 Header installations can be fairly easy, or an absolute nightmare. The first thing to consider before your exuberance to get your new headers installed takes over your thinking is to recognize whether you have the experience to do the job, and the time and patience to get through it correctly. Sanderson Headers are built by hand from the finest materials and when properly installed will give you years of trouble-free performance.
Do you have the correct tools and equipment to do the installation safely? Good quality heavy duty and properly functioning jack stands, hydraulic floor jack of adequate capacity and condition, assorted hand tools, maybe some Mechanix Wear or Ringers gloves to protect your hands, eye protection for when under the vehicle (or any time for that matter), and a tube of Valco or Permatex High Temp Silicone.
WARNING: Chrome, stainless steel, and ceramic coated headers can be permanently damaged by installing on a new engine or any engine that is not in proper tune. The exhaust gas temperatures (EGT's) in a fresh engine can easily exceed the limits of these materials. For first time start-up Sanderson recommends the procedure below, but if you in any way question the accuracy of the tuning on your engine you need understand you can and will damage your new headers and must to take precautions to prevent doing so.
To make certain you protect your new headers you could install an old set of headers or original exhaust manifolds on your new engine, just for the initial start-up/break-in period. Do not use gaskets or anything that will mean more time to scrape or clean off. It won't hurt anything for the short period of time this will take.
Start the engine and adjust the timing, carb settings, and valves. Look very carefully for vacuum leaks or any sign of vacuum leaks (whistles, gurgling, wheezing, glowing header tubes or exhaust manifold). Any of these will create a lean mixture and send the EGT's skyrocketing. Run the engine 10-20 minutes to burn out all traces of assembly lube. You DO NOT need to keep the engine running non-stop for the full 10-20 minutes. If you see a problem, simply shut the engine down. Even if you are doing a camshaft break-in you will still use the same basic procedure.
Check for soot at the end of the tailpipe or header collectors caused by a too-rich fuel mixture. Correct this before installing your new headers. Too rich can also increase EGT's if the fuel is still burning on its way out the exhaust system.
Let the engine cool completely. Unbolt your temporary old headers or exhaust manifolds and follow the procedure below.
Basic Installation Procedure
Installation techniques and tricks will vary on every vehicle/engine. So, what may have worked for your buddy Bob on his Camaro may not work for you on your Mustang.
- Pay attention the warning above. If you trash your headers on initial break-in and try to send them back, blaming us (Century Performance Center) or Sanderson that we sold/built you a crappy header, we will be able to easily tell what happened just by visual inspection of the header. You will not be allowed to warranty your headers if the damage was caused by your inability to follow directions. Sorry for the harsh words, but some people need to see and hear the blunt truth.
- Disconnect the ground cable from your battery.
- If you must raise the vehicle to get better access, support it using suitable heavy duty jack stands, making sure that the stands are level and the top positioning is in a secure location that will not slide or change in any way once the weight of the vehicle is applied. Not being cautious here could cost you your life, or anyone that comes near or under your vehicle. Don't take a chance!
- The cylinder heads need to be perfectly clean. Remove all traces of carbon, oil, old gasket material, or other debris. You can work on the hard stuff with a scraper and single edge razor blade. On extremely difficult to remove gaskets you may need to spray on a chemical gasket remover to soften the material. Finish with a wire brush, rotary abrasive pads, Scotch-BriteŽ or other abrasive pad. Wipe all mounting surfaces with acetone (Careful, this is FLAMMABLE!).
- Install two temporary studs, one in each end of the head to align the header flange.
- Place an 1/8" to no more than 1/4" bead of Valco High Heat or Permatex Ultra Black silicone around each port. Allow the silicone to set (skin) until it becomes only tacky to the touch. In hot weather this could take as few as 5-10 minutes, and in cold weather could take 20-30 minutes.
- Put the header into place and install all the header bolts finger tight only, also replacing the temporary studs with header bolts. Take a look at your header and you may notice that some tubes may bend over the head of certain bolts. It is best to install these first to save clearance issues later. After all are finger tight you will want to torque the bolts to 15-20 lbs. Don't ask why we always say to torque your header bolts ... we all know that there will never be room for a torque wrench. What you will want to do is the "pink knuckle" torque value. If you start cutting off the circulation to your hand and fingers you are probably over-tightening the fasteners. If your fingers only get a bit pink (pink knuckle) you are probably right where you need to be. Do Not over tighten the bolts. Using a thin-wall box end wrench from Snap-OnŽ Tools or other vendor is recommended, and you may find it takes a variety of tool combinations to do the job.
- Use the same process at the collector. Always use grade 5 or better bolts. Stainless steel bolts are not recommended because after repeatedly being heated and cooled they tend to get soft and may become loose.
- The silicone sealers that have been recommended will cure fully in 24 hours at room temperature. It is recommended to allow a minimum of 4 hours of cure time before attempting to start your engine.
A Few Professional Tips
Whenever you change an engine component (camshaft, distributor, carburetor, etc), follow procedure as though you were starting your engine for the first time. It is going to be more work, but you will have less risk of ruining your headers.
If you are installing an older design of Sanderson headers (pre Nov 1996), that do not have the new flange ring design, and are having gasket problems, you may want to order a set of Sanderson Copper Gaskets.
Stainless steel bolts are not recommended because after repeatedly being heated and cooled they tend to get soft and may become loose. If you must use stainless bolts (we at Century Performance Center recommend the ARP versions), you will need to periodically check to make sure all your header bolts are staying tight.
Dipstick Problems? - It is not uncommon for the factory style dipstick to no longer fit once you have installed a set of headers. The best cure is to purchase and install a flexible dipstick.
Burning Plug Wires? - Having the correct boot angle and wire length is the first thing to consider, but having a ceramic coated header will save you considerable grief. The ceramic coating keeps most of the heat inside the header where it belongs and will take away as much as 200°f out of the engine compartment. There are also thermal sleeves available for the plug boots, or you can install a set of the Jacobs Electronics plug wires that use a ceramic boot.
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