That sounds pretty rough, the right tools and working conditions make all the difference. I was able to do mine on the ground, but I have every wrench, socket, etc. known to man. Be sure not to strip the manifold to y-pipe nuts with that adjustable wrench, or you'll end up needing to cut them off with an air chisel. I didn't need to remove my cross member to get the y-pipe out, so hopefully you won't. Good luck, hope you get it running before you have to go to work on Monday.

 

Hey Bud, thanks. I'm gonna be needing to ask you a lot of questions today!

Getting the nuts off isn't the issue really. I have 5/6 off. When we did the 6.0 swap the guys did the hard part in getting the collector nuts off. THAT was a BITCH. Eventually they had to grind them off. Anyways, I'm gonna hitup walmart and get me a tool set. I literally have just a makeshift pile of sockets, metric and standard.

I also have the 3 ton jack and jackstands I bought but I haven't had to use them yet.

I also forgot, I broke off the clip holding up the wire connector for the front 02 sensor on the driver's side. It's the piece that attaches to the 3 skinny pipes running down that side. I'm hoping i can replace that but it doesn't look like it's too big of a deal.

Again, I'm a TOTAL newb to working on cars, so basically I'm just doing everything based on what I've read on here. This shouldn't be that hard though lol

 

Take your time and feel free to ask any questions that you might have. Installing headers and y-pipe is pretty straight forward, you just need a little finesse slipping them in, and having the right tools is a must.

Good luck and have fun!!

-Billy

 

holy ****, I'm exhausted. It took me 6 hours to get the stock exhaust off and tape everything off. I really thought I was SCREWED as the Y pipe would not come off. I was ready to bolt everything up and take it to a shop as I believed the X-member had to be dropped. Not matter what I tried, it would not come out. Finally I threw a HAIL MARY and took out the heat shield for the exhaust. WALAA! It came out. Oh yeah, I had the truck jacked up to the max the jack would allow me too. Tomorrow I will install the headers. I'm just praying that the primaries do not hit up against the frame. I also have a problem removing the EGR. I only have deep socket 15mm and cannot remove the EGR bracket because my socket/wrench wont fit due to the water pump pulley. For the time being can I run my engine with the EGR pipe hooked up to the intake manifold while the pipe connecting to the exhaust manifold is unhooked or will I have a huge vacuum leak? My EGR is deleted in the tune BTW. Sorry if I sound so happy, Im a newb to working on cars so this is a mental victory for me getting this far.

I really really think these headers are going to make huge gains on my 6.0. The stock exhaust is so shitty.

 

 

Haha sounds like you have had fun! That sound like most of my time under my vehicles. I usually just have to step away, calm down and think about it, then i figure it out.

I started out the same, not many tools, little experience but alot of help from ls1 tech. I prefer dong work on my own even though it is always difficult its worth not paying someone else to do it.

Good luck tomorrow and keep us updated!

 

You will appreciate it much more doing it yourself. I commend you on doing it yourself. You did the hard part, now get it back together.

 

Does anyone know if I can remove my block heater wire? I'm never going to use that thing so I'd like to get that wire out of there. You can see it in the second picture.

I'll also be changing out my spark plugs for TR55's. Should I put them in before or after I install the headers?

 

Replied to your PM, hope the info helps Definitely put the plugs in AFTER the headers, so you don't break one of the plugs while sliding the headers in. I always remove all of the spark plugs any time I do a header swap, even if I'm re-using the spark plugs. The porcelain cracks way too easily.

That thing in the pic is a block heater huh? Guess that I've never seen one...looks kinda like an O2 sensor sort of deal from the pic. Does it screw in? If so, I'd just snip the wires if you're not planning to remove and sell it. If it's bolted to the side of the block and doesn't go into the block, you're golden

You should start a "Donations Welcome" thread to get yourself a good tool kit lol

 

Well guys, I went out at 10 am and it now 5:15 I just walked back in, no breaks.

Good news = It runs

Bad news = I got leaks everywhere My passenger side header is in perfectly. All bolts in good and no wires touching. The drivers side is an absolute mess. First off, I couldn't get anything around my rear bolt. I guess I needed a box wrench for that which I don't have. I currently only have 3 bolts holding the driver's header in: the front bolt and the 2 center bolts. I believe I crossthreaded the 2nd bolt hole from the front. The bolt was offering a lot of resistence and stupidly I kept wrenching it. Am I screwed or should I just screw it in anyways?

I put in the PCM Wheatley tuned for me and I am getting an SES light with the key in the on position but the engine off. I do not have an SES light with the engine on. What's up with that??

Also, I'm spitting a lot of water (clear) out of my tailpipe and my leaky spots. Is this normal for an exhaust with no cats???