LT1 Header install
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Teching In
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LT1 Header install My buddy has a 94 Trans Am and is putting headers on this weekend. He is attempting to do it in his garage to save the cost of labor. I'm just looking for some pointers or suggestions that might help us along. I'm well aware at how pain-stakingly long this will take, just hoping someone can share some knowledge. Thanks!
Sam
Sam
Well if i remember the best tip i got when i did mine was to pull the pass. side motor mount bolt,remove valve cover,alt. , and starter and you have to shift the engine over to the drivers side to get the pass. side header to slip in from the top.The driver side header should be a 2 piece and can go in from the bottom .You find that you have to disconnect the steering shaft.But have fun gettin that manifolds of though.
Good luck
Good luck
it's actually not as bad as people make it out to be sometimes, just when they run into problems. my suggestion is to put both of them in from the bottom. you'll need a couple blocks of wood to put on the jack to get it up high enough, but after that, it's cake. provided you've already removed everything (the longest part of the job) it's not all that bad.
what type of headers are they? hooker, pacesetter? that makes a difference where as some of the headers actually go in from the top.
what type of headers are they? hooker, pacesetter? that makes a difference where as some of the headers actually go in from the top.
a small ratchet wrench on the header bolts will do wonderful, because you dont have that much room to turn a wrench back and forth. make sure you have plenty of light, gojo, and beer. 
im doing it this weekend.. I wish I could get beer. haha... other than that, im doing pacesetter LTs. I want to do it myself but im not sure that I can do it all by myself. well me and my friend. I know about cars, I just dont want to **** anything up. Ya know.
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I'm gonna be doing this in the next few months as well. Gonna have to risk driving with an open Y-pipe about 20 miles to my exhaust guy... but other than that it should be an adventerous task! Are you going with a Y-pipe setup, or true duals? And are you putting cat(s) back in?
I got pulled over my first night after putting on the LT's.. had open Y pipe, didn't have time to put the Muffler on it. I told the Cop that the Muffler shop wasn't open, and he let me off with a warning. I had the muffler in back of the car. 
Thread Starter
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Thanks for all the advice. He ordered Pacesetter longtubes and Pacesetter Y. Then he's going to have to get a piece of pipe cut to go where the cat was. I had a 01' WS-6 that we put headers on, but we had a shop to do it in and it was still tough. He's planning on removing everything Saturday then puttin everything back on Sunday. What does he need to remove to make it the easiest?
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Originally Posted by Ralls
As long as you got the right tools, you'll be okay. If I had to do it again, I would definitely use ratcheting wrenches with the 180* rotation.
You guys have almost identical cars...about how long did the whole thing take you..and do have any more tips/advice?
Originally Posted by 2Fowty
You guys have almost identical cars...about how long did the whole thing take you..and do have any more tips/advice?
It will have the instuctions. I think I remember it saying to remove the waterpump and drain coolant. Do NOT do this, completely unnecessary..... I think it did anyways. You might not need to remove the alternator either, but you have to take off the bracket cause it's connected to one of the header bolts. Starter comes out. Unlink steering shaft. Yeh pretty much
the reason for draining the coolant is to remove the ect sensor on the left head. you dont have to take this out but be careful. they snap very easily. i broke one when i put my kooks in and again when i put my heads on. you also might not need to unhook the steering. i know i was able to slide right past it. oh yeah, if you arent gonna reuse or keep the stock exhaust dont be afraid to cut it. can save a bunch of time over trying to free rusty bolts.
Originally Posted by FlamingChicken
the reason for draining the coolant is to remove the ect sensor on the left head. you dont have to take this out but be careful. they snap very easily. i broke one when i put my kooks in and again when i put my heads on. you also might not need to unhook the steering. i know i was able to slide right past it. oh yeah, if you arent gonna reuse or keep the stock exhaust dont be afraid to cut it. can save a bunch of time over trying to free rusty bolts.
So as you can see, not everything needs to be removed. Just take off whatever is in the way. Don't make more work than you have to.
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Well, he soaked the manifold bolts with pb blaster a couple times two nights before the install day....and the bolts still wouldn't budge, we obviously dont want the bolts to snap. Any suggestions???