way back when i first was out of high school i worked in a garage doing front end work and alignments. my boss use to tell me
"you ain't learning anything if you ain't messing up" and although it's not the best way to learn it is the best way to not repete the mistakes you make.

 

very true.


im calling the local parts store right now.... im going to try to get them to have a bung shipped to them from their main parts store.... because i dont want to have to drive way over there in friday rush hour traffic.... heh.

so much for getting done ahead of time.. lol.

 

I wasn't happy where Mufflex welded the bung in on my Y-pipe. I was able to cut it out, grind & reweld it in a better place. I cut the section of pipe out were it originally was & welded a new section in.

 

mines in the collector..


id grind/ cut it out, but i currently dont have access to air tools(well, air compressor really), and my brand new craftsman ginder is foo-bard.

 

wheh.. i thought i was the only person that had to do that. i thought maybe im too stupid to put in headers... but i feel better now knowing you had to do it too...:lala:

 

actually, its even written in the directions.



i usually use a engine lift, but lack of space in my current place made me use a jack.

you undo ONE engine bolt.
put board across jack to spread the weight across a wider surface area...

as you lift the motor, it pivots thru the other bolt. thereby tilting that one side.

before you goto work, stick somthing between the motor mount saddle, and the K member. never trust a jack to hold somthing

i usually use a piece of scrap square bar... if you stop by a machinest or metal shop, they'll probly let you have some for free.... a small piece of wood works too... you can also use a large, deep 1/2" or larger drive socket

 

you have to tilt the engine to get hedman shorties in???

 

yes.

not a whole lot... jsut a lil.


like i said... one bolt.


i litterally had it done and out (once unbolted) in under 3 mins. id expect anyone that can swing a ratchet to do it in 5 or less... just get under the car, put the wrench on the back part of the mount, ratchet on the front, pull the bolt out, and jack... thats it..

 

and you CAN'T put the headers on while you have the engine out so you dont have to bother with it later....i learned that the hard way.

 

At least you can weld, wish I could learn how to weld and maybe make my own set of custom exhaust. Still dreaming......

 

if its MIG (wire weld) you can learn in about 15 mins and be good in a weekend.

its not a hard skill to learn. to master it takes a lil while, but to be 90% there and do useful stuff, it doesnt take more then a day or two... the problem is that everyone does not have a friend with a $1000 welding setup in their garage.