Kuma

Hi guys,

Recently I went over to the LT4 conversion (see below), but we mistakenly used the gaskets that came with the conversion to mate up to the SLP headers rather than ordering the right gaskets from SLP. So I've been having an exhaust leak around them. Anyone ever had this problem? Does it reduce performance? Seems like it plus it smells bad.

Anyway, I'm going to try to put the right gaskets in on the driver's side and spent the better part of the morning trying to get the stupid bolts off. Got all but the fourth one in, which I've been slowly working out with some needle nose vice grips. Did the SLP engineers not realize that there is no way to fit even a tiny 10mm box end wrench between the bolt and the header at the curve? It's friggin retarded and my wrench got stuck several times, one time I was wondering if I would ever get it off.

madwolf

I just used a box end wrench cut in half on my hooker LT install.
Worked like a charm. (well, sort of )

BigJustinZ28

I think slp sells a tool for em , just be gentle with them !!! use pblaster or wd40 or something to losen them if you have too. Dont break them off, my car is in the shop for 2 broken header bolts as we speak and it is not cheap if you cant get the heads out yourself easily.

Dave C. '97 Z28

If you have leaks then your oxygen sensors could show a false lean condition which will cause your car to run rich.

-Dave C. '97 Z28

Kuma

That almost seems like it might be the problem. Mileage is okay with the below mods but it does smell like fuel and I could swear it is not performing like it should. Plus my gtech only shows something like 319 hp and that was my best run; another showed 305 and one 288

The box wrench suggestion...hmmm, just might try that. I looked all through Sears for an open end 12-point styel wrench but no dice, and the ring is too thick to fit in there.

KenP

You can also try grinding down the metal around the boxed end of the wrench to make the clearance you need. I did this and it worked perfect.

Kuma

What do you use for that, a dremel or die grinder w/ cartridge roll?

Josh'95Z28conv

I had that problem too. You need to buy allen head bolts, and 3/8 hex head bolts. Some here, some there. I have no problems at all tightening or loosening them now...

96z

Go to sears and buy the 12 point offset wrench. It has a 10mm end and a 11mm end. The edge of the wrench is extremely thin...somthing like this -> ll which gives enough room to really wench them down.

polcat1p

I bought some s.s allen head bolts from home depot for my slp headers. They worked great.

JordonMusser

I use 5/16th headed header bolts.. they work greeeattt

Cman

First of all which SLP header do you have? If you have the d/c version you should have no problems reaching all the header bolts on the driver's side, they are easily accessible. If they are the single cat version it may be easier to get at some of them from below but I'm just speculating here since I don't have the single cat version.

2nd: most header bolts for our cars are 3/8" bolt head, either 6 point or 12 point. A 10mm wrench may work but it's going to be tight. You should use a 3/8" wrench to loosen or tighten your header bolts instead of the metric wrench. If space is a consideration you could buy ARP header bolts with a 5/16" wrench head which work great in tight spaces.

A good quality tool can make or break a job you're doing. A wrench to tighten or loosen header bolts would be a popular tool to have around. You should maybe consider spending a bit of money and getting a nice snap-on wrench in the size you need to make the job just a little bit easier.

Kuma

Hi,
I've got the DC ones. It's not that they are hard to reach, it is that they are hard to turn b/c of where the tubing bendings at the manifold.

These are all great suggestions guys!

Yesterday I finally managed to get all but 1 of them cinched down, as it fell down somewhere that I can't see. However now I'm finding that the ones under the cowl (closest to the driver's seat) are impossible because the headers moved down about 1/4" at that point! I recall someone saying something about jacking the Y-pipe up?

Cman

ok, I want to make sure of something. You are trying to tighten the header bolts that bolt the header to the head right? Are you using the bolts from the install kit from SLP? They are a 12 point header bolt with a 3/8" wrench head. Even if you are using different bolts and they are a 3/8" wrench head you should have no problem getting a wrench on them and turning them on the driver's side. How long is the handle of the wrench you are using? You might want to get a wrench with a longer handle to give you more turning torque.

"Yesterday I finally managed to get all but 1 of them cinched down, as it fell down somewhere that I can't see. However now I'm finding that the ones under the cowl (closest to the driver's seat) are impossible because the headers moved down about 1/4" at that point! I recall someone saying something about jacking the Y-pipe up?"

I don't see how the header has moved down 1/4" if you have all the bolts in place except for one. Is the driver's side cat still bolted to the collector of the header? You should unbolt that cat and at least loosen the pass. side y-pipe to the pass. header and get the driver's side header bolted in place properly after you change the header gskt. It sounds to me like you're trying to change out the header gskt by just unbolting the header bolts and trying to slip out the old gskt and replacing it with the new one while the rest of the system is still bolted to the header. bad idea.