what's up with these headers?

Sean Comerford · #1 (**permalink**) 09-20-2003, 08:21 PM

I gotta say I'm more than a little aggravated at the quality of the headers I received with my Backdraft. They didn't line up with my heads, bolt holes up against the pipes, welds protuding into the bolt holes. The side pipes come with tabs to safety wire them to the headers but the headers don't have any tabs. These things are nearly impossible to install with common tools. I actually had to cut one header in half to get the holes to line up with my stock heads. Some of the pipes wrap around the top of the bolt hole. I had to do some major fabricating to make a bolt that would work in those spots. I expected better than this.

brainbugnj · #2 (**permalink**) 09-22-2003, 05:01 PM

Folks- I just put a down payment on my backdraft... have all of the owners with self installed Drive trains had to go through this? There was a couple of you on this forum, no one has feedback?

Sean Comerford · #3 (**permalink**) 09-22-2003, 05:52 PM

I talked to Reg at Backdraft today. He is aware of the problem and has taken some measures on the new cars to make the headers a little more shade tree mechanic friendly. He is having the factory rework the flanges so the holes will align and the welds are now on the inside of the pipe so they won't protrude into the bolt holes. Should make a world of difference. I'ld be interested to know what you think when you install the new headers. By the way, Reg sounds like a stand up guy to me. I was a lot happier after talking to him.

brainbugnj · #4 (**permalink**) 09-22-2003, 06:05 PM

Did anyone else have these issues?
Harley I know you were installing too... how did it go?

Boudy · #5 (**permalink**) 09-23-2003, 07:26 AM

Good morning guys. Sean, you are correct. Reg is on top of problems that arise from time to time. He completes cars just like we do so he runs into some of the same things. That's why by the time he gets asked about it, there's a fix in progress.

If any of you guys still have some of the old headers, there are a few of them where the holes don't line up exactly. The problem is not that the plate was cut wrong, it's that it didn't stay true during welding. You'll be able to install 6 or 7 bolts on each side. When we run across these, take a drill bit that's the same size as the hole and egg it side to side just a little. It takes less than 1/32 to make it work. If you are uncomfortable doing it, I'll do it for you.

Boudy

Sean Comerford · #6 (**permalink**) 09-23-2003, 08:28 AM

Boudy's right about opening the hole up a little. I found that cutting the header in half fixed the alignment problem. They're on now so next I'm hanging the side pipes.

brainbugnj · #7 (**permalink**) 09-23-2003, 09:07 AM

Boudy - doesn't sound that bad too me.. normal fit at times with parts...... I know folks were going back and forth on whether to use the front or rear holes for engine mounting, one person said one, one person said the other, is there a right set of holes, or is each one different?

Thanks for your info, Steve.

Boudy · #8 (**permalink**) 09-23-2003, 09:54 AM

Steve: There's three sets of holes and you can only use the rear. You'll notice that if you try to use the forward holes, the pulley will hit the cross member. The motor won't drop into place until you're far enough back. The front 2 holes are for different motor mounts that go with Chevy crap. (opps, did I say that?)

Boudy

Check out this pic. If you use the rear holes, you front pulley will be 1 inch of that cross member.

Gatorac · #9 (**permalink**) 10-24-2004, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boudy

Steve: There's three sets of holes and you can only use the rear. You'll notice that if you try to use the forward holes, the pulley will hit the cross member. The motor won't drop into place until you're far enough back. The front 2 holes are for different motor mounts that go with Chevy crap. (opps, did I say that?)

Boudy

Check out this pic. If you use the rear holes, you front pulley will be 1 inch of that cross member.

Didn't anyone think this little bit of info would have been usefull to put in the manual??

Nor Cal Al · #10 (**permalink**) 10-25-2004, 07:29 PM

Regarding your header issue, mine came in 2 pieces per side and I was warned by my dealer that I would have to prefit them. I used cheap bolts from Kragen to do the fit up and had to use my Dremel to clean up the hole and the adjoining weld. Carefull not to penetrate the pipe. Got nice 12-point bolts (1 inch) from Summit to complete the job. Did have to leave off the washers though.

I also took my headers and sidepipes to a muffler shop and had them prefit (open up the header pipe to a close fit). He did make one too tight though. Had problems installing the one with the tight fit but the other side went on very easily once I got all four pipes in at the same time (like patting you head and rubbing your stomach at the same time). Purchased exhaust springs from a motorcycle shop to hold pipes on (about 3 inches long). Springs are used for off-road bikes.