Installing 4-1 header

whitGSR07 · #1 10-19-2004, 01:34 PM

Is it difficult to install a 4-1 one piece header? I will have two other guys helping me. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Igovert500 · #2 10-19-2004, 02:21 PM

Hmm, be prepared for it not to work...I don't mean to discourage you from doing this, but it can be a PITA. When I installed mine, they didn't line up right and I had to get creative. Plus the gaskets didn't fit, etc...so some tips:
1: Buy new header gaskets ahead of time...get copper, they are the best...and extremely cheap (7 or 8 bucks each)... get a new one for the top and for the bottom.
2: Don't install when car is hot. Headers get pretty hot when exhaust gases run through them. 3rd degree burns are not good.
3: When installing them, make sure you have a variety of wrenches and sockets, some bolts are a pain to get a wrench to...
4: After installation, expect some smoke...this is normal, my paint burnt off mine, so I got some smoke
5: After 50 miles, retighten all bolts...as they will have expanded.

If you don't retighten the bolts, and use new gaskets, you are increasing the chances of getting an exhaust leak that will rob you of power and potentially fill your cabin with exhaust fumes...yes this did happen to me.

If you and your friends are slightly mechanically sound, you should be able to handle this...just make sure you're safe and use common sense. A haynes or helms manual should be your bible.

b18 ls · #3 10-19-2004, 02:33 PM

What? It shouldn't be a big problem as long as it comes in two parts. As far as the fitment. That will depend on the brand of headers you use.

whitGSR07 · #4 10-19-2004, 03:06 PM

Thanks guys...it's a one piece, B18ls. Im just curious Igovert500, what all did you have to do to make it line up? Please say no welding or cutting.

Igovert500 · #5 10-19-2004, 03:20 PM

NO welding...some cutting. I found that the gaskets shipped didn't fit. I called hedman/chikara and they assured me that I had the correct ones. I called a local honda performance shop and asked if they had heard of such problems...and of course the guy guessed what brand I had boughten and said he'd had 3 customers with the same problem.
He suggested taking the stock gaskets and widening the holes a bit, so I traced the exhuast manifold, and the header openings, and got my stock gaskets cut really fast to fix this...as I needed the car in a few hours.

Well a month or two later I got a bad exhaust leak by the exhaust manifold, and another one down where the 2 pc header connected...near the flex section. So I had to take it off, get copper gaskets and go through it again.

So I simply said all that from experience. Perhaps it will go completely perfect for you...I don't mean to imply that it is a hard job. Just for me, I come to expect that any time I plan on working on my car, something unexpected will come up that needs to be dealt with. Essentially, just make sure you give yourself enough time for stupid stuff like that to occur and not cause problems.

whitGSR07 · #6 10-19-2004, 04:03 PM

well thanks for the input...im planning on getting it installed by a shop now just to be safe. I don't want any problems. thanks again

Igovert500 · #7 10-19-2004, 04:08 PM

Sorry, I didn't mean to turn you off of the idea of doing it yourself...I think you should try. It is only a bunch of bolts, there isn't much to get confused...and doing it yourself will prove so much more rewarding and...cheaper.

Any simple project can turn into hell, even an oil change(trust me). But that doesn't mean I suggest going to Jiffy Lube...either way, good luck and happy modding.

gsr916 · #8 10-19-2004, 10:45 PM

yea uh this weekend i bought a 4-1 header and took off the stock one and found out that since the dimensions of the new header are slightly different, i couldnt fit the new header in the same way the stock one came out. Im going to have to drain my coolant and take off my radiator and fans to make more room. what a waste of time lol. Make sure u torque down the bolts evenly and not one at a time otherwise an exhaust leak will be inevitable. Dont do it too tight either, remember your head is aluminum, so the threads are as well. I wish i had a 4-2-1 header that way it would have been easier but rumor has it 4-1 headers increase power (slightly) over a wider rpm range.

whitGSR07 · #9 10-22-2004, 02:54 PM

Thanks guys...has anyone had a good experience installing a header. GSR916 what brand header did you buy?

gsr916 · #10 10-22-2004, 03:04 PM

Tsudo. I have a tsudo exhaust too and i like it so much i figured might as well have tsudo front to back.

boosted k20 · #11 10-23-2004, 12:41 AM

gsr916 i have a TSUDO setup too! i thought i was the only one. i have the TSUDO 4-1 header and full N1 catback exhasut. good stuff for cheap price. ($260 for catback and $160 for header including shipping)when i installed my 4-1 header, i had to remove the clutch slave cylinder (just two bolts) and shave a little bit of plastic off of the radiator fan ( i was too lazy to remove the whole fan. i only had to shave a little bit for it to fit)

i installed the 4-1 1 piece header by send n the header from the bottom of the car to the top. took about 1 hour to do... this be n the first time i've ever installed a header.

whitGSR07 · #12 10-23-2004, 10:13 AM

Shit mine is TSUDO too...whats the clutch slave cylinder and you can just remove it?

gsr916 · #13 10-23-2004, 10:31 AM

haha! ya dude i tried installing mine i needed like 3 fucking millimeters more. yea the slave cylinder is only like a couple of bolts so i didnt want to fuck with that. the nipple is in the way i tried every possible way to get it to fit but it wont go. im gonna take off the whole radiator when i pass smog here in a week or so. shit, do i need to take off my exhaust to pass smog... (oh, 220 for fireball style exhaust, 185 for header so looks like u paid more overall haha sucka)

gsr916 · #14 10-23-2004, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitGSR07

Shit mine is TSUDO too...whats the clutch slave cylinder and you can just remove it?

If you look in your engine right next to your header (on the left) there is a small assembly with a nipple on the right side of it that protrudes from your tranny (if you have a manual transmission). That is the slave cylinder, its purpose is to push a lever that also protrudes the transmission (but is inside of a rubber boot). The lever is called a release lever and it forces the release bearing into the fingers of the pressure plate, which disengages the clutch disk from the flywheel and thus "releasing the clutch." I dont think that you can just remove the slave cylinder because it seems to me that after you did, you would have to bleed the lines for air. I dont know for sure...

boosted k20 · #15 10-23-2004, 01:08 PM

i didnt remove the slave cylinder. i just unbolted it from the tranny and moved it a little to the side. i didnt take out any of the lines.

well even though i paid a lil bit more than u, i still got it for a good price. better than pay n 500 for a apexi n1 exhaust

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