What were they thinking!!??

Well, I just got my Pacesetter headers in last friday. And I've been tearing up my car since then trying to get them on. I finally, today, got the rest of my exhaust off. I changed my spark plugs and everything while I was at it. And then proceeded to start putting the headers on... until that is, I noticed this:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/279329pacesetter-med.jpg

You can see on the left two pictures where the screw is supposed to go. And on the right, what it looks like when attempting to put the screw there. You have no idea how pissed I am right now. My hands are all torn up to hell and back.. all for what, nothing. I can't even get the middle 2 screws into the passenger side header. WTF!?

Note to self, never order from Pacesetter again. If anyone has any ideas as to how I could possibly work my way around this mess, then I'd greatly appreciate it. I was thinking, maybe if I cut the screw in half or maybe even shorter, than maybe I can get it to fit. I just wanted to know what ya'll thought.

Pacesetter is said to have one of the best cheaper LS1 headers.
From what I understand, other than those, Pacesetter sucks.

Sucks about having to deal with that though. Call Pacesetter and bitch.

wow thats pretty bad!
I would never trust pacesetter after all the bad stories i've seen and heard with them.
sorry you got burnt man

yeah man we just had to send a pair back a week ago that was messed up, and we got another pair without the damn gasket...what tools they are!

Jackasses, I say call and bitch, bitch, and bitch. Get your money back or something, but do it and now!

The only way that i see around this would be to install studs into the head and hang the headers on those and tork down with nuts on the outside face plate of the header.

My only concern would be to use the correct grade of hardened studs and use hardened nuts and locking washers.

Hope this helps

Pacesetter is said to have one of the best cheaper LS1 headers.
From what I understand, other than those, Pacesetter sucks.

Sucks about having to deal with that though. Call Pacesetter and bitch.

A lot of the 3.8 guys have pacesetter as they are the best option out of the 4 choices we have (rksport = crap, then theres pacesetter which are decently priced and after the initial batch, are said to be good quality, then CIA which are nice but way too expensive, and option 4 is make custom ones yourself). Other than that I have only heard bad thins about pacesetter though.

I called up Pacesetter today. They weren't much help. The guy said he had to go look up the paperwork so he could see proof of the sale, and then he was supposed to call me back... but, never did, go figure. But tomorrow I'm going to my moms friends mechanic shop to see how much it would cost to have the header fabricated a little bit. If I can get a good deal on it, then that'll be cool. But I'm still never going to buy from Pacsetter again.

And another question for you guys. When I was changing my spark plugs, the top of the one in cylinder 4 (driver side middle) broke off. Yeah, that's how old they were. But you could still fit the spark plug socket around it fine and attempt to turn. Only problem is, is that it's impossible to turn. I mean, I can slowly turn it a tad bit, but it's like it keeps on tightening each time i do and gets harder next time I try. I've now got it to the point to where you cant turn it at all. I've soaked it with PB Blaster as well to try to lossen it, and still no go. Any ideas as to what I can do next? Thanks alot for your help guys.

Oh shit. A plug stuck in the head.

Mechanic time. Unless you can get in there with a different tool somehow and crank it out.

do you have aluminum heads???????? if so, you might have just screwd that head into the scrap heap. i would try screwing it back in and then easing it out again, a little each time. basicly it sounds like you managed to cross thread it on the way out. you need to try to use the sparkplug as a tap. screw it back in and then try to cut the threads back out a little at a time.

regarding the heads, i agree with RS92, looks like your best bet is a stud screwed into the head, and a nut on the outside.

why wouldn't you just use short studs on the headers? it would make puttin the gasket on there a lot easier too.

I would buy some pure petroleum (i forget the name of the stuff i use), spray it on there, and turn the plug back and forth while you spray it... then see if you can get it out. if this doesn't work after a few hours then you'll probably have to take the head off... drill it, and put helicoil in it.

do you have aluminum heads???????? if so, you might have just screwd that head into the scrap heap. i would try screwing it back in and then easing it out again, a little each time. basicly it sounds like you managed to cross thread it on the way out. you need to try to use the sparkplug as a tap. screw it back in and then try to cut the threads back out a little at a time.

regarding the heads, i agree with RS92, looks like your best bet is a stud screwed into the head, and a nut on the outside.

No, the heads are cast iron. The mechanic told me the same thing about how I might have cross threaded the spark plug. I'll see if I can work it out tomorrow. And when I go to the mechanics shop, I'll see if he has any studs I could use that have the same thread, or maybe I'll just take a drive to home depot. whichever. That sounds alot cheaper and easier than getting the header fabricated. I don't know why I didn't think of that.

I remember when I broke my sparkplug in half. (I was turning it the other way to tighten..not loosen..yeah I know) Well I just leaved the whole part there and then loosened it up enough, took out the top part then with my keys and a flathead I pulled it out. Maybe it will work for you

Drilling and helicoil time!!!!!!!

Well, good news about the spark plug guys. I got the handle off my hydrolic jack and used it as an extension on the wrench. After a couple of turns with that, the spark plug came right out. Turns out it was just really dirty. Had lots of rust and dirt around the plug and inside the socket. Cleaned it out, and popped the new one in with no problem. Thanks for the help though guys. Now I just gotta figure out what I'm gonna do about these headers.

sweet titties

yea thats really relevant

yea thats really relevant

well said.

whats not relevant about it??? its a saying, like awesome, well done, good to hear and all that.

whats not relevant about it??? its a saying, like awesome, well done, good to hear and all that.

lol, is it? i guess me and the other dude thought you was gonna be like that other dude and just say what came to mind... so i guess we where thinking something else... lol

Certainly hope you put some anti sieze on the new plugs.