NEW HEADERS/OEM MANIFOLD REMOVAL

fbuhler · Jun 5, 2003

I JUST RECIEVED MY JBA HEADERS YESTERDAY. I STARTED LOOKING AT THE MANIFOLD AND TRIED TO TAKE OFF BUT WITH NO LUCK.

IS THEIR SOME SORT OF TRICK TO IT?

BOLTS ARE SO TIGHT I DON'T WANT TO BREAK THEM

WHAT DO I DO?

LOTS OF PEOPLE HERE HAVE NEW HEADERS, SO I AM LOOKING FOR HELP. ANY INFORMATION IS GREAT THANKS,
FAVER BUHER

kwinsor · Jun 5, 2003

They are tighter than a bull's @$$ but they do come out. They'll fight you every turn until the last thread is out. The head pipe connection is tight as well. I had a universal joint on my ratchet. Shattered it trying to get the bolts loose under the truck.

The manifold bolts have some kind of Loctite on them.

kw

avalanche_crazy · Jun 6, 2003

No worries, they will come out , and their tinsil strength is so high it would be near impossible to break them.

02-Z66 · Jun 6, 2003

avalanche_crazy said:
No worries, they will come out , and their tinsil strength is so high it would be near impossible to break them.

i agree. also you may want the engine to cool completely off. get a can of PB penetrating catalyst from your auto part store. it will be in the same section brake cleaner and carb cleaner is in. it eats through all oxidation and penetrates into the threaded area making easier to turn the bolts.
if you were to put this product in a styrofone cup it would eat right through it. just to give you an idea of it's penetrating power. i always use it first on anything i think may have not been removed before on a car. or if it looks like it may be rusted in place. good luck.

fbuhler · Jun 6, 2003

THANKS, NOW THIS MIGHT CROSS THE LINE BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CONVERTER? WHAT IF I LEAVE THE O2 SENSOR BUT CUT OUT THE CONVERTER?

WILL THIS INCREASE OR DECREASE PERFORMANCE?

02-Z66 · Jun 6, 2003

have not looked, but i think there is an O2 sensor before and after the cat converter. by eliminating the converter th O2 sensor will not get the proper info and will go crazy. thus, resulting in poor performance. not to mention the check engine light that will occur. there was a post that gave a link to a manufacturer that made O2 sensors that would spoof the computer into thinking everyting was okay in this type of situation.
secondly, if you live in a state that does emissions testing your truck will surely fail. because it is a late-model computer controlled vehicle it must have a cat converter installed to control emissions. hope this answered your question.

metalguru · Jun 7, 2003

There is an awful lot of rubbish talked about catalysts and the dire consequences of their removal. There is no question that less back pressure = more power and the catalysts represent a far bigger pressure drop than the OEM muffler.

Take em out, leave in the front O2 sensor (cos the engine needs that one), get a O2 simulator (Thunder Racing do them) for the rear one just to stop the spurious fault warnings and enjoy probably about another 10% power.

I am just about to do all of that, have done it before with my previous silverado, but dont blame me if you get a ticket for having faulty emmission control equipment. . .that's your look-out!

One final word: the extra power will be mostly top end and you will lose some bottom end torque but a Supertrapp silencer will let you tune it either way once the cat is gone. Oh, and it will be NOISIER!

fbuhler · Jun 14, 2003

metalguru said:
There is an awful lot of rubbish talked about catalysts and the dire consequences of their removal. There is no question that less back pressure = more power and the catalysts represent a far bigger pressure drop than the OEM muffler.

Take em out, leave in the front O2 sensor (cos the engine needs that one), get a O2 simulator (Thunder Racing do them) for the rear one just to stop the spurious fault warnings and enjoy probably about another 10% power.

I am just about to do all of that, have done it before with my previous silverado, but dont blame me if you get a ticket for having faulty emmission control equipment. . .that's your look-out!

One final word: the extra power will be mostly top end and you will lose some bottom end torque but a Supertrapp silencer will let you tune it either way once the cat is gone. Oh, and it will be NOISIER!

well i left the cat in place but removed the rest of the muffler from 6or 10 in back. the sound is ggrreat! step on it soft and it is not too loud but stand on it and hear it ROAR! >:D

i like the new sound.

well what do you think about that? will it pass emmission tests?

could i get a ticket for beeing too loud?

thanks,
Faver Buhler

kwinsor · Jun 15, 2003

will it pass emmission tests?

I can't think of a reason why having no muffler will have an effect on emmissions.

If the exhaust note is a little harsh try a magnaflow 589 straight through muffler. Sound is great, good and loud, but not raspy.

kw