cyberkill

I thought I was prepared reading the "Best MM writeup ever" and a picture writeup of Mac headers install, but maybe this is too much for my first install. I'm 6 hours in and in bad shape.

In the MM writeup, it says to move the Alternator forward and disconnect the weatherpack connector (because it's easy to rip the wire). I've unbolted the circled bolts in the below 2 pics. That last one you see a blue arrow pointing to a bolt that's not visible in the pic. I haven't unbolted that one yet because it's really hard to get to, if even possible. Do I need to get that? The Alternator moves around, but I cannot find that Weatherpack to disconnect it!

Bottom of Alternator


Top of Alternator:




Next step in MM writeup, I need to unbolt the AC Condensor & bracket and have it rest on the sway bar. I've disconnected the 3 bolts up top, 2 bolts on the bottom, and this thing does not move at all! Even GMSPO Service Manual only shows 4 bolts. I did 5.


AC Top


AC Bottom



Lastly, I'm trying to remove rear O2 sensors (and eventually fronts too) to get my Exhaust manifold + Ypipe off. These do NOT budge! What am I doing wrong? I've already tried attaching a wrench and pounding on a hammer, but it doesn't move at all. PB Blaster'd it too (though later I read you shouldn't do PB Blaster on O2s?).

Justus67

iTrader: (3)

Did you try the O2 sensor tool? When I tried to remove my 02's the first time, they were reluctant to say the least. You just have to keep working at it. Sometimes you have to step away for a little while and come back to it. Just don't give up, call some friends over and get a bigger hammer!

cyberkill

Ok, going to get those now.

Anyone know about the AC Compressor and/or alternator?

kmracer

iTrader: (1)

you dont NEED to get the 02's out. just un plug them and drop the y pipe.

you might need a prybar to get that ac compressor off.

remove everything you can remove from the alt, and figure out what bolts are left. you dont HAVE to do everything in order. if you need to take the manifolds off to get yer head in there, do it.

Mumbles

iTrader: (5)

There is no need to remove the bolt that you have the socket on in this picture. The other two do need to be removed.

Yes, you need to remove the bolt you describe in this picture. (Not the one that is circled.) The simpliest way to reach this bolt is when you have the driverside exhaust manifold removed. Then you can use a long extension and socket to remove the bolt.

The electrical connection should be on the bottom, rear side of the alternator, near the previously mentioned bolt. Once you have it disconnected, you may have to pry the alternator out of the bracket and then allow it to rest on the sway bar. I couldn't manage to remove mine from the car completely, but on the sway bar is out of the way enough to get to the driverside motor mount bolt.

There are 4 15mm bolts holding the A/C Condensor to the bracket and 4 more 15mm bolts that hold the bracket to the block. 8 bolts total. The bracket takes a little fanagling to remove, but once its out of the way, you'll have room to get to the passenger motor mount.


Before you proceed any further with your motor mount install, you should get the Y-pipe and exhaust manifolds removed. Having the exhaust out of the way will provide more room to get the items that need to be removed as well as the mounts themselves.

As for the rear O2's, the advice provided in the previous post is dead on.

I hope this helps. Good luck with the rest of your install.

cyberkill

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help!

Well, after a grand total of 13 hours...I still haven't removed anything significant. A large chunk of time was due to not being able to get the Y-pipe to I-pipe clamp off, because the bolt and clamp were welded together! I had to go out and buy a dremel and a heavy duty cutting wheel to cut this clamp off. Is this normal?



Ok, more importantly, I can't get the exhaust manifold off (starting at driver's side). I removed the clamp from Y to I pipe & driver's cat to driver's side y clamp. I unbolted the 5 bolts circled here. The Mac header install guide said there were 6 bolts. Is that right? Can someone tell me where it is? I even tried jacking the cat up about an inch, and my buddy told me that it was tilting the whole engine. Also, the GMSPO Service manual says I need to open the valve covers -- is this right? And if i do, is there some gasket I need to replace? It also said to remove the cat from the manifold first. I figured I could just unbolt the manifold and I can just pull the whole manifold + cat assembly off, does that sound right?

The_Bishop

iTrader: (10)

In that last pic, it looks like there are two bolts still in that manifold; the one on the emissions fitting, and one towards the rear of it.

