LOL 99ta I think will keep them. I must recommend the FLPs though. But it seems like I am the only one that can screw up something simple so badly. 1badhd thanks so much for the reply. The starter does not move at all. The fuse blows the second I turn the key to run. It doesn't blow until I turn the key though. Does that sound right? I just found my Haynes book and in the wiring diagram the only thing between the relay and the starter is that orange 40 fuse that is blowing. I am guessing that when I was forcing it in, I might have bent the heat shield into the hot wire. The heat shield is also touching the header which is grounded to the engine causing the fuse to blow up. Or maybe I broke something inside the starter or would that affect the fuse? I am not wiring expert so correct me if I am wrong. I am thinking about removing the starter and letting it hang down away from all metal and see if it will turn. Would that be safe? Thanks guys. You don't know how much I appreciate it.

 

It definately sounds like you have a short somewhere around the starter. Get under the truck and see if anything is touching the wires on the starter. If you take the fenderwell cover out you could probably see also. It's got to be a short if it's blowing a 40 amp fuse. Maybe you scraped some insulation off a wire and it's hitting somewhere.

I don't know if you want to hit the key with the starter unsecured. It's a high torque motor and will probably spin and bounce all over the place when you hit it. IF it doesn't blow the fuse again. :p

This is a lesson to never install headers by "kicking the **** out of it"

 

Yes guys it was the power wire going to the starter. The header had pushed the heat shield against where the terminal connected to the wire causing a tiny hole in the insulation that was grounding. I dropped the starter, loosened the nut, taped up the wire, and tightened the wire back after rotating it out of the way. However the header still hits the heat shield and the transmission lines and my f#*&*& dipstick tube broke in 2 places and the dealer will probably charge 100 dollars for it or something. Anybody have an extra dipstick tube? Anyway thanks for the encouraging replies. Oh yeah did I mention it sounds MEAN with straight headers!!! I might get the muffler hacked off while I'm at the muffler shop if the dipstick tube doesn't set me back too much.

 

Just now read this...glad to hear you got things worked out. I would agree with XLR8NSS don't kick headers into place bro. I just took off my heat shield, and I cut the stud on the firewall that held the shield in place off. Those heat shields honestly do nothing. The engine area looks better without them, and you loose weight by taking them off. The drivers side header I installed going under the truck up towards the engine (a buddy was there to help guide it up so nothing scratched) The passenger side header I installed from the top of the truck. I just took off the heat shield and it was even easier than the drivers side header allignment.

PS How scratched up is that header now

 

Oh yeah, just so I don't sound like you made a simple job difficult...no two headers are going to be exactly alike. It could just be that quarter inch of a bend that sticks out that makes the install a nightmare. Mine just happened to be easy.
I also have some tools (no parts) that have been KIA because of frustrations like that. One thing that comes to mind was the destruction of a coil spring compressor after it failed and the coil spring exploded and knocked my shoulder out of socket. It hurt! Thank God it did not pop my head right off. Needles to say, that piece of $h!t compressor was pounded into little metal parts with a ten pound sledge hammer later.

 

My ASM's were an absolute BITCH to install-it took hours and hours to get the pass. side on. Ended up pulling the blower and it still was not easy. And now my motor is apart so I get to reinstall the dam things!

 

sorry to hear about your troubles, i wouldn't bet that the FLP's are much easier to install, i has more to do with your patience than anything else.

i drove my truck to the exhaust place with open headers and by the time i got there it would barely run, the 02's are too close the the end of the header to run them open i think. it sure did sound mean though.

 

Cash - Now that I have a relatively quiet exhaust I will never go back to a loud setup. I guarantee if you take the mufflers off it'll drive you INSANE in a short time frame.

Jim - The FLP's literally slide right in with hardly any effort. The drivers side goes in just like it hooks to the motor. To get the passenger side in you set the header under the truck like it will attach to the head and then rotate the collector towards the center of the truck just about ~15-20 degrees. Then it just slips into place. I'm not kidding about them going in easy. I slid the headers in place by myself in a matter of minutes. The dipstick tube went right back in also with the FLP's. I just reached in there and seated it with my hand...what's all the fuss about the dipstick tube?

I also slid the AS&M's that I have in to make sure they fit. The drivers side went right in no problem. I gave up trying to get the passenger side in though. It looked like a tight fit and I didn't feel like messing with it.

Patience is a good thing though when installing any set of headers.

John

PS - Glad you found the problem and everything is working out.

 

Cash, sorry to hear about all your troubles. It sounds like that passenger side was a major PITA!
I gotta tell ya though .. the TOG headers weren't near that difficult. From the sounds of it, not as easy going as the FLP, but not bad at all. The dip stick tube wouldn't fit on there correctly after the header install due to the large flanges.

I ran open headers for the weekend and didn't notice any performance hinderance, if anything it ran better from the free flowing 'exhaust'. It was loud as hell too.

 

Hey guys just got back from the muffler shop. It took me and this other guy about 3 hours which included a 1 hour lunch break to get it together. It was worth saving 800 dollars over the FLPs but I am sore as hell now. First the guy said there was no way in hell the cats would work, but I said before we just take them off to cut it as close to the weld as possible and it barely worked. We ended up having to shorten the cat back about an inch because it was hitting the spare tire. And we had to smash a small dent in where the pipe goes up over the cross member because it was hitting. Man the 2 top bolts were hard to get in. Also I am not sure about how to weld the flanges to the cats, but he did it from the inside, and then grinded it smooth. Once we got the passenger side loosely installed, we had to pry the driver side over about 3 inches to get the bolts in. Oh yeah, no muffler anymore but it isn't much louder than before though. It was running like **** for about 5 minutes, but it smoothed out and the MIL light went off. I didn't notice SOTP difference, but it was 100 degrees out so that might be why. I am glad I got them though. And for anyone interested, a new dipstick tube costs 13.75. The labor at the shop was $120. I think I got an ok deal. Thanks for the replies. Thanks again Parish, and Ryan they are not so much scratched, but that black **** from the frame is all over them and the firewall is scratched all to hell where the collector hit. I wish I got headers like yours that fit easier. I guess I am not the only one that has trouble but sometimes I feel like it. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR THE REPLIES