help...factory header to mid pipe bolts, removing headers..

[fivespeedsteed]

ive had this off road h pipe for my car sitting around for a while.

my buddy has wanted me to put it on my car for a while now, and id like to hear what it sounds like, so we decided to try to put it on there last night.

the factory bolts that bolt the headers to the midpipe we soaked in pb blaster, the bottom two broke (looked like there was threadlock on there, and they looked to be cross threaded), one of the upper ones came off fine (passenger) and the upper driver side one we havent tried to get off yet because it feels like its going to break when you start trying to get it loose.

so at this point this easy job that i didnt expect to have that much problems from has turned into a nightmare.

my friends dad works on mustangs allot, and says hes done this before, but you have to pull the headers to do it right, but his back is not doing well so hell only fix those studs if we get the headers to him.

so how hard is it to remove the factory headers?

what are those things holding the headers to the mid pipe? studs in the headers with bolts?

whats the best way to replace those once you get them out?

any advice before i go pulling headers off my car? other than to quit messing with **** thats not broken of course...

thanks for any help, i appreciate it guys.

 

[larrym1961]

The factory headers are not that difficult to remove, just unbolt them. But they are pretty crimped and restrictive compared to an aftermarket shorty header. So if you are going to the trouble of removing them anyway, why not replace them with a better aftermarket header. They flow much better than those stock ones.

 

[2000xp8]

Agreed, just buy some aftermarket headers.

 

[FoMoCo17]

They are studs in the factory header. If you do not buy new ones heat the flanges where the studs go through with a torch alternating with penetrating oil (do not start a fire!) and a good set of vise-grips with a bar may unsrew them. It worked for me. I then went to an exhaust shop and got new studs. A few months ago, I replaced them with Pypes 304 Stainless steel shorty headers. I tried to get the studs out of the old ones to no avail with heat and a lot of wrenching etc. Guess it depends on how much corrosion they have been subjected to and the amount of heat from a torch, you are able to put on it. All I had was a propane torch but an oxy/acetalene torch may have done the trick! Good Luck!

 

[fivespeedsteed]

yeah i took them to my buddies dad, he heats them with asedaline (sp) till they glow red, then backs them out. i just replaced them with 3/8s galvanized bolts and lock washers.

got it all buttoned up last night, seemt to sound good. under load like going up a hill or something at a lower rpm i seem to get an odd sound, cant tell if its an exhaust leak or not.

important thing is that i dont hear any header leak tick. new felpro gaskets there, but i didnt get the surface of the heads perfectly clean. just scraped it real good with a razor blade, and brake cleaned the rest off with a towel. took 20 minutes per side probably of cleaning.

my friend with an offroad x says his car sounds like that, he thinks its just the air hitting the bends of the tubing not getting slowed down by the cats, thats making that noise. might be right. it hangs pretty low since i just bolted it up there, so here soon im going to loosen the bolts to the header and catback and try to jack it up some and have my buddies dad weld on hangers for me since it has none now, and well see if we see black soot somewhere that points to an exhaust leak. but i like how it sounds. it sounds good. not overly loud at cruising speed, but has a good racket to it when you want it to. this is being run with a 3 chamber force two flow master catback.

thanks for the help guys.

 

[FoMoCo17]

Not sure what sound you are experiencing. Yes, torches and heat make so many things moveable when otherwise, they are not moveable by hand or even with extension bars!