hey guys, about to pull the other exhaust manifold on my new to me 2014 5.3 sierra and then im ready to install the doug thorley system i just got. a few Q's

I pulled the manifolds out from the top so im wondering if I should waste my time wrestling the Y pipe out before cutting it. I really dont want to drop the cross member since the tranny is mounted to it. looks easy but im lazy afraid ill mess it up somehow.

secondly the ports on the heads are pretty gross. I got some combustion chamber cleaner and was wondering if i should bother spraying a bunch in or am i asking for trouble with the heads on?

Thanks!

 

The combustion chamber cleaner wont hurt anything may smoke its *** off when you start it back up, but that means its doing its job, if youre that worried about it spray it on a rag and wipe them out... With the headers/manifolds out you may be able to wrestle the y pipe out without cutting it, dropping the cross member isnt that big of a deal just make sure you have a good jack and the truck up high enough to twist the pipe down and out