LOL, Shon, I was leaving that one alone, happens a lot on here But thanks

 

I am about an hour south of Roanoke.

You can have your headers off in less than 20 minutes?

There has to be a way to do this w/o messing w/ the motor mounts. I hate Hookers. PaceSetters are much easier.

 

Most females agree with you.

 

I didn't even notice her name. It's nice to see girls on the site, especially ones that do their own work. I'm tempted to ask for pics.

 

They will not "fall right out.." even when the car is on a lift there is still some maneuvering you have to do. I've never known the drivers side header (at least Hooker LT's) to slide out from the top. It'll come out the bottom, but you just have to negotiate how. There's really no easy way to explain it.
The pass. side will get caught up on the heater/ac box, but you'll have to gently force it past the box. Once again the header comes out at almost a 90* angle so it will take a bit more negotiation.

but it is reinforced and very strong aluminum. It's fine especially since you are not jacking up the weight of the entire engine.

 

So both will be coming out from the bottom, correct? We did try to push it past that box on the pass. side, but it started chipping pieces of the edge of the box. That made me nervous. It looks like the box is made of some sort of fiberglass material.

I am thinking it will take someone working from the top and the bottom. 4 hands at one time LOL I'm just scared to break that box The edge cracked easy. What's in that box anyway?

Does this method above you mentioned still require jacking up the engine? If I can get by w/o doing that, it would be nice.

 

How do you figure?

 

turn the header so the collector is almost pointed at the ground then turn the header a little pass side clockwise driver counter clockwise and pull it on down....I don't have a heater box or an acces. on th front of the motor...
take the motor mount bolts out and jack the motor up just a little...
If I was closer I would come take em out for you i've done this sooo many times over the years drink a beer before you start

 

You still may have to jack up the engine if you don't feel comfortable trying to get the header out past the box. The box houses the A/C evaporator (actually I don't believe it has anything to do with heat... my mistake) and is the ducting for airflow into the cabin. What I remember having to do w/ a friend of mines car is he was on the ground (car was jacked up w/ two large floor jacks/jackstands) he pulled while I was on top pushing the primary past the box. One thing to keep in mind though is this was in the summer. Since it's now cold outside that box may be more brittle and prone to break. If you really can't find a way then honestly I'd suggest taking the engine mount bolt out and jack it up a few inches to give you the clearence you need.
Well... because the engine is still fastened on the drivers side. When raising the engine the weight shifts to that fulcrum point therefore the bellhousing is not supporting the entire weight of the engine. I've done it numerous times with no ill effect. I've never heard of anyone cracking or breaking their bellhousing by using it as a jack point when doing the above.

 

The fulcrum point ends up being the motor mount itself. The motor mount also becomes the axis of rotation. If you think about this, a lot of the weight of the engine (and transmission), is still being supported by the jack. I just did a quick calculation (sum of the moments about the axis of rotation) and if you jack along the line of the balance point of the motor, you are lifting its full weight. Now, I don't know what kind of forces the bellhousing can withstand, so I can't make an educated claim on whether or not it can be damaging or not. If it works, it works.

 

Exactly. What you just described can be defined as a fulcrum point.
Yes.. but not ALL the weight of the motor as I stated originally.

 

Anytime you need to jack under a less than bulletproof component, putting a piece of wood on the jack to spread out the load a little reduces the risk of cracking or bending the part where the jack contacts it. I know it is pretty elementary and most folks that wrench are aware of this, but in the case of jacking on the bellhousing it is an applicable suggestion. Can make the jack less stable so be careful, and use a thin piece of wood not a tall block. Plywood is good. FWIW.

 

You have to remove the motor mount bolts and place the back underneath the oil pan with a piece of wood to spread the weight. Also to remove the slip joint on the driver's side try using a rubber mallet on it and the use a twisting motion while tugging. Usually works for me.

When I reinstall my headers Im just going to weld that damn slip fit in place and be done with it.

How much is it costing you to recoat the headers?

-B

 

I have never seen anyone post this method, but this is the only way I have ever been able to get the passenger side in / out on my 94 Z28 (A4). I have always gone in/out the top.

-Remove the valve cover if you haven't already.
-Disconnect the passenger side motor mount by removing the 3 bolts that connect to the engine block, don't worry about the big bolt. Leave the driver side connected.
-Raise the passenger side of the engine by jacking on the oil pan.
-Pull the header out as far as it will go.
-Lower the engine back down.
-Pull the header out the rest of the way.

Driver side is much easier, I can't remember if I do it from the top or bottom, but I seem to remember that the slip fit did need to come apart and the oil filter had to be removed. It's been a while. Hopefully some of that helps.

 

Well it looks like I will be jacking the motor some tonight then. They have to come out, so this is the plan.

I don't see how they were installed w/o jacking the motor though. Crazy.

Thanks for all the detailed replies. I am printing out this post to help tonight.
I'm just glad it's on a lift, and there is heat in the garage.