Let's see, started around 10:30, got the first two cat stud nuts off (hey now) and third one wouldn't...so right them i'm thinkin damn. So move to the exhaust manifold pipes, basically same thing. Move to old stock exhaust manifolds, bolts round a little and I give up. Yeah even after wd40 and trying to loosen warm. So I took it to the only shop open (it was Kruize Weekend, and this is armpit of Oregon almost) and I had to wait about 2 hours before they got to it, but once they did 45 minutes later and $30 later everything was loosened like crazy. Got home, let it cool down a little (damn it bombed home :tongue: BRRAAAAAAHHHH!!). Everthing just fell off in my hands so to speak (real easy compared to earlier), then started to put my new JBA's on ...

First off, those H02 sensors are a pain in the a$$ to plug and unplug, let alone get to. :) None the less the small room you had to manuever was non-existant now due to the pipe size differences etc. Ended up getting them all off and on by myself (with help of shop to undo bolts) by 12pm. DOH :tongue: Well there was like a two hour break, so I'd say ... 10 hours or soo of actual work time. Oh yeah, this was all by hand, no power tools. Take THAT!<br>:rocking:<br>
Well I have to say I enjoy them, and they sure do look perty (pretty). :E I'll get a picture this week of the engine compartment (after I clean it today). And truck later this week also maybe weekend. Gotta find the digital camera from a friend.

Oh speaking of cleaning the engine compartment. Is it a bad idea to clean the engine compartment warm, i mean with the ceramic coated headers? Is there a possibility of them or the coating cracking? My only thought is its ceramic, and ceramic will do that right? And maybe it works because the engine cools down normally...any thoughts? Thanks...

<u>Now sittin pretty</u>
1994 4.0L XLT SuperCab (65k)
Ceramic coated JBA Cat4Ward Headers
FlowMaster American Thunder (2 1/2" Series 50 In / Out) cat-back system
Modified K&N FIPK (didn't make it cold air yet)
...and sometimes a heavy foot<br><br>:afro:

Sounds like a fun day. How does it sound? Any noticeable power increase?

As far as the cleaning the engine compartment, I always wait 'til it's cooled down completely. Especially with the ceramic coating, that's prolly more prone to cracking.

I like to clean them while the engine is warm, but not hot. Any grease comes off more easily this way. I wouldn't do it while the headers are still hot, whether they are ceramic coated or not. Glad you got them on, even if they are a pain.

Aren't they just a blast to install, especially the back bottom bolt on the driver's side header. You know, the one you can't get to with either hand so you end up putting it in with your left & right index fingers,,,, not to mention the fact that you can't even see the bolt your working on. And you really gotta love not being able to get a socket on all but 3 or 4 bolts, the rest are installed with an open end wrench making 1/4 turns at a time. Oh the joy of doing your own install work,,,,,, but look at all the money we save.

I'm glad you go them on, I told you the money spent at the shop was well worth it. I haven't taken any pictures of mine yet because the engine bay is a total mess, dirty that is. Have you had much time to play around with it sense the install ? I'll call JBA tomorrow and find out about the washing question (cold, warm or hot) just to make sure so we don't screw anything up. I'll let you know what they say.

Later Dude !

PS. That really bad smell coming from the new headers does go away after a couple of weeks.

Congrats on the install. I'm sure it's deffinately a pain in the butt. Maybe I'll find that out for myself sometime next year. ON cleaning your engine you'll want to do it while it's fairly cool. And be prepared to get back some nasty smells. I used Gunks' Engine Degresser last weekend and my truck smelled like desiel fuel for like two days. This weekend I used Foamy Engine Brite and it only smelled like desiel fuel for a few hours. The Gunk stuff works very well. Cleaned most everything up with no scrubbing. I'm not really sure how well the Foamy stuff worked cause I had just cleaned the engine the week before so it wasn't all that dirty.

At first it really didn't sound much different, but keep in mind this was after the computer was reset...so I'm not sure if something loosened up or the computer started using the headers more efficiently and correctly because today (monday -- i put them on saturday), they sound quite a bit louder and much more throaty and deep...as far as power, for lack of a better words, holy $HIT! I really really stepped on it the other day on a road where speed went from 35mph to 55mph and it torqued my truck cab quite hard and was just screamin and accelerating like a banshee. Now i might be over emphasizing that but it torqued the truck pretty well. Low to mid end torque seems to be most noticeable and is quite noticeable.

As far as putting them on yeah...pain in the a$$ ... that bolt gerry mentioned, I had a hard time gettin that one in, but more of a time with the O2 sensors :) oh and the big bolt on the passenger side exhaust header pipe that connects to the header, that bolt is the one I don't think I got tightened down all the way (VERY hard to get to with one person) so that may be why it seems louder now ... not sure I'll have to get it checked or check it or try tightening it with someone's help.

As far as the shop help, i'd say its required. I'd say anyone installing headers will be required to have that done unless you can and know how, because you'll have to get it done anyways.

The money saved was well worth it, but I'm showing heavy bruising and tender spots on my arms and hands today let me tell ya :) The smell is not nearly as bad as the exhaust when I put that on...i can live with it. :)

Overall great experience...worth it, YES!. worth having a shop put on ... if you have the money to fork out for a shop to do it, Yeah, but if you really want the extra feeling of doing it yourself, you'll get it by doing it yourself :)

<i>PS</i> - Gerry, any response on the sound ... how about yours? Did yours sound half way normal first day or two, then got throatier (is that even a word? if not i made it up) ... etc?

