how hard is it to install new headers

scpride

Registered User
1990 35th anny and i was just wondering how hardit would be to fit some mid-length headers on it. how much is required to put them on. please help me i am new with the scs
 
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difficulty level

it all depends. i put Kooks mid length on my 95 and it wasn't too bad (2 on a scale of 1 to 5 ). one huge reason it was easier is that my auto trans was out for a rebuild. i didn't have to loosen any accesories, but you MUST take the steering shaft off at the bolt and push it up and out of the way to remove the drivers side manifold. for putting the headers on, a ratcheting box end wrench is gonna be your best freind while underneath the car. it'll definatly be worth it though. take your time and have a couple of beers, enjoy!!!:)
 
I shouldn't be too hard. You do nearly all of it from below. You will want to separate the rag joint on the steering column and push that out of the way.

The stock manifolds are pretty good. Unless you are planning on adding significant other bolt-ons you probably won't seen any benefit from switching to headers alone.
 
benefits

once you go the headers ruote, you should definatly add more boost. figure it this way, the biggest reason i can think of for head gaskets failing is the back-pressure associated with the stock exhaust. let it flow and you'll have a cleaner intake charge also, since there will be less risidual exhaust gasses present in the cylender. when i removed my factory exhaust system, i was amazed that it ran so well with a many restrictions that it had!
 
the largest cause of head gasket failure is detonation. The cause of detonation can be various reasons. It is the explosive force of detonation that creates the huge pressure spike that can damage the head gasket, head, Piston, and rings.
 
like i said, if you get the hot exhaust gasses out of your cylinders you will not only run cooler ( combustion chamber wise ) but have less residual back pressure forcing some of your intake charge from getting into the cylinder and be less likly to over-pressureize your HG. temp and hot-spots are probibly the 2 most likely reasons for detonation.
 
like i said, if you get the hot exhaust gasses out of your cylinders you will not only run cooler ( combustion chamber wise ) but have less residual back pressure forcing some of your intake charge from getting into the cylinder and be less likly to over-pressureize your HG. temp and hot-spots are probibly the 2 most likely reasons for detonation.

Going by your theory, then how come the guys that are hitting 25psi etc are not popping gaskets all the time? It seems to me they are not having that issue and some of these guys are still running stock manifolds. Then you suggest OD'ing the crap out of the blower, and in a stock car that WILL cause detonation because for one thing they won't have the fuel to keep up and the ACT's will climb up through the roof for the lack of an IC that can keep up.

Its your best bet to spend the money on a descent cat back, hone out the ring on the exit of the manifold (can be done while on the car) and spend that money on things that will give more bang for the buck. Throwing headers on at this point in the game is only going to do nothing or more than likely cause one to lose some bottom end.

Think headers once your up there in power and the exhaust manifolds will start causing problems which is a ways down the road for ya.
 
the largest cause of head gasket failure is detonation. The cause of detonation can be various reasons. It is the explosive force of detonation that creates the huge pressure spike that can damage the head gasket, head, Piston, and rings.

Never flushing the coolant system so there's high levels of electrolysis eating the gaskets away from the back side is the real culprit on the older cars. I found this site that halfway down shows what electrolysis can do to metals in an engine (mainly aluminum). http://www.artsautomotive.com/misc.htm

Once the HGs been weakened, it can't survive heat or detonation it might have when new. If the pits in the block and head aren't addressed by milling, a new gasket won't live very long at all.

When mine blew at 132k, on the front of the front cylinder, the gasket had been eaten away from the back side so only the fire ring was left. I ran it hard and the fire ring couldn't take the heat since the material behind it was gone. It split and the infamous white smoke followed.
 
ya know, dave dalke (XR7DAVE) ran his SC with headers and then took em off and put ported stock manifolds on and in the same day ran the same time

i wouldnt worry about headers until ur at about 325 rwhp, if not more
 
get a good flowing exhaust first with strait thru mufflers and high flow cats(if needed) first then get in to raising the boost.
 
Going by your theory, then how come the guys that are hitting 25psi etc are not popping gaskets all the time?


Head gaskets

I am at 35 to 36psi with special 95 M90 blower with teflon seals we have no head gasket issues. Now the reason why I have an O-ringed block with receiver grooves in the heads with copper head gasket with Donovan head studs. I have special tooling made for the setup using Fel Pro head gaskets or multi layer is not the best way to go at all. Now I have kooks long tube headers its best to intall them without the driverside head on. The passengers side is easy with head on to install through the bottom side
 
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