Who installed your headers?

Hey everyone,

I'm considering the purchase of Pacesetter MIDs for my 94Z. My search turned out a couple of here and theres, but no real clear procedures and info. Do the majority of you header buyers get your headers professionally installed, or is this something that can be done in your own driveway? I don't have any means of pulling my engine available, so can it be done from beneath the car? Input appreciated, thanks!

I suppose, however, the car better be good and high off the ground (and be careful to ensure a solid platform) don't want to hear that you were squished.

Another problem, however, is if you need to work from on top and on the bottom---it can be a real bear. JMHO:cool:

my shorties come out of the top, but my long tubes went in threw the bottom. Will have about 4-6 hours or so install headers ther first time. I believe most people here install them thereself. Just dont overtorque the header bolts installing them and break the old one coming out and your fine.

I did mine, car looked dangerous it was so high. If you have a lift it would be much safer.

Previous owner did mine. :D

I'd like to do them myself, but i'm doubting I'll have access to a lift... labor charges would be too much of a hassle to think about going that route. How high should the car be off the ground for shorties/mids?

Did it with a friend who runs a small shop out of his house. He has all the tools one would need, so we did it over there... No lift. Jacked the car up as high as we could get it and started working on it.

It was a PITA and took forever because work stalled out a few times... when we ran into parts that needed to be fabricated or replaced because they didn't jive with new parts. I love my headers though and I'm glad it's over.

I had someone with a lift do mine...it's lowered and and hard to get under, there would have been no way I could have done it on my driveway, it's a tight squeeze just to change the oil :)

I did my longtubes myself in the garage during the coldest period this past winter. The longtubes are a PITA and I had the car jacked up a good 3-4 feet high. The midlength headers shouldn't be as bad but it's still time consuming to remove everything to install the headers from underneath. I would say to plan on the car being down for a week straight while you work on it if it's your first install. You'll run into problems and need tools and need more parts. It's worth it in the end though.

I installed a set of Pacesetter mids on my car and it wasn't very difficult. The driver side goes in from the top and the passenger side goes in from the bottom. You would not need to get the car too high off the ground to install mids.
The driver side was cake with the exception of the steering shaft needing to be adjusted slightly to keep it from rubbing. The passenger side was more difficult. You will have to remove the starter, dipstick and alternator support. I also took out the 2 rear plugs to get more clearance between the head and AC box.
Hope that was helpful.

I installed my headers on my car. I would stay away from those pacesetter mids everyone says the plug access is 10x worse than stock.

I live in Ft. Worth Texas I have a 96 LT4 Corvette and want to find a good shop to install a set of Extoic Muscle Long tube 1 3/4 inch headers and install a pair of Randon tech cat's to keep it legal. Any one from my area?

I did shorties with the car on jackstands in my garage
LAB3, you shoud start your own thread

I did shorties with the car on jackstands in my garage
LAB3, you shoud start your own thread

Thanks Good idea, I just saw a exhaust post and you never know who is around. I did the shorties on my wifes 96 TA and I only gained 4 HP over stock exhaust manifolds, man I was upset as SLP said I would get 10. Long Tubes is the way to go but a lot more time and money.

damn, i must be the luckiest guy in the world. am i the only one who installed both my pacesetter longtubes from the top? both slid right in on my 95 z. i did have to show the passenger side who was boss tho. car wasn't even on the first notch of the jackstand either.

take off the valve covers, that's where the magic's at...................

damn, i must be the luckiest guy in the world. am i the only one who installed both my pacesetter longtubes from the top? both slid right in on my 95 z. i did have to show the passenger side who was boss tho. car wasn't even on the first notch of the jackstand either.

take off the valve covers, that's where the magic's at...................

I did the driverside from the top and the passenger side from the bottom, it wasnt to bad once we got the car high enough.

Yes you can do it in your driveway, the mids should be easier too. Took me 2 days of working on it about 10 hours total, but I also had a friend helping me that put Pacesetter long tubes on his car about a year ago so it wasnt bad

dude, you can do this in your driveway with hand tools, I did it myself and I'm an idiot, as many on this board know :)

I installed midlength headers(AS&M) and a ypipe, in my driveway, pretty much the first "real" mod I did.

All you need is to get a jack and jackstands, you can definately get it high enough without a lift.