Justus67

iTrader: (3)

There are 2 in the center, looks like you can see it in the pic. It is slightly lower than the on you pulled out all ready.

+badss+

iTrader: (12)

have you used a prybar on it yet?

cyberkill

<ManiacalInsaneLaughter>HAHAHAHAHAHA</ManiacalInsaneLaughter>

Note to self: Working past 1AM is bad for your health, your car, and buys you no extra progress!

Thanks guys, the 6th bolt right in the middle there eluded us for 2 hours from 1 to 3 am. Drivers Manifold came right off! LOL! Athough, I can't wiggle it out, so it looks like I gotta unbolt the cat?

cyberkill

ok...cats out, i cant seem to get the drivers manifold out. im afraid of scraping the block. i toook out the far back drivers spark plug, but still not enough clearance. do you drop it or lift it out? I get really close to dropping it, but the front o2 sensor gets in the way. I don't think I have a real good position to get enough leverage to take it off, considering how stubborn the other one was. Am I safe to apply a ton of pressure to loosen the o2 or could i break something...or is there some way to take this out that i don't know yet?

I hear people saying they remove 2 bolts to remove the steering linkage, but can anyone tell me where they are?

smok'nZ

iTrader: (160)

my bolts were so rusted on my ta and my tahoe so i went to autozone bought a 3$ hand saw and cut that **** out both times me and a friend were done in about 5 hrs

i have seen a few other header install threads lately idk what the problem is lately i always thought the header install was the most basic thing to do first

kmracer

iTrader: (1)

remove all the plugs. before you put the LT's in, install new ones.

and dont be afraid to be a little forceful. be patient, and remember that cars are just a big giant puzzle. you've gotta figure out how the pieces come apart and go together.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

did not have to touch the A/C on my headers and MM install.......seems you are havin major problems

cyberkill

Hopefully I won't either. I now know why the alternator had to be moved (because the 18mm bolt out of the driver's MM needed room to be taken out), so I'm guessing the 18mm bolt on the passenger side has plenty of room without AC moving?

Lastly, now that I have a new Y pipe, is this piece (circled in red) necessary and is it simply removing that bolt (arrow pointing to it), taking it out, and rebolting?

kmracer

iTrader: (1)

the new Y will likely be hung off the existing 2 bolts on the right.

sxracerb25

iTrader: (6)

No it doesn't. What I did though was just unbolt the mount bracket that bolts to the crossmember and pull the whole thing towards the rear of the car until I could slide the bolt out. And when I put the bolts back in, I put them in from the back. Made it a lot easier lol

TooLateVTEC

iTrader: (2)

Youll have to look on your Y, but mine didnt bolt up to where the stock one did on that bracket. I also had to remove that rear "crossmember" looking piece that looked like it did nothing except for some unibody support and leave it off.

Mumbles

iTrader: (5)

Both manifolds, once all 6 bolts on each are removed , will drop out of the engine bay from the bottom.

What I would do, if the manifold can't be removed with the O2 in place, would be to reinstall the manifold on the head with 2-3 bolts, spray the hell outta the Sensor with some Panther ****, and then attempt to remove it from the manifold.

I've helped install three sets of LTs and we never once touched the steering shaft. I even had to drill out and re-thread a motor mount hole in the block of my buddy's Z28 when I twisted off one of the bolts and the steering shaft wasn't in the way. So I don't see why you should have to touch it, unless, of course, you can't get the LT into the engine bay any other way.

cyberkill

That's what did it (removed O2 sensors).

Well, got both manifolds out, cats, and Y. Had to pound the **** out of the Y pipe to get it out (after spraying a half can of PB Blaster)

Motor mount time! I already took the Driver side big bolt out and 1 of the smaller ones holding it to the block. The rest I PB'd overnight. I have 2 jackstands jacking just the front of the car up. The MM guide seemed to suggest removing both motor mounts while the engine is supported up by the jack. I have a Prolift jack (the ones with the wheels). If I were to remove both motor mounts, then the engine is solely sitting on the jack right? Is there a danger of the engine moving around too much while situated on a wheeled jack? Another question is, should I get another pair of jackstands to hold the back up too, so the car is essentially equally elevated?

Oh yeah, and comments talk about prying the engine to get the 2nd motor mount connected back to the engine. Where are you supposed to pry, since it's an aluminum block, wouldn't it damage the block?