Drop in engine with headers on?

nito88stang

Founding Member

May 23, 2002

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Fullerton, California

Aug 20, 2004

#1

• Aug 20, 2004

• #1

Is it a PITA to try and put the engine in with the headers on? It just seems much easier to just put the headers on while the engine is on the stand. Or is it easier to drop the engine in and then put the headers on?


thx

 

F

Fastcat

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Mar 5, 2002

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St. Louis

Aug 21, 2004

#2

• Aug 21, 2004

• #2

put the headers on the engine then install it, UNLESS you have longtubes

 

0

00 Red SS

New Member

Jan 22, 2003

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Grain Valley, MO

Aug 21, 2004

#3

• Aug 21, 2004

• #3

with my long tubes i dropped them in the engine bay in place then dropped the motor and just had to bolt them up, pretty easy.

 

nito88stang

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Aug 21, 2004

#4

• Aug 21, 2004

• #4

I just have shorties

 

Michael Yount

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Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Aug 21, 2004

#5

• Aug 21, 2004

• #5

Bolt them on on the stand, then drop it in. Do yourself a favor - take a straight edge, and check the mounting flanges to see if they are flat/true. If they aren't, header leaks can be a pita to solve. A few bucks at the machine shop and they'll mill them flat/true and they'll seal right up the first time.

 

nito88stang

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#6

• Aug 21, 2004

• #6

Michael Yount said:

Bolt them on on the stand, then drop it in. Do yourself a favor - take a straight edge, and check the mounting flanges to see if they are flat/true. If they aren't, header leaks can be a pita to solve. A few bucks at the machine shop and they'll mill them flat/true and they'll seal right up the first time.

Click to expand...

Well they're brand new headers, but i'll go ahead and check Michael. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Michael Yount

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Apr 10, 2002

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Aug 21, 2004

#7

• Aug 21, 2004

• #7

Most of the 'brand new' ones I've checked haven't been true! I guess there's a reason headers are generally so inexpensive - get it done with low cost, with high quality, or fast. You can have any two, but not all 3.

 

nito88stang

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Aug 21, 2004

#8

• Aug 21, 2004

• #8

Do you mean to check each individual flange for flatness or that all the flanges are flat in relation to each other?

 

T

TheUser

Active Member

Jul 25, 2003

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Springfield, MO

Aug 22, 2004

#9

• Aug 22, 2004

• #9

I *think* he means to check and make sure the flange (metal piece the tubes are all mounted to that you bolt to the head) is flat all the way across. If it's not flat, as you know, it will have an exhaust leak when you mount it up. Maybe use a yard stick or something and put it across there real quick and make sure it's flat all the way across.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Aug 22, 2004

#10

• Aug 22, 2004

• #10

Whether it's a single flange design, or individual flanges, use a straight edge (wooden yardstick isn't straight enough -- use a quality level or a carpenter's metal right angle) and lay it across the all four primary tubes where they bolt up to the head. The surface of the head where the exhaust ports are is perfectly flat. The surface of the header that you're bolting to that should be flat as well. Quite frequently - with single flange or individual flanges - you'll find a portion of the surface that's warped - several hundredths higher or lower than the rest. That's plenty enough to cause leaks depending on the gasket used. It's the main reason there are so many people out there chasing the magic gasket. If the surface were flat in the first place, gasket choice wouldn't be much of an issue.

 

UMDSmith

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Aug 22, 2004

#11

• Aug 22, 2004

• #11

I had to laugh when I read the chasing the magic gasket line.

I'm half tempted to add that into my sig just for s**ts and giggles.

 

04sleeper

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Jun 22, 2002

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Dallas, TX

Aug 22, 2004

#12

• Aug 22, 2004

• #12

Really sounds like Mike has had a bad experience with this sort of thing. Making sure others don't have the same issue with their headers. I haven't had the fortune of having trouble with header leaks but I will keep this in mind if I ever do.
Thanks again Mike!

 

Michael Yount

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Apr 10, 2002

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Aug 22, 2004

#13

• Aug 22, 2004

• #13

Actually - the only leak I've ever had was due to a mis-aligned weld right around a bolt hole. I haven't had leaks because my dad and older brother taught me about checking the flange for true back in, oh, it might've been 1965 or so....

Chasing the Magic Gasket - wasn't that like a Frank Zapa album title or something?

 

04sleeper

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Aug 22, 2004

#14

• Aug 22, 2004

• #14

Michael Yount said:

Chasing the Magic Gasket - wasn't that like a Frank Zapa album title or something?

Click to expand...

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Aug 22, 2004

#15

• Aug 22, 2004

• #15

The Ford Racing shorties on mine were flat as Kansas, but I had to 'massage' one to make it fit. Amazing what a 40 ton press will do even to a 1/4" stainless flange when you start trying to bend things. We couldn't re-straighten it any closer than about .03" - so for $20 my local machine shop just milled the surface flat. They didn't have to remove enough to make any difference in thickness/stability. I bought a set of FloTech block huggers off of Ebay for a good price that I'm gonna try to use so I can increase the size of my head pipes. They are brand new and have a single flange joining all the primaries - and both of them are .06-.08" from being true/flat. Amazing to me that ANY gasket could seal them. Problem is most people never check, and when they bolt that on, they're chasing leaks big time. Or stripping out aluminum heads by trying to tighten the header till it seals.