Having trouble installing headers

Do they go in from the top or the bottom ? I have found that the easiest way is to sit them in place as you lower the engine into the car. Too late for that now though Most headers I have used have to go in from the bottom on at least one side, if not both and you usually have to get the car up pretty high to do it.

Both sides will have to go in from the bottom, passenger side should slide in easily provided your car is raised, you will have to disconnect the motor mount and raise engine on drivers side, again while car is raised.

You're kidding about having to raise the engine right?

It was a royal pain in the ass just getting the engine in.

How far does the car need to be jacked up to do this? I had the car up to the point of where it was starting to rock on the jack (scary) and it still wasn't enough to get the headers up in there w/o scraping the pavement.

Also would it be better to install the starter before I install the right header? or should I wait until afterwards?

Been there. You WILL need to raise the drivers side of the engine, not that big a deal, and you might want to disconnect your steering column rag joint too. And I'd keep the starter off until you get the pass side in. My passenger side dropped in from the top no problem.

Can you just remove the bolt for the motor mount and lift the engine up with the right motor mount still attached? Or must both motor mounts be undone?

I'm also wondering on how high I need this thing jacked up. Seems like I'm going to need a lift to do this.

BTW I actually tried installing the pass side header from up above...not going to work.

raise the motor 2-3" with pass. motor mount bolt still in, just pull the center bolt out of the drivers side and jack it up, with a piece of wood between the jack and the pan preferably. I install the starter first, works fine with Dynomax headers.

Pull the starter. Slip the passenger header in from the top. Do not bolt in, but tie it off to the side. Then pull the rag joint apart, remove the driver side engine mount bolt, and jack the motor over as far as it will go. Slip the drivers side header in. Lower engine. Re-install starter. Bolt in both headers. Have fun.

Trying to get them in from underneath really doesn't happen without a lift of at least 30" . NOT RECOMENDED with floor jacks.

I had mine on jackstands for this, then lifted the dr side of the engine with a 1.5 ton bottle jack. The bottle jack was able to have a good lift point on the corner of the engine under the block. As stated above, you only have to remove dr side center bolt on mount.

DON'T GO UNDER THAT CAR WITH IT ROCKING ON A FLOOR JACK!!! It's a very unpleasant way to die. Get some good tall jack stands and even then you may have to put a couple of 2x12's under each stand. I found on my car, I had to have it about 24" off the ground. Headers went in from the bottom with little trouble. Didn't have to lift the motor, but I did take the steering shaft loose and pulled the starter. I would recommend changing to a mini-starter while you're at it. Makes the job much easier, plus it starts the car better. Good luck and try not to kill yourself. :thumbsup:

TJC said:

Pull the starter. Slip the passenger header in from the top. Do not bolt in, but tie it off to the side. Then pull the rag joint apart, remove the driver side engine mount bolt, and jack the motor over as far as it will go. Slip the drivers side header in. Lower engine. Re-install starter. Bolt in both headers. Have fun.

Trying to get them in from underneath really doesn't happen without a lift of at least 30" . NOT RECOMENDED with floor jacks.

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I agree, after I saw my car start moving it scared me to where I didn't want to even be near it.

I tried installing the pass side header from up above but the header seems to like to get caught between the engine block and the firewall.

If I just undid the driver side motor mount could I install the driver side from up above?

You should be able to get the passenger side in with the starter out. You will likely have to corkscrew it in.

when i put my headers in my 70 elky i put the car up on ramps, they went in from the bottom no problem. (flowtech ,ceramic coated 1 5/8, to 3in. collector)

I had to jack up the drivers side of the car really high until the header was almost vertical and then slid it in. But I din't disconnect the motor mount or the rag joint. A tall jack and good stands helps.

Dawg,

Best of luck getting those headers in. I too just put a 408 in the '70 Chevelle and I ended up dropping the headers in and wiring tieing them up before securing the engine. The next trouble you will have is tightening the header bolt near #8 cylinder. You will need a patient friend to help you with this task. My buddy would alight a boxed end wrench on the header bolt, I would turn the wrench 1/8 turn and he would then reach through the back two primary tubes to turn it an 1/8 of a turn, then remove the wrench and keep repeating the procedure. Once I got the headers in and I tried to put in my spark plugs, just to find out that I put the header gaskets in backwards, so I was fortunate enough to experience the whole deal again. Oh well, now I know.

I have installed the same Summit SUM-G9010 headers in my 70 SS454 with
no problems and have also installed plenty of the Dynomax coated (same headers) in many other big block Chevelles too
Passenger side went right in with no drama,driver side went right in with the motor lifted a few inches and the oil filter removed.

Mr 4 speed did you do yours from up above or from down below?

I have the oil filter off as well as the starter.

I tried putting the pass side on a few hours ago from up above but the bottom tube likes to hit the cross meember and one of the tubes likes to catch on the center part of the pass cyl head.

I put dynomax, same as the summits your installing, on my 70 402. Both from the bottom. Did not pull the starter and it's the large original type starter. Did not lift the motor and did not take the rag joint apart. Car must be very high as mentioned. Must remove oil filter. Wrapped the header in an old flannel blanket and wiggled and twisted and they went in. Didn't scratch the header or the frame. If you can't get the driver's side in pull the bolt out of the mount, jack the engine on that side and put a piece of wood in there to hold it up. Leave the other side bolted up. As I said though with enough height and a little wiggling mine went in. Oh, had to remove clutch linkage as well, that ones pretty obvious though.

Thank you all for the replies. I finally got them both in.

The pass side got stuck again as I attemped to put it in from the top...I managed to get it in by crawling up in the engine compartment and kicking it in using my size 10 inch boot ...it took a few good shoves but it finally went.

The driver side was a little different. I had a friend give me a hand on this one. What we did was jack the car up on the cross member using a floor jack and a 4X4 block of wood. Then we disconnected the steering shaft at both ends. When we went to re-install the steering shaft we unbolted the steering box and moved it down enough to get the bottom half of the steering shaft in, then we bolted the steering box back in place and reinstalled the steering shaft. All in all it came out pretty well.

most all is true,but,i put my hookers in w/o raising engine.remove starter,rag joint had to go in simultaneously.Have fun.