Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Header install How-to

Key words for search purposes:
Headers, MSDS, Weapon-R, gut, pre-cats, How-to, install

Also added to Duratec Performance FAQ

From: DemonSVT's website

Gutting the Pre-Cats or Header R&R {edited old post}

What you need:

- Jack and Jackstands
- 13mm sockets (3/8" drive) (deep well)
- 15mm sockets (3/8" and 1/2" drive) (deep well)
- 3/8" socket extensions... get a few different sizes (3", 6")
- 3/8" Universal joint (2)
- 3/8" ratchet
- 1/2" ratchet (for torqueing the hard bolts)
- PB Blaster (lots of it)
- Flat head screwdriver (small)
- Flat head screwdriver (large)
- Drill (corded preferred)
- hammer
- a tool smaller than 1/4" in diameter with a small hook or impeller on the end (handle of a 5 gallon bucket works great) you can improvise for this tool
- 1/4" drill bit
- 1/4" small bolt, with washer and nut (wrench for this combo needed also)
- a little bit of masking tape
- 7/8" wrench (or monkey/adjustable wrench) or even better an O2 sensor wrench
- Safety glasses
- MIL Eliminators
- 1/4" socket and 13 mm wrench (only if you remove the complete header studs)
- Dremmel with steel grinder bit or Die grinder


Before you do this:

The day before you attempt this get some PB Blaster on all the header bolts and on the bolts for the Y-pipe and just aft of the main cat on the exhaust.

How to do it:

1. Jack up the front of the car as high as you can. I recommend jacking up from just behind the front wheels because you can get the car as high as possible this way.
2. Remove the O2 sensor on the Y-pipe by disconnecting the electrical bracket (use flat head if you have to). You can remove the o2 sensor by using the 7/8" wrench. Put the o2 sensor aside. Do not bang the sensor, it is very sensitive. Put it in a safe place, and don't get them mixed up. (This step does not apply to 2001+ vehicles)
3. Remove the Y-pipe and Cat as one big unit. You'll need to remove 7 15mm nuts. Once all removed, use the small screwdriver to get the Y-pipe off the muffler hanger and put aside. You may need to use the PB Blaster and the 1/2" drive to get the bolts off.
4. Remove the O2 sensors (2 of them) on the front exhaust manifold. 2001+ vehicles only have one O2 sensor. Use the 7/8" wrench to do this, and the small screwdriver for the electrical brackets. Again put these aside in a safe place and do not mix them up.
5. Remove the front exhaust manifold by using the 13mm socket, in combination with the U-joints, and extensions. You can reach every bolt from underneath. To get to the top bolts, it's much easier to have someone else hold the socket down on the bolt while you remove them.
6. If you remove the entire stud with the nut don't worry, I�ll explain how to fix this.
7. Once you have the front manifold out look at it. The bottom bend is where you are going to drill a hole. Essentially the pre-cats are inside that engulfed section of the manifold. So drill the hole so you can stick an implement of destruction in there and destroy the pre-cats.
8. If you are using a 5 gallon bucket handle for your tool, then do this, take it off the bucket, and cut the handle so that you'll have a 70/30 cut. Take the plastic handle and toss it. Straighten out the handle as much as you can, but do not make the funky little hook at the end straight.
9. Stick the handle (or implement of destruction) in the drill, push it through the hole in the manifold and start drilling. This is the fun part. It takes a little bit of time and at first all you get is a bunch of powder. After doing this for a while some bigger chunks will come out, as well as some steel wool and some white cottony stuff. It all needs to come out and be clean. Using a flashlight to look inside as you do this will help. You may also use other tools to assists.
>10. The above way leaves the mangled metal mesh still inside the pre-cat. The proper way would be to open a 3" x 1" L in the bottom with a cutoff tool.
>11. Pry the metal flap up and you have enough room to remove all the innards properly.
>12. Push the metal flap back down and weld up the cut.
>13. Using the dremmel & steel grinding wheel or better yet a die grinder; you'll notice a lip on the holes openings on the front manifold. Just grind this lip down so it's a smooth opening. This step will help airflow and give a perk to performance.
14. Using a small piece of masking tape, tape the nut for the 1/4" bolt in the wrench, stick the wrench in the manifold and place the nut just over your 1/4" hole you drilled earlier. Now pass the bolt through and tighten it. If you don't use much tape the wrench will come off easily with the tape.
15. If you removed the entire header studs, the do this. Put a 13mm wrench on the nut, and you'll notice the end of each header stud has a small 1/4" drive on it. Use your 1/4" socket here, but what you want to do is tighten the stud to remove the nut.
16. If you removed the entire header studs, now is when you put them back in, using the 1/4" socket, all you want to do is make them tight, DO NOT over tighten these studs or you are in serious trouble.
17. Place the gasket on the front manifold studs. This is not a time to be cheap! Use new gaskets be it OEM or Fel-Pro.
18. Put the manifold back up and tighten it starting from the inside and working out.
19. Put the top o2 sensor back in the front manifold
20. Put the MIL Eliminator on the lower o2 sensor.
21. Now for the hard one. I can't stress enough how much easier gear wrenches make this manifold to R&R
22. Remove the serpentine belt. Remove tire and splash shields. Pull off belt with a belt tool.
23. Start by loosening the 3 bolts holding the alternator on. The top one can be a real pig to get any torque on.
24. Once the alternator is loose just push it forward a hair. It doesn't take much to get enough clearance.
25. Remove the manifold like you did the front one loosening from the outside inwards.
26. Remove the manifold and knock the innards out. This one is much easier to get at since it's a straight shot. Make sure it's clean.
27. Install the manifold and new gasket by reversing the removal procedure.
28. Re-install the alternator & belt.
29. Put the Y-pipe and cat back on.
30. Put the lower 02 sensors back on. The rear one with the other MIL Eliminator.
31. Start the car and check for leaks.
32. Lower the car off the jack stands

*For MSDS or Weapon-R, skip the gutting part

SVT Pete,

Thank you very much for posting this.

