A Tale Of Woe, Long Tube Headers

A tale of woe, long tube headers.

It all started when my smog pump froze on me. I had my engine rebuilt and i reused my smog pump to reconnect all my smog equipment again. after a month it froze and i had to bypass it. i had just received my tags so i decided to to go BBK long tubes and remove the cats for now but put them back when the time comes. I already had BBK shorty headers on it. When i bought the car it came with a 1999 V6 transmission that i had forgotten about when i bought the headers. finally found a guy to install the headers for me only to find out that the clutch fork rubs against the headers. Without me seeing the problem he tells me over the phone that it's not a problem he can modify them to fit. i said ok. a week later, every time i press in the clutch it makes this horrible metal screeching sound. i take it to my local muffler shop he says he can't do anything and i find this: pictures attached.
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Just venting my frustration here.
 
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DUUUUDE!! You are so screwulated. What a hack your header guy turned out to be eh?

Clearancing that tube any further to give that clutch fork the necessary room to get by is the 100% wrong way to go. I don't know what is going on there that you have the interference like you do,....but that is one deal that checking in on "your guy" might have been prudent.

Maybe somebody has a different take on this,..but the driver side header looks wrongo to me.
 
The 94 and later T5 transmissions use a longer input shaft, about 11/16" longer. This means that the bell housing is 11/16" longer and the T5 itself sits back 11/16". That also positions the clutch arm 11/16" back from the normal position, which gets you into the interference problem you are now having.

The fix is twofold:
Fix the transmission/bellhousing problem by either replacing the T5 input shaft, or finding an earlier model T5 and then replacing the bellhousing.
THEN
Find someone reliable to repair the damage done to the header pipes.

The other alternative is to go back to shorty headers and a stock design Cat type H pipe.


T5 identifier information.

On the tail shaft of the transmission, there will be a stamped aluminum tag. The tag will have a number on it that you can cross reference to the chart below. There is no other way to find out what type of T5 it is without disassembling it. All the rest of the numbers on the outside of the T5 case are part numbers which are not unique to any particular T5 model.

Remember that 94 - 97 T5's have a longer input shaft and can only be used with a 94-95 bell housing unless you modify or replace the input shaft.

T5's used with a 4 cylinder have a 3.93 first gear, reduced torque ratings and an input shaft pilot diameter that is smaller that the T5 used for V6 & V8 engines. The Pilot diameter is .59" compared to the .668" used on V6 & V8 T5's. It requires a different pilot bearing to be used with a V6 or V8. The pilot bearing you need is for a Ford Ranger diesel from AutoZone part #14672


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I agree with all you guys, I'm furious right now!! No one in this town seems to know how to work on cars, I've been everywhere.
Yes the o2 install sucks too. The transmission tag says 135-260 it's not on your chart and it looks like more than 13/16. It's from a 1999 V6 5SPD manual. I found all that out the hard way.

W ould it be possible to get a shorter fork? or cut it down?
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ya, i'm going back there tomorrow lets see what he comes up with.

I still would like to know if it would it be possible to get a shorter fork? or cut it down?

I don't think you get a shorter fork,..and you for sure do no want to attempt to cut it down. Goes back to 5th grade when we all learned about leverage, pullies, angles and planes. If you attempt to cut it down,..the new intersect point for the clutch cable would require even more effort to disengage the clutch, maybe too much for the cable. Moving that intersect point in a half of an inch is not the right choice.
After looking at your options,....I'd go back to a set of shorties, have somebody patch that beat to death header tube,...and either resell them, or reinstall them after you make the required transmission changes.
 
Went back to talk to the guy, sure enough er got into this big argument. Said what had to say. After i calmed down we talked it out and said he doesn't know what to do to fix it without spending a tone of money. I told him to figure something out and I'll be back. Later I went to a muffler shop and the guy said that even though the tube is essentially a "half circle" and looks like S**t it's still functional. I don't know what to think about that though. I already sold my BBK shorties too like an idiot.
So my options are:

1- new trans + bell housing + drive shaft
2- get shorties again + mid pipe
3- ding the pipe some more to clear the fork

I was also thinking whether or not the pipes could be heated and bent out of the way?