**** headers, any advice?

[ATB88]

Decided to casually do headers tonight because a local warehouse had Megans in stock and how bad could it be? 6 hours later I have all 18 nuts out but feel like I'd rather push the car into the ocean than finish the job. This feels so much worse than the 6MT swap did.

I've gotten the bank 2 header loose, but can't pull it out because the bank 1 header's in the way, and can't seem to get the bank 1 header free from the block. Worried that a pry bar will marr the head where the headers are supposed to seal. Any good tricks here?

Also, I expect the answer is just patience and misery until it's done, but, any secrets that make accessing some of the harder nut positions easier for installation? Getting some of them out made me say some pretty terrible things. I'm already using a flex-head ratchet with extendable handle and a u-joint.

Will also be return the Megans if a local set of Euros is still available tomorrow. This job just doesn't feel worth cheaping out on, even if the Megans are probably the same performance-wise.

[Slideways]

Bring them both down and then remove the rear manifold first.

I'd avoid cheap headers and do the job once with the Euro set. I helped a friend uninstall a set of SGT headers after he had them a few months and there were exhaust leaks at the cylinder head. 2 or 3 of the flanges were not perfectly flat with the others, and we could see the black spots on the cylinder head and on the header flange where the exhaust gases had been leaking.

[DanAvoN7]

The factory headers shouldn't be stuck to the cylinder head and absolutely do not use a pry bar against the cylinder head. Make sure you have removed all 18 nuts and aren't accidentally forgetting one that may be hiding from you under an exhaust runner. If all of the nuts are removed it should slide off and if not it's just the gaskets sticking so a firm pull will pop it off. Even on east coast cars that I've installed headers on where all 18 nuts/studs were rusted together and came out as one the headers themselves would still come right off. Once removed slide both banks out together as a unit and it will clear the engine mount arm/chassis. Be sure to account for/remove all 6 of the old cylinder head to header gaskets as they either stick to the cylinder head, headers, or fall off.

Installation of Euro or aftermarket headers will be easier as you won't have the catalytic converters in the way which makes access to the header nuts more difficult.

[ejendow]

I remember it being tricky when pulling them out but it just required a little bit of finesse. As far as cheaper aftermarket headers go I highly do not recommend. I tried to fit a pair of ebay headers on and the fitment was so off that as I was tightening the connection from the headers to the sec. 1, the two O2 bungs were getting blocked by something and got ripped out. Took those out and installed a pair of evosport headers with much more ease.

[Tbonem3]

Evosport headers are cheap aftermarket copies of ss v1 (nonstepped) FYI.

[ejendow]

Evosport headers are cheap aftermarket copies of ss v1 (nonstepped) FYI.

haha well did not know that, thanks for the info! Either way they still fit better than the ebay ones I had previously