It's not a really technical job, just time consuming. All you do is take stuff off, and put it on. Only thing you can really F up bad is if you crossthread or strip your head threads, but jsut be extra careful and you'll be OK.

I'd recommend doing a OVTC wire setup and new plugs while your there. Also, I used stage 8 locking bolts with felpro gaskets, no leaks for 3 years.

Some other issues you may run to is the steering shaft rubbing the primary, if that happens you'll have to play with it to get it to fit. Worst case scenario is i used a grinder and took off a little off the shaft.


Any questions feel free to ask, you can PM me if you want since I've been there done that.

Brian

I've done it several times on V6s without issue.
I've dont it once on a V8 (LT1) and well ...

I did it on jackstands, no need to remove the engine (although that may have made it easier)
Just lift it up as high as the floor jack will go. High enough to roll under and still move your arms.
I did a lot of my undercar work with my legs under the trans to get a better angle.

It wasn't easy and my arms were all cut up when I was done. Didn't lose too much blood.
Drench all of the bolts with lube the night before you start, I used WD40 (there are plenty of others that work as well or better)
Getting the passenger side off was the hardest part, I was under the car holding a ratchet on the bolt while someone above pushed it with a long stick. Took a good 40 min to get that last one off.
The gaskets leaked, so I replaced them with felpros (don't waste your time with the ones they give you, felpros are not expensive and they will save you 4 hours of reinstalling gaskets)
I took the valve cover off to fit the drivers side in and didn't put the gasket back on right. Oops, oil leak down the back of the block.
I took the dipstick off to get the header on the passenger side.
Bolting up the passenger side is kinda tough unless you have a good assortment of tools. I used a ratchet with a universal and some extentions.
The A.I.R. tubes were a bitch to get back in, needed a 22mm (?) box end wrench and a swear jar for that one.

Running open headers to the shop to get the Y pipe altered to fit was kinda fun ;) Probably should have ordered the correct Y pipe in the first place :rolleyes:

I melted wires 6 and 8 on the headers and ended up replacing them.
I'm going to convert to OTVC as soon as I get out of the dog house and have money to spend on the car again.

Looking back on it, I should probably have just paid someone to do it.
But it was a great learning experience.

If I can make one suggestion: have a friend nearby.
Not so much to help as to keep you motivated and laughing when you get so stressed that you think about putting it all back the way it was.

did it all myself in under 2 hours.

did it all myself in under 2 hours.

Right:confused: it takes almost that long to remove the stock exhaust manifolds :)

did it all myself in under 2 hours.

was the motor out of the car?

how much do they cost to install at a shop?

how much do they cost to install at a shop?

Too much. I was skeptical about doing my LTs. But 12 hours later.....and alot of patience it was done. And I saved myself probably $600:D

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm finding all of this extremely helpful. I'm glad to hear this is something I can do within a week or so on and off in my own driveway. This is a mod i've been holding off on, but I feel the time is nigh. Hawk, I did all of my plugs and wires in November, I believe. Would you still recommend that I do all of that while im in there? Trust me, I'll pm a few of you guys if I think I could benefit from more answers. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm considering the purchase of Pacesetter MIDs for my 94Z. My search turned out a couple of here and theres, but no real clear procedures and info. Do the majority of you header buyers get your headers professionally installed, or is this something that can be done in your own driveway? I don't have any means of pulling my engine available, so can it be done from beneath the car? Input appreciated, thanks!
My LS1 was cake. My last LT1 I had was slightly more of a challenge. They where shorties and went in thrue the top.

And I saved myself probably $600:D
Sh**... I would have paid $600 to save myself the annoyance ;)


LS1 guys do have a bit of an advantage here, due to the narrower block. Gives an extra inch or 3 of space. :D

I installed mine through the top, my Pacesetter LT's... but I guess that's because the heads were off anyway lol took like.. 30 seconds to slide them in.. and about 5 hours to get the heads on, plugs in, wires on, headers bolted up, and intake on and all wired up.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm finding all of this extremely helpful. I'm glad to hear this is something I can do within a week or so on and off in my own driveway. This is a mod i've been holding off on, but I feel the time is nigh. Hawk, I did all of my plugs and wires in November, I believe. Would you still recommend that I do all of that while im in there? Trust me, I'll pm a few of you guys if I think I could benefit from more answers. Thanks!


