Woo Hoo! Done! They've been sittin' here since christmas, and I finally had a weekend with no other major project going on. It probably took me 10 hours or so, but I didn't really bust it too hard. Some things were just pretty time consuming.

I only had about 6 bolts intact on each side, and the ones that were broke were a pain to remove. Welding a nut back onto the stud may have saved me some time - but it went OK with the vise-grips.

Left side was the worst part because of the EGR hook up ('99 only I think). The purists probably won't like that I just mig welded the modified steel fitting onto the second pipe back, but I'm happy with it. I was really not sure what I was going to do with it - so I just got into the job and assumed I'd figure it out. Once I had the header in place, I saw that the pipe will sit right on top of the second cylinder back with just a minor adjustment. Then all I did was cut the threads off the fitting that screws into the old manifold and ground it to a profile that fit a header tube, then just welded it on. The pipe still has the flared fitting that screws into that (now welded) piece. Sweet 2 hours.

Right side required some extra room in order to fit. I chose to grind off the frame a bit. I ended up taking a piece about 3 inchs long and 1/4 wide. No big deal.

All in all it wasn't that bad, only took me longer than it should have. As far a performance goes - I have no clue. Maybe better throttle response, maybe a horse or two. Didn't really care - I just didn't want to shell out that much money for replacement studs and still end up with the stock manifolds. Sounds about the same on acceleration, better on decel?!? Sounds pretty good though, I definately don't think it sounds ricey. But there's also an aftermarket cat back to bumper system on the truck.

 

the only thing i will recoment (from a group mudding trip) is NOT to get them things wet after they are heated up............i saw 2 sets ruined after about 1 week, when me and 3 other guys went on a mudding trip in the woods! one set cracked by the collector, and anouther cracked at the flange (connected to the block)!

i would advise to inspect and recheck once a week or so just to be on the safe side!

hope they do work out for you!

 

Good report! Kind of interested in the quote above?

Did you brace the frame in another area after you had to grind off the 3"x 1/4"? Just curious...

OBTW: Why not post some pics of your new header setup? Would like to see...if possible.


biz

 

Thanks for the advise TeamMudd, I actually read a post of yours about this a while ago, and it does concern me some. I'll check them often for a while. We'll see how the work out.

No biz4two, I didn't brace the frame. It really sounds much worse than it is. The area is very beefy to begin with, and actually looked like it may have even stuck out just a tad as opposed to area adjacent. Specifically, I took 1/4 inch off the top flange, engine side of the channel. I'm a structural engineer of sorts - designed bridges for eight years, so I have an idea of stress that area in under. I assure you, no problem.

I didn't take pics because we can't find the camera, and was affraid to bring up the subject again for fear of the 'conversation' the wife would start. My camera phone is a POS.