iight i have a 97 z28 and i just had maryland performance install mac headers with y-pipe and cats on it. as soon as i picked it up i noticed that the car's idol is alot rougher then it used to be. i was wondering if having headers on your car will make it idol rougher then before.....also the i got the "service engine soon" light the day after i picked it up....i had my brother put it on the computer and he said it gave him the code of 1153 which is the o2 sensor right before the cat on the right side of the engine....he said sometimes the coating on the inside of the headers sometimes has to burn off because they are new and that is probably why the sensor went off....then it came on again and he has reset it again....does anyone have any idea what the problem could be with the reason my car is idoling alot rougher and why that 1 o2 sensor keeps coming off.??? i might sound stupid when i ask this but im no expert....is it maybe that my idol or timing has to be adjusted because i added ram air to the car and now i did headers so does the car need to be reprogramed so that more fuel is added into the mix because i am now taking in and letting out more air then before.... please help me out if you can....anything helps......thanks guys

 

There is no reason adding headers, if done correctly, should cause a rough idle. It should idle just as smoothly as it did before the header install.

Rough idle could be caused by a bad plug wire, burned wire, cracked plug, adjacent plug wires arcing, etc. If there is a leak at any of the gaskets before the O2 sensor, it could throw off the A/F and possibly cause the engine to run rich, causing rough idle.

The P1153 code is for "slow switching" on the sensor. Most likely, the sensor was damaged or contaminated when the headers were installed, and needs to be replaced. Its possible heat might burn the contamination off, also.

 

You didn't mention if the O2 was new or old. If old, or if not OEM then replace it with genuine GM only. Be sure you don't have any fuel issues like checking fuel pressure and replacing the fuel filter that is more than 1 year old.

Also if you have a cotton filter that gets oiled, remember to clean your MAF more often with electric tuner cleaner spray available at Radio Shack.

Do that and clear the code and see if it returns.