Ok heres the line up, i have a chevy cavi with the stock 2.2 non eco, just purchased a 4-2-1 pacesetter header and down pipe, going to install them on thursday 9/18/08 wondering if anyone out there in the jbody world has some suggestions, and yes i have been reading the threads about others that have done them but haven't seen much detail in, them.
SO, what i would like to know is what you guys would suggest doing with the stock exshaust should i pay the 140 bucks to run 2.25 from the cat back or should i go with the 185 bucks to get a resonator and the 2.25 back.
what would be the gains with the header and extended stock,and restonator.
any advise for quick install of the header? anyway around having to weld the downpipe to the resonator, what should i do with my flexpipe, any walk thrus?
ok Now i have rambled on lets see what you jbody guys know
Thanks
I did this just recently with mine, get the resonator, it'll give it a bit of a deeper tone to it with next to no raspyness. for taking the old manifold off, either hope that the bolts on the underside come off easily, or they break in the middle. if neither of those happen, cut the pipe up as high as you possibly can to make it come out the top a bit easier.
you will need to remove the one bolt that holds the coolant line on and push it out of the way a bit to get the header in, and it won't bolt on properly if you try to put it back on the stock way. one thing to invest in for the 2.2 would be the header wrap stuff, it'll help out alot for the cooling system as it won't be blowing warm-ish air onto the rad from the header itself.
first, remove the belt, then the alt, 1 15mm bolt on the bottom, 1 13mm bolt on the top(could be reversed, can't remember) then one 13mm bolt on the back where the bracket is. I wasn't able to get this one back on, but I have the pacesetter 4-1 header, so I'm not sure how the 4-2-1 header would work. next up are the 2 15mm bolts on the head itslef where the alt bracket is held on. put it off to the side, best if it's out of the way for now. now you might as well remove that coolant pipe bolt I was saying about earlier and pull the pipe out of the way. also remove the oil fill with another 13mm socket then just have to wiggle it a bit then it should pop out. next, remove he 2 bolts on the underside of the manifold going to the downpipe. then the 8 bolts to hold the manifold off. this part I'll guess at as I haven't done the 4-2-1 header. put the top-most piece on first and get as many of the other pieces back onto the block/head as you can in reverse order. coolant pipe, oil fill, alt bracket then alt.
that should make it a bit easier for you.
don't suppose you could take some pictures for me? on the underneth maybe some from the engine bay?
I could, but I wouldn't be able to get them hosted untill tonight, that's the only problem from posting from work I guess, lol.
I may still have a pic of when I had put it in with everything off.
with everything out
with the header on now.
I'll see if I can get more for tonight.
OK, First and foremost, DO NOT WRAP YOUR HEADER......If your header is armor coated, that is a wrapping in and of itself. One of the things with a header is it dissapates heat quicker letting things run better. Wrapping it will cause it to HOLD the heat weakening the metal considerably, and could even possibly cause the welds to brake. Headers expand and contract, and the wrap interfers with this....I also would not recommend painting it.
For the install, ive never done a 2.2 non eco, but after you have it in and all the studs/bolts tight, let it run 10-15 minutes, then cool down and recheck the bolts. I did this 2 or 3 times and have had NO problems with mine since. By run I mean just sit in the drive way and run....dont drive it or anything.
As far as the downpipe, you can leave it clamped if you want it to leak...i would either have a shop flange it, or weld it...mine is welded...
and
FILL OUT UR PROFILE so we can more easily help you...
Very helpfull guys thanks, only two things left to figure out
1.what type of gains will I be getting with this.
2.what should i do with the rest of the stock, exshaust so i expanded it to 2.25(2.50) ?
And evofire since you where so helpfull i will edit my profile right now
thanks all i will be posting pictures as i do the add tommorow after noon, so please all the help and pictures from here on will be much needed.
Thanks again
it seems as though my parents or my brother have taken my transfer cable and it's now missing. meaning no pics tonight
question 1. you won't see many gains right off the bat, but if you do some other mods, you will notice so increases in hp and torque.
2. might as well remove all the stock stuff and go with full mandrel bent stainless. what other plans do you have for the car in the long run? if you don't really see many other large upgrades, i.e. supercharger or turbo, 2.25 will be more than enough.
Ok well i got them on, some of you may have know but the t bar on the other side of the tran and just under neth the motor(not a motor mount) was in the way of the down pipe as well as the lower part of the header, so in order to get it in place and all lined up i had to grind off part of the flange as well as remove that bracket any thing this will cause a problem? also the gains are rather empressive for just adding a header and down pipe have an appointment on tuesday to finsh off the exshaust. ANY one have some drop coils they want to part with?
Cody Hendricks wrote:ANY one have some drop coils they want to part with?
they wont do you any good without new shocks that are meant for a drop.
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
well i figured as much... i would need some smaller (shorter) shocks for shorter coils
the header was out, and I have a complete head that I'm working on. so I'm leaving that head as it is untill I get the full top end built as this car is my DD.
Cody Hendricks wrote:Very helpfull guys thanks, only two things left to figure out
1.what type of gains will I be getting with this.
2.what should i do with the rest of the stock, exshaust so i expanded it to 2.25(2.50) ?
And evofire since you where so helpfull i will edit my profile right now
thanks all i will be posting pictures as i do the add tommorow after noon, so please all the help and pictures from here on will be much needed.
Thanks again
I had a buddy dyno my 98 cavvy after a 4-1 header install and custom 2.25 exhaust (cat back) (with header flange welded on, not the crappy connection that comes with the header) and I gained almost 20 ft pounds of torque and 14 hp.....most of it showed in the upper rpm range btw
