Ok, so I have had my headers on my car for over a year now. I was checking into a issue that I thought I had regaurding a bad lifter because of the sound. However upon inspection I noticed that 2 bolts had come loose and were causing an exhaust leak at the heads. So I am pretty sure thats the sound I was hearing. So I was able to tighten the last header bolt on the passenger side towards the firewall, however the other bolt towards the front of the car on the same cylinder/exhaust port I cannot get bolted in there. The bolt head hits the primary header and it doesnt have the right angle to thread in the hole properly... I have tried a swivel, allen key, open end wrench etc... The primary header was bent in a little in order to allow the head of the bolt to fit in at one time. So my question is this...

Can I cut the 1" bolt down to like 3/4" and round the head out enough with a dremel and try and get the bolt pass the header and tighten it down enough with just an allen key? Or will I have to loosen all the header bolts and possibly move the header and start with the problem bolt first? I really would prefer not to do this due to the fact that the first bolt towards the front of the car is a PITA to get to now that the car has everything tightened down and has been functional for over a year. I think it would require removing the alternator and who knows what else.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

im confused.. the bolts still partially threaded in right?

 

I have all the bolts threaded in but one. The one on the number eight primary? Its the last exhaust port on the passenger side towards the firewall. There are two bolts that hold it in. One towards the firewall and one that is towards the front of the car. I am having trouble getting the bolt that is towards the front of the car on that exhaust port into the hole because the header is in the way. Basically the header primary is making it so the bolt wants to go in at an angle because the header primary is in the way. If the header wasnt shaped the way it was it wouldnt be in the way and the bolt would go straight in.. I hope you can understand now. basically I need to figure out a way to get that bolt into its correct hole without killing my knuckles.

 

Yeah, i ran into a similar problem when installing my pacesetters. You gotta tackle a bolt like that first. Maybe try loosening up the other bolts so u can pull the header away from the head a little bit, and see if that will allow you to get it in. Are you replacing the gasket, or just tryin to get the bolts back in and hope it seals up?

 

just trying to get the bolts back in and hope it seals. The gasket still looks new. It only has maybe 2k miles on it.

 

Why don't you buy an allen head 3/8-16 bolt and try that. You should be able to find them at most hardware or auto parts stores. I would try to put a washer under the allen head too, in order to make sure it makes full contact on the header flange.

Chris

 

If you loosen all of the bolts about 3/4 of the way off, you should be able to get bolt started. By loosening the others you can pull the header out and give yourself more clearance.

 

its probably best to just put a new gasket while your there. it seems as if you have to loosen the other bolts to get that one to fit, so once u loosen all of them you will have to replace the gasket i think. O yeah but you dont want to pull the altenator yet... try loosening all the bolts then get that other one started. torque em all up and see if it still seals. If not, its time for a new gasket.

 

Ok, I was able to get the last bolt tightened down, however I dont feel like there is enough room with these headers to tighten them down correctly. I had to use a combination of tools. Allen key on a socket, 7/16" open end wrench a few swivels and a combination of extensions. Lets just say I am really sore.

Hopefully it is tightened up enough where it wont come loose.

I will put the rest of the car back together and see if the noise goes away.