Yesterday I sprayed all of the upper bolts with free-all and didn't do anything else. Today after I got home from work I jacked the car up and sprayed all of the lower bolts. I then said fuck it and pulled the starter while I was under there and then removed all of the upper bolts. I'll be removing the rest tomorrow after work. If something comes up I'll ask you guys for advice. I made up my mind and I want to do this in my own garage.
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So, my 2c.
I was telling myself, don't bother with LT's, but I went ahead and put LT's on the coyote. It was a headache of a job, and all my fears (both of em) were realized.
Exhaust leaks, header bolts coming lose, check, just as I thought.
No gain in power as seen in my HPDE lap times. Time & money wasted, but experience gained.
Seriously considering putting the stock shorties back on now. This will be decided after Watkins Glen in 2023.
Also, the fit was not what I expected and the car is stupid loud with any heavy right foot. Do cops really need to see and HEAR you? lolol
As far as I know, any LT header out there is not emission certified, and should fail the visual inspection automatically. (it's good to be exempt lol)
I appreciate the input, for your situation I completely understand your frustration. I'm slightly worried about both things you listed. I've wanted these headers since I got the car and I came across too good of a deal to pass up. I was actually considering switching back to the stock manifolds until this came up.
From the research I've done, these GREEN cats will pass emissions and in Ohio you have two options for E-check. #1 go to the testing facility and drive it in to get inspected on the scanner and visually. #2 is the self serve kiosk for after hours, all you have to do is scan it yourself and if it passes it'll print out a passed E-check sheet and you're good to go... talk about a loophole lol. I'll be doing the kiosk but I did pass visual inspection twice because I just tell them that's how I bought it and they give it a pass.
And as for not gaining much power from the headers I feel as if that could be the case for a 5.0 because its DOHC 4V and well engineered but on the 3V (not saying its poor engineering, just a dated design) I've seen dyno comparisons that show pretty significant gain for being N/A. Regardless I'm too far in to pull out now, we'll see what happens.
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I installed Kooks LT on my 05 with jack stands. Things I remember; you will have to loosen motor mounts to raise engine slightly. Loosen steering rack and remove drivers side bolt so it can be moved forward so steering shaft can be moved out of the way. The bolts holding the BBK have to be removed/loosened anyway so might as well replace them with proper fasteners.
Thank you for these pointers. I would guess that the main weight of the car being supported by the jack stands would allow the motor to be jacked up off of the oil pan without crushing it if the motor mounts were disconnected, still sketches me out though.
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My 2 cents........
The Kooks LTH's will for sure be much, much better w\ catalyst operations than any full-length LTH setup due to the mid-length design operational-wise (as you've already quoted), I myself can attest to this. If you have to use alternative bolts because of LTH header flange thickness differences, know that the Kooks LTH's are designed to use the OEM SS exhaust manifold studs\nuts as well as the OEM metal exhaust manifold gaskets so you do have this to fall back on if needed.
Other than this, what others have said.
On the install.......look at it this way........you have the entire winter storage time to get them installed so no rush & can take your time doing it off jackstands..............
Just a thought.
In that case I'll be ordering all of the factory hardware for sure. The headers came with metal gaskets, do you think those are ok to use or would my best bet be to go factory? The last thing I want to do is have to pull the headers off again just to put gaskets on. I have one more question regarding the header gaskets, I should've took a picture while I was in there but I noticed what looked like orange rtv squeezing out of the sides of the manifold gaskets... it was also on the threads of the manifold hardware. I'm guessing that this is Permatex high temp gasket maker, is this really necessary to prevent leaks?
