Just got them last night, cant wait to have them on. Now i havent looked under the hood yet, but on the instructions it talks about the egr tube. is this something that needs to be drilled into the header or what? Im sure once i look at it things will make sense im just wondering if it would be better to have a shop install them instead of me trying to hassle with it. The motor has 160k on it and im affraid of busting a few of the bolts to the head. any help or suggestions would be great.

Thanks

 

I soaked the bolts for two or three days before I started in. It actually went very smoothly, but I see your concerns about shearing a bolt. When I put mine back together, I ended up cracking the collector on the Y pipe and had to take it to the muffler shop to have that section replaced.

 

what about the egr deal there talking about, or is that just something that goes down where the header connects to the y pipe ??

 

Oops, forgot about that, sorry. I didn't have to worry about it. Check your stock manifolds to see if there is an extra sensor. If not, then just replace the manifolds with the new headers. If so, then take it down to a the muff shop and have a bung welded on for the sensor. I believe the 88 is the same set up as my 91, probably just a straight swap.

On a different note. The paint on those headers won't last more than a couple of days. They will then just look rusty. Before I put mine on, I took them down to a powdercoating shop and had them ceramic coat in and out. They look great, but not sure about the $$$. You could even try some high temp paint, but the paint that is put on the headers from the factory is just for shipping purposes. The customer wants a nice looking product out of the box.

 

kewl, thanks for the info. Ill call around and see if anyone here does the ceramic coating.

Thanks for you help

 

Well there is no one local that does the ceramic coating, they are out of state and run like 200 +. the damn muffler shop wanted 200 to install as well. sounds high to me, it sucks to i take the chance of something breaking and do it myself. it will get supper spendy if something does foul up thats for sure.

why oh why

 

Yeah, I think it cost me about $150 for the ceramic coating, but the headers only cost me $80. For me it was still cheaper than going with the ones that were coated from the factory. If you are worried about the install, maybe it is best to have it done. You might just want to paint them yourself with some high temp paint.

 

well i looked under the hood at lunch and it looks to be a go on doing the work my self. there isnt any tube going down to the manifold so the next task is to really soak those header bolts and hope for the best. Im gonna paint them my self, will try the hardware store to see about getting some. hopfully they have blue, black just isnt as nice.

Thanks for you help

later

 

/rant on.

if i were you the first thing i would do is rebox those summit headers and send them back.

i just finished installing mine and thats exactly what i'm doing as soon as the gibsons i ordered get here. the daggum things are a piece of junk, and im not exaggerating. the 6th bolt (heading back) on the drivers side header will not go in. the hole simply isn't machined right! the head of the bolt hits the exhaust tube on the header so it can't possible go in straight. i even ground the ring down so its just the hex head, and it still doesn't fit. the collectors on both sides dont bolt up directly to my stock y pipe and as a result it leaks - both from there and from the 6th bolt hole. i had to grind down the bolts on the passgenger side to get them to fit, and they still dont seal it properly. the holes arent cut in the header in the right spot, so i had to take the fenderwell out to get under there to put them in straight. furthermore, you can't torque them down properly because you can't get a socket on them. they put the bolt holes so close to the exhaust tube that a socket (or an open ended wrench, for that matter) wont fit. horrible design.

as if i need to rant any more, once the header is installed, it is impossible to remove the spark plug on the 7th cylinder without first removing the header. spark plugs must be removed with a socket and there is not enough room between the end of the plug and the curving of the tube.

and finally, they make no provisions to keep the vehicle "stock" like they say they do. there is no way to remount the heat shield that protects your spark plug wires from the high temperatures of the manifold. there is also no way to remount the brackets for lifting your engine the way they come from the factory. while these may seem like minor things now, wait til you need to remove a spark plug...or an engine...or until a spark plug wire melts and fuses to a spark plug and you gotta bust yer butt to pull it outta there.

it is definitely not worth the time. nothing against the folks at summit - theyre taking my "damaged" headers back (i ran the truck with it on). but the product they sold me simply does not meet what i would consider minimum expectations for any product i'm going to put on my car.

/rant off.

