stereomandan...that wasn't the air pump It was the a/c, i took a bolt out and it started pissing stuff out lol, luckily I could move it enough and got the headers out. Pics in the sig.

 

I had thoughts about it being A/C last night, but it was late and I figured I was out of it. Good luck to both of ya.

-Dustin-

 

I called and got what I needed. Thanks for your help.

 

Because:
1) It costs a lot more money for new plugs and the OVC kit (at least $120)
2) It takes a lot more work and time to remove the plugs and route the wires.

I checked the gap on all 3 plugs that I removed. They were all still perfect and they still had the platinum pucks and tips. I was amazed at how nice my plugs were for being 64k miles old.

The stock wire routing works very well, so why mess with it. I havent' had any problems with wires or plugs so I didn't want to fix something that wasn't broken.

If I was having problems with my ignition system I would have changed the plugs for sure, and probably the wires too.

Dan

 

Sorry about that. I guess I didn't look close enough. If I would have seen that fitting that is in the new picture, I would have known right away that it was an AC line. I'm guessing you'll need a recharge though.

Glad you were able plug it back up and get the headers out. I wonder if it was bent already because it wasn't in the way of my headers at all. Weird.

Dan

 

Just my opinion Dan.I would have put new plugs in while you were there.A little PM goes a long ways.

 

I agree with changing plugs with changing headers, but with the plugs access on the MACs, it almost doesnt matter anyways. I just got done changing mine with the stock manifolds and I wanted to do headers then just to make it easier.

-Dustin-

 

I understand where you guys are coming from, and appreciate the concern, but there has been no indication whatsoever to make me change my plugs. I have tracked my gas milage since I bought it new in '97. It has not gone down recently, and the plugs looked great. The car runs SMOOTH.

I trapped 98 mph in the 1/4 on a 86 degree day with 80 percent humidity full weight with CAI only, plus stereo equipment, so I know my power is not down. That was this past fall about 1000 miles ago.

Don't worry. Plugs and wires are in the fairly near future, but now right now.

Plus, after looking at the plug access with the headers on, it's only going to take about 45 minutes to change them if I want to. I'll just put it on the lift and swap them out.

Another reason for not changing them is so that I can feel what the headers and catback alone gained me. If I did the plugs and wires too, I wouldn't know if I gained something from them too.

Dan

 

stereoman. what did you do for the rear o2s? im getting headers soon and will be going through the same stuff. i think iim going with sims, but what do the rear sensors check for? i heard if they are disconnected the car goes into limp mode. the sims prevent this?

 

thanks for the info, and be sure to let us know how you made out with them and your gains I can't wait to get mine on but with the crazy weather here in PA I don't think my fbird will be moving for some time

 

I'm not sure yet. I'm going to leave them disconnected at first. I'll get an SES light, but it won't affect performance.

I'm debating O2 sims, or getting the PCM tuned to remove them.

Dan

 

Another note. I think I need an O2 extension for the driver side O2. I went from my dual CAT manifolds to single CAT MAC's and I think the O2 is relocated too far away now on the driver side. I just ordered a 12" extension on www.ls1speed.com

Dan

 

Well, the install is complete. (mostly) I still need to connect one front O2 since I am waiting on the O2 extension.

I fired it up. All I can say is WOW!!!! The MAC's with the Hooker catback is amazing. Quiet with a deep rumble at idle. As soon as it's off idle, it has a beautiful deep, deep throaty sound. NO raspyness at all. I do have a high flow cat in the system, so that may help. I didn't drive it yet. I can't wait though. I can tell already that I'm going to love it.

No leaks. Cool! That's with the gaskets and bolts that came with the MACs. I'll retorque the header bolts tomorrow and hopefully the headers will stay leak free.

The wires look great in the stock location.

 

Why didnt you just get an offroad pipe? and the stock cat could be cut off the y pipe and that starter tube you had welded on to it..

 

It's because I have a '97 with dual cats. I converted to the single cat style headers.

I wanted a highflow cat, not a stock cat.

Hope that anwsers your q's.

Dan