Of the people who installed the headers themselves or know first hand..

Did you follow the DC sports written instructions
Crawford's
other forums/ members?

What besides removal of steering arm , sensors, cats... etc worked for you...

thanks...

 

we just went at it from above and loosened what we could then went from below for the rest. the back bolts are tricky bc of the space but its just a header install nothing too bad so long as youve got the right tools.

have you ever installed a set of headers before? if so these are just a little bit harder than any other car.

 

Unbolt compressor from the mount and it will make it easier to reach the front left nut on the manifold. Unbolt the starter ( don't forget to unplug the battery) and just lay it aside like the compressor and you can remove the right side heat shield.

 

Yeah , i've done one car..

a few bikes.... ( no problems there hahahaha)

but , no one removed the coolant lines?
just components?
thanks..

 

Took me and a buddy about 4 and half hours to install them. Did not have to remove any components or any coolant lines. He had a air wrench, which made it really nice. I will say we used 2ft of extensions for some of the bolts which made it alot easier. I believe we needed the length to get to the cat bolts.

The hardest part for us was the steering column. Took forever for us to get it out of the way. Make sure you mark it so that when you hook it back up your steering wheel is strait.

This was my first header install and i did not think it was all that bad. Just time consuming.

Good Luck

Laterz
Aceman

 

for those that have the dc sports headers installed....have you dynod....what are your performance impressions...thanks

 

Good to hear... from DC Sports instructions no mention of draining the coolant, or removing the lines...
yeah I figure swivels, extension combinations....

 

One suggestion......get a 14mm swivel head ratchet wrench. That was the one tool you can do the whole install with. No coolant line removal, no starter removal, just the steering input shaft and a/c compressor moved out of the way for that 1 front nut. It took 2 weeks for my arms to heal from that install. Performance seems better on the top end than before. Once I get my cat-back next week I hope to see some better gains from the headers.

 

To be sure which one your referring to (wrench)
which of these?


thanks

 

We used one of these, and yes it will help out alot haveing this little guy.

laterz
Aceman

 

Is that 3/8 drive male,
by 3/8 female drive

or is it 3/8 drive male
with the 14 mm socket end...?

 

http://store.autotoolexpress.com/imun38imdriv.html


Here you go, hope this helps

laterz
Aceman

 

It looks like the lower one but completely flat. The one end has a break in it so you can fold it 90 degrees to the main direction of the wrench.

 

I have detailed instructions for the Crawford header install that Buff and I wrote. The instructions are really geared for the DIY novice. Even though they are written for Crawford, you can use them for anything else. You will likely not need to jack the engine if you are not mounting Crawfords. PM me if you want me to send the manual over.

 

Did the install of the DC Headers..
You do need to drain your coolant, and remove the line on the passenger side, unbolt the AC compressor, unbolt the Steering arm...
phewwwwwww
glad that mod is complete now..

Now waiting for the Cats, and exhaust to arrive..

 

I just finished myself. DC says you can reach the bolts from the bottom of the car with the proper tools. I have many tools and don't know how the hell you would reach all of them from the bottom.
I found out the same. Remove all that coolant crap from the passenger side, it's worth it. Of course, it will take you 1 hour just to remove that junk. What a pain. I did not drain the coolant, I just simply let it all out and washed out of the garage. Then, cleaned the engine. This way, I only had to refill it. The passenger side header went on relatively easier than it was to remove the stock manifold.
As for driver side, yes, you will have to take apart the steering shaft. I used a tie rod end tool "fork" to pry up on the shaft and lift it up. This, after trying to take apart by hand. It wouldn't come off by hand.

Cats are easy to install and remove, but you will need someone to help you tighten one of the bolts while you back them up with a wrench from under the car.

 

I did the install myself... no other help.. around...
I would also suggest : an air ratchet would help in some cases to remove bolts / nuts quicker...

My steering arm slide up easy.... stock cats when on and off fine..

H.........

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hvrod
[B]I did the install myself... no other help.. around...

Yeah! It sucks when you don't have beer drinking buddies around to help out.

 

How long did it take you?
I just got my DC headers and I will be doing the install myself this weekend.
Thanks.

 

7 hrs with the car on jackstands