Miata Mailing List: June 1994, Message #16
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   From: kenw@netaxs.com (Ken Warren)
Subject: Re: headers/exhaust installation
   Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 20:24:07 -0400

At 02:27 PM 6/1/94 -0400, Jeff Maurer wrote:
>
>Those that have installed aftermarket headers and/or exhaust:
>
>How do-able is the installation at home on ramps or jackstands?  In
>particular I'm wondering how much clearance is needed to drop the
>header and fish it out from under the car.

The exhaust is certainly doable from under the car, with jackstands. The 
exhaust header looks like a two-stage job. The manifold joins to the front 
exhaust pipe just past where the 4 pipes come together; there's your typical 
flanged joint where they meet. 

To do the job, I suspect that you a) jack up the car and remove the front 
exhaust pipe, then b) drop the car and pull the manifold. You then probably 
c) thread the new header through the opening and bolt it up up top, then 
finally d) jack the car up again and bolt it up underneath. If you're tall, 
you could probably eliminate the "drop the car" step. And an aftermarket 
header *might* be a two-piece unit, which would simplify installation. I 
know the Millen header is a one-piece 4-2-1 design.

>I also noticed that several people had problems w/ breaking studs on
>the cat when installing aftermarket exhausts.  Is the concensus that
>these nuts should be cut w/ a splitter rather than trying to wrench
>them off?

If you use Liquid Wrench liberally, on a slightly warm exhaust system, I 
don't think you'll have a problem. With 30,000 miles on my car when I did my 
exhaust, I didn't have a bit of trouble getting the jam nuts off the cat. studs.
--
Ken
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           Ken Warren               E-Mail: kenw@netaxs.com
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Finger me for the current Philadelphia Region SCCA Solo II schedule...