metroplex

Does anyone have more pics of the stock exhaust manifold?



I think this is one pic of a stock manifold, but is it more of a header or an exhaust log? Is it the same on the LNF 2.0?

korbar22

make sure you buy new studs that go into the head and new nuts... this will help to prevent any leaks when you install the new header! just a thought!

cgrammer

Hm... now I won't feel as intimidated when I order my downpipe.

OBZ

Cool man, let me know how it goes! I'm pretty sure you will just have to have a 02 bung welded in.
That is a pic of a stock L61 exhaust manifold. The LNF manifold will obviously be different because of the turbo.

Here are a few pics of the LSJ manifold vs the L61 manifold


Lsj on top


That is not necessary.. The stock bolts and studs are fine as long as you don't break them.
Nice! feel free to ask any more questions!

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Do you NEED to reinstall the heat shields?

SWmaster

Personally I say yes. It reduces your under hood temps on the back side of the engine by a lot. You can't see the header anyway so just put the shield back on after bending it to fit and save yourself from getting things hotter then they need to be back there.

It also quiets the header noise some. Yes headers can make a wooshing noise that sounds kinda like an exhaust leak but isn't. They are tube stainless steel and don't block out sound like a thick manifold.

By the way you might want to note that the 2.4 auto is all done through the top side and is easy to do up there. You can't get to anything from the bottom on mine.

OBZ

Couldn't have said it better. If you chose not to put the heat shield on, I would recommend header wrap.

Added the last part to the how-to thanks!

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

How long if you do it yourself with a jack and stands and how much if you get it installed at a place with a rack? Seems like 2-ish hours yourself. The guy I asked with a rack said 2 also, but it seems like it'd be less with a full rack.. But it's actually easier with an auto? That's a first.. lol

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

So, I tried this today and............ WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS. I thought I had more sockets than I did, but for not, the garage is super unorganized. I tried removing the heat shield first. The top two bolts on the block came off easy, but the top one "over" the header wouldn't budge. It was in a reasonably open area, but it took some stretching to get to it. I sprayed it several times and it didn't budge even a hair. Am I missing something? I realize using a socket could've helped a tad, but not for this. It still should've done something. Nope. ANY help..?????? Is the rest of it this hard..???

WVsuperSS

thank you sir....

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Anyone able to answer my question.......???

tru2nrtt777

iTrader: (1)

Honestly I have changed them twice, once on my car and once on a friends it never took us longer than an hour. My car took about 30 minutes and his took close to an hour because we had to cut off the heatshield on that back bolt cause it wouldnt budge(and we didnt have any wd-40 or the like yet we had a dremel). Honestly it suprises me that you are having trouble with it. We used sockets though, 3/8 inch drive and a pair of 3" extentions.

OBZ

My first time doing it. it took me just over 2 hours But a good mechanic should be able to do it in roughly an hour or less. But a shop WILL charge you all they can. 2 hours labor sounds about right.
Definitely use sockets.. I had no trouble with any of the nuts/bolts.. Its all about having the right tools for the job. Just gotta have muscle and patience!
You are very welcome!

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I tried it several different times, and that bolt on the flat part just wouldn't budge. The good thing though is that I will be down there with him while he's doing the install, so we can only screw me price-wise so much. We shall see..

SprChrg4Life

iTrader: (1)

i might be a bit late, but i'm just reading this now, so here ya go, straight from GM! (via AllData):



In essence... go in order torquing all 10 nuts down to 106in/lbs, followed by a 2nd pass, again in order, and make sure they're all at 106in/lbs the 89in/lbs is for the exhaust shield studs.

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

So, after getting turned down by two local shops (in PA you need a cat, and I was just gonna run this thing ca-tless until I got it inspected) saying they'd get fined if they installed it, and after the smaller shop not being able to do me before the meet on Saturday, I decided to go to plan c and actually buy the proper sockets. To my surprise, the bolt on the heat-shield that I had an issue with came out. lol. BUT! I don't know if I'm the only one, but my heat-shield only had the top 3. There were no bottom two. I looked for them forever - nothing. I'm an auto 2.4. Probably one of those has something to do with it - likely the auto part. Regardless, I got that off and I was looking all around in there trying to figure out how to get to the bolts on the block for the stock header. Seems crazy difficult! The engine's still hot now, and I have to go to work, so I'm gonna do this tomorrow morning..

But, in saying "do it from the bottom" for the header, do you mean in the gap that is made after you remove the down-pipe? It seems like it'd be damn near impossible without removing the down-pipe first. Am I reading this right? Just want to get this all down before I start so there's no hiccups. So after letting the engine cool, it's simply bending weird and just getting to the bolts, right? That seems to basically be it. No more special moves or anything, just doing the 10 bolts on the block, 2 for the header to down-pipe, and then the 3 for the down-pipe to cat-back, correct? Seems to be that way. Sorry, it's just that I'm doing it myself with hand tools, a creeper, a set of stands, and a jack. I don't have much room to move under there, so I'm making sure ahead of time. lol

Please let me know.. Thanks!!

Also, will I get a CEL now too without a cat? I am gonna put one on for inspection, but not until then..

OBZ

Thanks for posting that! I'll add it to the how-to!
Honestly man, you are making this out to be a LOT harder than it is. All you have to do is remove the upper and lower heat shields, and 10 bolts in head, 3 on the manifold/DP connection and 2 for the DP to cat-back.

Really bro. don't stress it! Its not too hard. It may take you a while but you should get it.

And yes you will get a CEL from being catless..

SWmaster

I am sure that your 2.4 auto is the same as mine. Don't waste your time on the bottom. It is way too hard to do anything from down there on our car. You should be able to do everything from the top without issue in an hour. All my bolts came out fairly easy and you only need a 13mm socket and a short extension for the bolts on the end. You can easily do this by feel while sitting on your knees on top of the engine (after removing the plastic cover and any strut brace you might have*. You can also do some of the bolts by leaning from the passenger side. The middle bottom one is super easy to take off from the top also. I didn't remove the down pipe I just loosened the bolts and pushed it off of the studs out of the way. Then I loosened the manifold bolts and pulled the manifold right out the top. Then I put the gasket and header in from the top and tightened the header bolts and then slid the downpipe back onto the headers studs and tightened that also. You might need a wrench to put a few of the bolts on the header if the pipes block you from using the ratchet.

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Got it in, but need a cat. Sounds like ass.

tru2nrtt777

iTrader: (1)

I woulda told you that.

OBZ

lol At least you got it in man! just buy a high flow cat and have an exhaust shop weld it on for you

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Doing it in the morning..

Update:

Welp.. That sounds alot better now..

OBZ

nice! good to hear man. what cat did you get?

averagewhiteboy

iTrader: (1)

Whatever they had at the shop.. haha

thesteed46

just curious how long this took to complete? and was also wondering if its ok to install a header and downpipe on the stock exhaust? thanks