Header install.

[fuzzypuppy]

Finished my header install lastnight, thought i would post a couple of things i learned while doing this,
This is not my first header install but it has been about 10 years since my last, and a little different than others,
the spec's are. 91 serria 2500 over 8600 gvw 5.7.
I purchased a set of flowtech's smog legal shorty's from JEG'S for $200.00 "low budget" but I had a cracked driver side manifold and wanted it replaced.
first thing I learned was that DUPLICOLOR, high heat paint 'the 1200 deg' stuff does not work well. "live and learn", i followed the directions completly and they came out of the oven nice enough but turned nasty looking after 5 min, of run time.
found that the rear most bolt on the driver side was broken ' below the surface' dont know if the crack broke the bolt or the broken bolt allowed the crack, but getting anything in that space to get the piece out did not work, I have a set of vortec's to go on real soon so instead of pulling the head I figure i will live with what comes till then.
Aheads up on a couple of things to anyone thinking about this same install, dealing with the power steering is not fun. the brackett comes off easy enough but as I read in the instructions 'after the install' you (must) pivot the altrenator up out of the way or the brackett will not go back in, this just does not make sense to me but it is fact.
second, unless you enjoy pulling the pully off the power steering pump then pulling the pump and all that extra work to change a gasket or anything, do not install the same stud back into the front header hole "as the instructions say" instead just install one of the regular bolts, this way you can unbolt and slide the header out if ever needed.
and the last thing I dealt with was that the pipes did not mate up with the header flanges very well at all, I don't know if it is just my truck, the headers or what but they were an 1 1/2" off, I had too loosen the header bolts back up start the flange bolts (with the help of a pry bar)
then tighten everything up little by little till everything lighned back up, this took alot of going from under the truck to back up under the hood to get right, not fun at all, and alot of groaning from the pipes, but i figure in a short time the heat and all will bend the pipes and the tention will not be there when i go to put the vortec's on, (at least I hope).
all in all took me 10 hours for the install, seems I lost my touch over the years because I dont remember it ever taking me that long, and my previous installs were on Camaro's and the like, (which are much tighter in space), but then could be all the coffee breaks I took to dry off since though I saw the weather forcast called for only a slight chance of showers before I started this project 1 1/2 hrs into it it a steady rain fell the rest of the 8 1/2 hrs, with no access to my garage and the truck running to go to work the next day a must, I had no choice.
The end result is, though I wont open my hood in front of anyone because these things turned so ugly I'am ashamed, I had better than expected results in as far as performance, since I already have a catback system from dynotech I figured the results from this install would be minimal, boy was I wrong, very noticable difference in low end torque, completely gone was a flat spot i had in the mid upper rpm range, at about 3600 to 3800 rpm range, some where in there, I would get this flat spot just before a shift when i really had my foot into it, gone as well is an exhaust drone in the cab at low cruzing speed.
a definate improvment in throttle response.
Only reason I can figure for the marked improvments is that installing the headers allowed the cam I installed about a year ago to do it's job since I noticed very little improvment after the cam install, (except for getting rid of really bad timing slop with the double roller install that started that whole project).
I can't say yet if I like the flowtech's these are the first I have had it will take a little time before i could say, but as far as the install it was so so. the flange to pipe being off so much when these are supposed to be straight bolt in, put me off, but the performance "so far" is good.
One thing that really has my mind stumped is the prices, I hear all this talk of r&d, well the last set of hookers i bought was 10 years ago and cost $100.00, and I have no doubt that hooker spent good money on R&D back then as well, R&D now is done with computer much faster less time consuming than track trial and error and dyno of years ago, and I see $600.00 for a set of out of the box none custom and wonder why.
I definately could not see spending that on my 91, 180.000 mile daily driver, maybe I have just gotten old and cheap but seems prices on some items has gotten way out of hand, hell the cam and double roller I bought a year ago was a little more than half the cost of the headers I just bought, less R&D? I doubt that.
anyhow there's my experience with this little project.