I'd say if your wires and plugs look good, keep them no need to change em.

Oh, one more thing, the dipstick will have to be removed to get the headers in. Getting that back in is a PITA and a half. Your going to probbaly have to buy a new dipstick and bend it so it fits, or do what I did and buy a lokar flexible dipstick and put it in. You'll know what I'm talking about when your doing it, haha.

Sh**... I would have paid $600 to save myself the annoyance ;)

Honestly, I think the weekend project cost me that much in faction points with the wife. On the other hand, "saving" $600 allows me to justify buying rockers, custom headrests and some other toys :)

Its definitely something you can do in your driveway. I had to jack the car up pretty high to get one of the long tubes in from the bottom, but I also put up an extra pair of jack stands and a bunch of blocks incase the car came down it would have something else to fall on other then me. Plus, shops charge a pretty good buck to do that kind of job.

Did mine myself. If you have the money, pay someone else. I mean, its not really like a huge learning experience so there isnt much of a benefit of doing them yourself, other than not having to spend money. If you are doing LT's and are doing them yourself, make sure you have alot of blocking, a good jack, and another person to help you. One pulling one pushing. Good Luck and dont get squished. Through the top on the driver side, bottom on passenger. And if you do the same as i did on the passenger, you beter have the car up at least 3 feet. That is...if you use long tubes.

I installed MIDs once at a friend's on a lift, and once in my garage and I helped on a long-tube install on a lift.

If you're wanting long-tubes, it's my opinion to not even try them in your driveway. HORRIBLE idea. GET SOMEONE WITH A LIFT.

If you're installing mids, it's up to you. It's MUCH easier with a lift, but it's still pretty safe if you decide to do it at home (unlike longtubes)

I did mine in a really small garage space with ramps and a jack. Long tubes are a pain. And since my car was in a wreck previously I had to grind on the k member and the steering shaft. What fun all of that was. Put both headers in through the bottom though. Just need to jack the car high for a couple min, get them in. And let it down on the ramps again.

I did mine, Longtubes and all. Both went in from the top, but I would leave one engine mount connected while barely raising the engine. The angle let them slide on in after removing a couple things here and there. The biggest pain in the ass was removing my old exhaust so the shop could reinstall it with the headers and ORY.

I installed my headers.

mine took about 4hrs on my brother's lift.
the pacesetters have the best plug clearence by far. also use a good gasket and make sure your flanges are flat you only want to do these once trust me!

so what is the safest way to get the car high enough without a lift? prolly ramps a jack and jackstands and blocks? triple the protection? lol i dont wanna die putting in my longtubes lol

Without a lift, a floorjack and jackstands is about your only option. I don't think the drive up ramps will get the car high enough to get a long tube header in there.

I installed mine and it was not a walk in the park. I had a lift also. Use a good gasket trust me I had mine out 4 times.

me and hosspwr94...both times

i just did some pacesetter mids on my 94 LT1 and i didnt have any problems. just take out dipstick and go in from bottom on passenger side. tricky to get dipstick back in but i did it without bending it. tighten up spark plugs before u tighten up the headers and it will make it a lot easier. i would recommend percy header gaskets too since they arent supposed to blow out. little extra cost is worth the headache of removing them later. my 2 cents.

thx 2000! i have been putting this mod off all winter.... its time the sh*t hits the fan!

I did mine myself using a lift. Try to find a small shop that you can borrow their lift on the weekend, it would really be woth it for a small price. If you cant do that then just make sure you jack up the car safely, with a backup system like concrete blocks or wood.

I did mine myself using a lift. Try to find a small shop that you can borrow their lift on the weekend, it would really be woth it for a small price. If you cant do that then just make sure you jack up the car safely, with a backup system like concrete blocks or wood.

I'm surprised a shop let you do that with insurance liabilities and all. When I used to work for a dealer, they used to have a fit if we worked on our own cars after hours.

My dad owns the shop and i also worked there, so i didnt have to actually pay anything.

Good time to change spark plugs while you're doing the headers; chances are you'll crack a plug anyway while doing the installation. The other thing to think about is will your need any mods to get the Y-pipe to fit to the rest of the exhaust system. If so, you might be driving to your exhaust shop with nearly open headers or you'll need to tow the car to the shop.