Hey i didn't see anything like this that anyone had thrown together so i figured i would do it real quick. This Saturday i installed my hooker 6901's in my 72 comet w/ PS. In order to do the install i had to do the following: 0)You may or may not want to remove the hood. It makes it much much easier to move around and gives you way more light. 1)Remove air cleaner assembly 2)Remove the shock tower braces 3)Pull spark plug wires 4)Remove spark plugs(my not be needed but sure gives you some extra clearance) 5)Remove both exhaust manifolds, I found it easiest to remove the driver's side from the top and the passengers side from the bottom. 6)Make sure old gaskets are removed 7)I had the car jacked up about 18-24" and on jack stands 8)on the drivers side, under the car, unbolt the power steering assist ram 9)I had to disconnect my neutral safety switch from the trans and steering column 10)You should now be able to slide the drivers side header in from underneath the car 11)The way i made sure everything was lined up was i put the rear most bolt through the gasket and threaded it in a couple threads, then do the same for the front most bolt, this way you can check all of your clearances before tightening everything down. 12)The passenger side was a little more tricky for me. 13)Unbolt the two bolts going through the frame holding the steering bar on, on the passengers side.(again, this may not be necessary but it gave me much more clearance.) 14)Unbolt the 4 engine mount bolts, 2 on each side of the engine. 15)Using about 3 pieces of 2x4(i used 3 pieces of 2x8 for more stability), use a floor jack to jack the engine up, making sure to watch the fan shroud. I had to jack mine up about 6 inches. 16)Begin to wiggle the passenger side header into place. 17)About halfway through this, you will need to lower the engine back down slowly until you get the perfect alignment. 18)Use the same procedure for the passenger side as you did the drivers for bolting the header to the head. 19)Reconnect everything you disconnected and you should be done. Hope this clears up some confusion for everyone.
It is good that someone did the narrative for this. I thought I had and put it in my web page, but when I needed to remove one for a transmission swap I went back to my page and I found I had never posted it in there. Can I get your permission to cut and past this into my web site for future reference?
Oh, I reread it and found that you missed step 20...take headers back off and remove pinched wires and hoses that accidentally ended up between header flange and head...
Haha, ya me an d my buddy actually found a good way to go about this...and i forgot to add it, once we had the air cleaner assembly off, we zip tied all the hoses, wires, etc up and out of the way so that each side of the engine was completely clear of clutter.
I am adding it to my September 2005 page, when I first actually did the header install, then the index will point to it. I want to cite that you are the one who wrote it up, so if you want, PM me your "real" name, otherwise I will cite your forum name.
On mine I can get the passenger side in without disconnecting the motor mount bolts. I don't have PS but I do have to jack up the motor on the drivers side a couple of inches.
Good Post Im having this same problem and this just saved the rest of my hair on my head. I've ran across a few people that have had this same situation but had a hard time explainging it. Thanks again for the post.:Handshake
Lol we solved our header problem by removing the whole block first, but we're somewhat masochistic that way. Great write-up though, may come in handy when we need to do it next time, thanks!
MIne had to be jacked up on driver side and one of the idler arm bolts and passenger side had to be cut down. Also running a 86 block with AFR heads made it so I had to pound the hell out the drivers side header, mainly on primary tubes 5 and 8 by the shock tower and frame rail respectively. Now I have a problem with the pitman arm and idler arm hitting the headers on both sides. Its converted to manual steering, this may be the problem?? I guess I will notch the arms and pound the headers a bit more.
what about if im dropping my engine and trans in? should i put the headers on before i drop it inn?....... or wait till everyhing is in then trying to install headers also does anyone know how long and wide the bolts are to mount trans and engine together? guys at the parts store dont help much
you cant put the motor in with the headers on. you can set the headers in to the engine bay. i use bungie cords to hold them in place then drop the motor and trans in. you cant have the spark plugs in if you do it this way.
i belive the bell housing bolts are 3/8s course thread 1 1/2" long. im about 90% sure but double check. make sure you get grade 8 bolts. and it take 6 of them.
