What is the best way to remove the headers? What type of tool should I use and what size socket? Do I pull them out the top of the engine pay or drop them down? Thanks for all advice.
the studs and bolts that connected my mid pipe to the headers were way too rusted to be removed so i had to just cut the studs
as far as the header bolts i soaked em with some PB Blaster then used a nice long breaker bar to break all the bolts loose and a normal socket to remove the bolts. you should have enough room to pull em out from the top
the drivers side on mine i had to drop out the bottom cuz of the a/c. pass side was a breeze cept for the egr pipe, i ended up pulling it as a single unit(pipe, egr valve still attached)put it in a vice and use a pipe wrench on the tube. pretty simple though, 2hrs tops.
I think I dropped mine out the bottem. But I don't really remember getting the headers out to be the real pain. I had the most trouble getting the headers off the mid pipe. Even with the bolts at the collectors completely removed, the headers were rusted solid to the mid pipe.
A lot of hits with the dead blow hammer might have done the trick. But since I was replacing the mid pipe, I just cut the mid pipe betwee the first cats and the header connection.
Good luck. (PB Blaster the crap out of your header bolts!!!)