 

I have the Flowtech headers, but I believe Summit sells the same ones. As far as the issue w/plugs and wires. I do use a universal socket to get the #8 plug out. No other way around it. You're right it's tight, but with the universal socket it comes out just fine.

I do have Jacobs wires and they have what Jacobs calls a variangle boot. This allowed me to angle the boots how I wanted to stay away from the header pipes. I must admit that that #8 gave me a problem their again. I didn't bend it enough. The wire ended up melting at the boot. I called Jacobs and they sent me another boot. Actually, they sent me 4 new wires 3 were the type that you can cut for your own application. They give you several different boots and I was able to repair the bad wire plus have 4 others.

As far as the bolts, I did have to get 4 bolts from my muffler guy that had a smaller head. This allowed to fit the socket on better.

I guess everbody gets different results with various products. Do what you think is best for you.

Thanks for your post Spixican. It gives a different perspective and reminded me of a couple of items that are important for Kemicalburns or anybody else that buys those headers from Summit

-Anthony

 

Hey lookin, i didnt realize your from GP, hell i grew up there in the rogue valley and gp for a few years. My grandfather used to own the fair grounds Texaco across from the fairgrounds. How long have you lived there?

Now about the headers, what he said is a little concerning to me. I have not heard anyone else have issues like that with these headers. What do you think could it be more of user error or a defective product from the get go. I was able to fit the bronco in the garage so i was going to start this weekend tearing it down. I cant afford to pay 300 for a set of headers, so im up ***** creek with out a paddle if this doesnt work. I planned on swapping the plugs after I had the exhaust pulled anyway just to eliminate that problem at for a little while till the next tune up.

uncertainty sucks

 

I installed a set of Hooker headers on my '89 F-150, and had similar issues with the tight fit. I think that headers are a great power gain, but you will probably loose the factory lift hook and heat shields with most of the headers out there. I did find that the bolts were a tight fit in some spots, as well as the plugs. I did work with it and all was good.

On another note, header bolts tend to loosen when driven. I always checked mine at every oil change, and there were usually at least 2 loose. If you don't check them, you can burn up the gasket and you will have to remove the headers to replace it.

 

I've been in GP since '95. I grew up in the S.F. Bay Area, but had to get out of the rat race. Much better here. I still like to go visit old friends down south though.

Definitely check your header bolts after a few hundred miles and then I check them every oil change too. Do this no matter what headers you choose to go with.

I didn't have that much of a problem with the install. Like I said, I did have to replace the drivers section of the Y pipe. I think I just torqued it down a little too tight. Before you start, go down to your local muffler shop and see if you can get a few new header bolts that that have a smaller head than what came with your set. I also when to the local speed shop and got a nice set of gaskets too.

Spixican may be right about the mounts for lifting the motor. I didn't think about that and could come into play when removing the motor later. Seems like Aarons experience is that this may occur with most headers you go with. The heat shield haven't been a factor since I replaced the one wire.

One note on wires. I did try the Champion RV/truck wires with the ceramic boot. At the top of the #8 wire, it did start to melt within a couple of minutes. I took them off immediately and took them back and now I have the Jacobs wires that I mentioned earlier. Great wires with the variangle boot and lifetime guarantee.

For removal of plugs, make sure that you have a universal socket. It makes a difference between a simple job and using every swear word in the book and few modifictions to some words too

 

i wasn't trying to be the voice of doom or anything. in fact, the "summit" headers you got may not even be made by the same company my summit headers were (i think the name of mine starts with a P). they just buy a bunch of generic ones and stick their name on it. i was just dissatisfied with mine. check out the fit before you put them on, and hang on to your old manifolds. i didnt have that option because my drivers side manifold was completely cracked and the gaskets were shot as well.

mine would world...now that i got them on theyre sealing ok, and with another 80 bucks i could have a y-pipe flange matched to their collector. grand total about 13 hours of work and another 80 bucks. i just think thats not acceptable for something that should take 4 hours. low quality, thats all it is.

 

On another note. Since Spixican brought up the idea of possibly different manufacturers from Summit. I was told from several different muffler guys that the header flange should be at least 3/8" if not even a 1/2" flange. Less chance for warping and leaks.

I'm not an expert, but something that I was told when I was researching and getting ready to spend my money.

-Anthony