headers install help needed

alright, so working in my driveway I have my old exhaust off my car and is now trying to put my longtubes in. unsuccessful. i have the engine disconnected from the motor mounts and i tried jacking up the engine and it gets to one point where it jusst jacks the whole car up. As of now my car is sitting in my court on jacks with no exhasut. Could someone please come over and help me???? My cell is 443 752 2960 i have 4 jacks, 4 jackstands, and capable tools.

could really use the help in the a.m.. i need a car!!!!

I usually do that type of work on a lift so I can rotate the header in, otherwise doing it your way, you may have to get the car up higher on jack stands so you have more room to rotate headers in.

oh man wish i was closer i would help you out. they are a VERY close fit and never go in straight. Not a quick job to do like shortys. watch your steering shaft too make sure its not hitting the header. you'll get them in there just will take a lot of finesse and cursing

yeah man. started at 10 am. took about an hour and a half just to get the shorties out cause the bolts were so rusted. then, having the car jacked, i took my jack and a 2x4 and lifted the engine via the oil pan. i got the engine about 3-4 inches off the mounts. the tubes would still not fit, so idk what to do now..

Passenger side you need to take the starter off, and come up through the bottom. Car needs to be at least 18" off the ground. Driver side can be lowered in from the top. You twist them in.

longtubes are a success. I didnt have to take off the starter. i did however have to unbolt the tranny from its mount which gave me a couple more inches of clearance. wish i had a video camera :/

cool now just dont melt your starter, clutch cable, plug wires etc anything that'll leave you on the side of the road.

the tubes arent touching the starter. nor is is touching the spark plug wires. Im not sure which wire is the clutch cable though.

so having the headers in, I went to do the final step this morning- the h pipe. Unsuccessful. Apparrantly BBK h pipes dont fit MAC long tubes?? I thought all long tube h pipes were the same???

just ordered a MAC o/r H pipe from Brenspeed, everyone else is out of stock of it. Hopefully i get it in time for this weekend!

RTW0223 wrote:so having the headers in, I went to do the final step this morning- the h pipe. Unsuccessful. Apparrantly BBK h pipes dont fit MAC long tubes?? I thought all long tube h pipes were the same???

yep my buddy found that out the hard way as well.

yeah, it sucks

RTW0223 wrote:the tubes arent touching the starter. nor is is touching the spark plug wires. Im not sure which wire is the clutch cable though.

It aint gotta touch to melt them. Ive already melted one on a 87 GT once it was just close. I melted 2 clutch cables until i got wise and got heat wrap. clutch cable is the long thick black cable on the drivers side from the firewall and routes to the transmission. It runs right next to the driver side header. May want to locate that quick before you drive it and make sure its secure and away from any header tubes. Itll melt it and break the cable

RTW0223 wrote:so having the headers in, I went to do the final step this morning- the h pipe. Unsuccessful. Apparrantly BBK h pipes dont fit MAC long tubes?? I thought all long tube h pipes were the same???

Mac and BBK dont like each other when it comes to fox body exhaust systems

ranx93 wrote:

RTW0223 wrote:the tubes arent touching the starter. nor is is touching the spark plug wires. Im not sure which wire is the clutch cable though.

It aint gotta touch to melt them. Ive already melted one on a 87 GT once it was just close. I melted 2 clutch cables until i got wise and got heat wrap. clutch cable is the long thick black cable on the drivers side from the firewall and routes to the transmission. It runs right next to the driver side header. May want to locate that quick before you drive it and make sure its secure and away from any header tubes. Itll melt it and break the cable

Thanks for the tip, i'lkl be sure to do so

Never Mind, Grats, I was going to suggest to loosen the tranny mounts. Headers are a PITA, I know I'll never do them again. Once was enough.

vack wrote:Never Mind, Grats, I was going to suggest to loosen the tranny mounts. Headers are a PITA, I know I'll never do them again. Once was enough.

yeah i did loosen the mounts which gave me more room!

so I got the MAC h pipe in today.. and guess what... still nothing fitting... im all out of ideas

RTW0223 wrote:so I got the MAC h pipe in today.. and guess what... still nothing fitting... im all out of ideas

i hope you didnt get longtubes for an AOD automatic car you did buy them used right? They shouldnt be fighting you like that at all. At the most the mid pipe can be a tight fit between the headers and muffler flow tubes.

Yes there are for 5 speed

this is when I break out the sawzall and mig welder.................

yeah, im taking it to a shop tomorrow

well i got my car back. very dissapointed. the car seems quieter than with shorties. and i cant get it into ANY gear

RTW0223 wrote:well i got my car back. very dissapointed. the car seems quieter than with shorties. and i cant get it into ANY gear

Oh wow, this is terrible news... Have you talked to the shop yet?