Ben

Thought I would add some info. I just installed MSDS headers and wanted to clear up some of the vague info from this howto and from other threads I've come across. This is on a 2000, so other years may vary.

Additional parts needed
Usage of these parts are explained below...
27mm wrench
13mm crows foot
8mm socket

EGR stuff
You'll need a 27mm wrench for the EGR -> manifold/header nut. I've seen lots of threads with "guesses" and "I think it was.." -- threads with info said it was 1" or 23mm... or something.
I also found that I had to remove the two EGR bolts from the UIM.... I couldn't remove the manifold because the solid EGR line was in the way of the manifold flange. The two smaller lines off the main EGR tube connect to rubber hoses, so it would flex.
I remember seeing a thread where someone was complaining that Weapon-R's EGR placement require lengthening the EGR tube... and asking if this is needed on the MSDS. NO! All around fitiment of the MSDS headers are perfect!

Manifold remove/header install
Removing the front manifold was a PITA! Tie up the top radiator mount to keep it from dropping, and unbolt the bottom mounts to get more room. Also, remove the three 8mm bolts from the primary fan motor cover (remove the cover too) for additional clearance. I didn't remove the fan stuff on removal, but I couldn't get the header past without removing them.
Rear remove/install was a piece of cake (except for moving the alternator, but even that ended up being pretty simple). Most of the header nuts are a straight shot (above or below the subframe) with some of them needing a slight angle using u-sockets.
I needed the 13mm crows foot for the top center nut on the rear manifold... and about 1/2 of the nuts on the front manifold (can't recall which ones).

Alternator
The bottom bolt and two support bracket bolts were cake. For the top bolt, I went through the drivers side wheel well, and it was also cake. I wrote down the exact extentions and u-socket location I used and can post them if anyone is interested.

werd, thanks guys. Ill be doing the header install in like 2-3 weeks, hopefully all goes well.

Any advice on what to spray on all the bolts?

Any idea where i can get PB plaster in Canada?

I used PB as well. The header bolts came off easy as they aren't that tight. Once you pop them, that is. I had a hell of a time getting the EGR off. It's just at a funny angle and there's not much room... and I was working at it with the wrench. I dowsed it with PB two different days... finally got it off the 2nd day (I wasn't in a hurry). If a 27mm crows foot exists... you might be able to use that and hit it from the top of the car... but it's just a guess. I also did everything by myself... and it's not like I have alot of mechanical experience. So it's time consuming, but not very complicated

Oh... I also used new manifold nuts. Mine weren't in that bad of shape, but I didn't want to worry about having to mess around with them again. They come in bags of 4 (though sold individually) and aren't that expensive.

Hrm... I just realized that there's no mention of anti-seize in this howto. Make sure you use AS on the manifold nuts, the O2 sensors, and the EGR -> header nut.

How hard was the install by yourself with no help? How long did it take?


Where did you buy the header nuts?

I got the header nuts from a Ford dealer. Some of the stuff *might* be easier with two people... but I don't think it would have saved a significant ammount of time. I've been spending about 3 hours every other night (sometimes once every three days -- sleep). If I was to work on it non-stop, I think I could have it done within 3 days. Since I was able to borrow a car... I wasn't in a big rush. If I were to do it again (with what I know now), I think I could get it done within a day (even still on jack stands).

I'm actually still finishing up on the front. I should be done by tonight though. So.... another howto update

Front manifold/header
When removing the manifold, I only undid the bottom radiator mounts (tied up the top mounts). After installing the headers, I wasted MANY hours trying to figure a decent route to the top nuts for the torque wrench. Here's what I ended up doing...
Tied the bottom mounts to the subframe (just used 18 gauge wire I had laying around) with alot of slack, so I could push the radiator away from the motor. I released the top mount ties. I removed the 2 bolts holding the metal coolant tube that runs in front of the motor. I removed the 1 bolt holding that metal tube to the AC line (passenger side). I then removed the coolant hose from the drivers side of the metal tube (I already had the coolant drained from other work I did while the manifold was off). After all that, I pushed the tube down and was now able to access all 3 top manifold nuts from the top. I wasn't able to use the deep socket though. I managed to torque them with the crows foot and a u-joint (and torque wrench). If I had to do it again, I would have moved that coolant tube from the beginning... I think it would have made the removal much easier.

Oh... a little explaination of why I keep using the crows foot. I didn't need it at all for removing the manifold, but the way the header is designed... the tubes actually go in front of the studs, so you can't fit more than just the socket. A medium deep socket (doesn't look like anyone makes them anymore) plus a u-joint might work, but the crows foot does too.

Ah... I just remembered. I couldn't get the manifold past the oil filter. Non-SVT guys might not have a problem, but you'll probably need to remove the filter. I removed it anyways because I replaced the SVT water/oil cooler with an oil filter relocation kit and am waiting for my air/oil cooler and oil temperature thermostat to come in (which is why my coolant was already drained).

*EDIT -- now that I think about it... I guess if you had two people, 1 of you could be working on each manifold at the same time and might be able to cut the time in 1/2. You'd just need 2x the tools.

Hrm... just remembered this too... I found that a 12" flex head 3/8 drive ratchet helped ALOT for removal. Especially on the rear manifold.

Sounds like one b!tch of a job. thanks for the post, MSDS headers are mostl likely going to be my next mod.

I talked to Big_B about it. Took him 12 straight hours.