After the install I really didn't notice any difference in the sound and my even my wife commented that it didn't get that much louder then before. Now it's been two weeks and about 800 miles sense the install and it has gotten a little louder and makes the Borla sound really good. I also double check everything this past Sun. to make sure I don't have any exhaust leeks. The smell is also gone now.

As for the gains, I did notice it pulls harder once you hit 10-20 MPH but she really lights up between 45-80 MPH. She's got no problem keeping you at 80 MPH all day long and ya still got plenty of peddle left to jump on it some more. It's a blast to drive and I can't wait to get to the track.

Now for the cleaning question,

I called JBA this afternoon and asked them about cleaning the headers when there Hot or Cold. JBA suggested they cool down for about 10-15 minutes before spraying them with water or a cleaner but the ceramic coating WILL NOT COME OFF if they are cleaned when hot. The coating is baked on and over time as the headers heat up and cool down the coating actually makes a stronger bond to the pipes. JBA said the ceramic coating is an extremely durable finish that won't come off. After cleaning your engine bay, you can polish the headers if you want with a good quality mag wheel polish to get back that bright silver finish.

I'd definitely do it all over again.

Gerry

Gerry you've been one hell of a help bro. Mine has continued to get a little louder and now a little less powerful so since I don't have the time, tools, or people resources to help me, I'm gonna take it in this afternoon and have a shop take about 15-30 minutes to tighten everything and check for exhaust leaks. Oh no it might cost me $20. I saved over $350 doin it myself ... although my hands hate me now :) LOL ... I also have to fix my idle, at initial start up it idles around 1200 or so then drops to 700 after about 30 seconds, I don't think it should do that and I have a print up here i got from some other site on how to reset the idle so that it starts up at 700 or so. I had some little Nissan POS truck try to fly past me yesterday (he was already bombin on the road and i just pulled out of a parking lot) and so I said no you don't :E Stepped on it, throatyness came out truck TOOK off! :) Dood looked at me like what the hell ... I just smiled and passed...HAHA. Peace out for now ...

And paid someone to install them. It did cost me $350 but hey, what the hell, they are on. So I wussed out BIG DEAL!!! :rolleyes:

I'd rather have paid someone if I had the money :) But ... I didn't so I lived under, in, and around my engine this weekend :tongue:

Devil, this is probably a stupid question, but did you reset your computer after you installed the headers? Might explain the high idle.

You didn't wuss out,,, I also would have paid someone to install them if I had the coin. I look at it this way, now my wife might let me spend some of the money I saved on some more truck parts,,,,,,,, "Not".

Later !

Wow guys sounds like your all having fun putting on those headers wish that I had mine. At least I have a few tips and know what to look out for.


thanks

Originally posted by DevilSun94_4.0L
... I also have to fix my idle, at initial start up it idles around 1200 or so then drops to 700 after about 30 seconds, I don't think it should do that and I have a print up here i got from some other site on how to reset the idle so that it starts up at 700 or so.

My truck does that. I don't think it's anything big to worry about. I mean most cars that I've driven idle slightly high for a few seconds when you first start them up. Are you sure your truck didn't do this before you put the headers on?

Your's are sitting in my living room as we speak, I just gotta get the time to swing up to Canada and deliever them to you.

Gerry

PS. Your gonna have fun with that EGR tube.

I was under the impression that the computer reset itself after being disconnected for so long. Is this incorrect? As far as before, yeah I guess it did seem to do it before didn't seem as much but maybe i'm just whacked out. :) Gerry, i used the EGR plug and PLUGGED that **** :P

The truck is running real well, I took it to a shop yesterday to get the one bolt on the passenger side that connects the header to the Y-pipe that I didn't get tighted down all the way (that thing is SO FRIGGIN hard to get to!) and they couldn't reach it! LOL. I then took it to a muffler shop and the guy pulls out this custom bent crack ass craftsman wrench and states "luckily I have the right size in my special tool" ... this thing was so oddly shaped (kinda L and S shaped...don't ask) HEHE. It worked though...didn't charge me a thing either...so that's fixed.

Gerry: If you rev your engine since you got the headers on say in Park or Neutral and let off (reving meaning over 1500), do you get a small, really low volume kind of backfire sound. It's not a backfire and not even close, I was told it had something to do with backpressure that's different with the new headers. Just wondering if this is normal or what...or if its caused by a small exhaust leak somewhere in the header install or if i should just not worry about it. PS : Thanks for the information from JBA about cleaning.

Holy $hit gerry, UPS ever finish up their deal and what not with ya? Did they jack you? HEh.

The computer does reset if you've had the battery disconnected for 20-30 minutes, I didn't read where you had done that. Sorry. As far as the 1200 rpm idle on initial start, that's perfectly normal. All fuel injected engines do that, then they drop back to the normal idle as they warm up a little. Sometimes in a couple stages. Mine hits about 1400 rpm, drops to around 1000 in 5-10 seconds, then to 700 after maybe 20-30 seconds.

It could be that with the headers, you're just hearing it idling faster more easily now.