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flp install
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These are nothing but things I ran across in my install. Remember I am not a professional.
These are not complete directions by any means.
Taking the old stuff off is definitely a major pain. I ended up breaking three bolts off of my old exhaust manifolds where the y-pipe bolts up to it (two drivers side, one passenger). So make sure to soak down all the bolts you can find with some WD-40 or equivilent. I only did the header bolts themselves, soo... don't be like me. :)
You want to make sure to take off the starter, the alternator, and make sure to disconnect your battery.
If you have an oil cooler, you must remove it for the install, as it drops the location of the oil cooler by a few inches. This is how Dan from FLP recommended to do this:
You need a bypass hose from a 96-97 without an oil cooler, any parts store will have this (I looked all over town for one, ended up ordering it). To remove the cooler, first drain the radiator, then remove the hose and line assy, then remove the filter, you will see the part the filter threads onto, this fitting has a nut built on to it(1 1/16 I believe) as you loosen this the cooler comes off straight down (mine was stuck on there pretty well, had to rap it a couple times with a rubber mallet), you will now see the regular adapter and two bolts with a dowel pin built in them, remove those one at a time and replace with a regular bolt(5/16 about 1 1/2 long I think) your filter will thread back on now like normal, and you are done.
Getting the old dipstick tube out is also a problem. We used some vice grips to clamp onto the tube. In retrospect, after you get the tube up to where you can see the little flange just above the block, you can put a 3/8 (I believe) wrench around the tube, and just tap on the wrench to get the tube out. Another alternative is to put a screwdriver up by the mounting bracket and just hammer it out that way. To get it back in, the dipstick just takes some slight bending and wiggling, once you get it in the hole, take your 3/8 wrench and put it over the flange section and tap it in with a hammer (I used about a 14" extention and had another guy hammer from above while I held the wrench on).
The headers actually getting up into place wasn't all that bad. Both sides go in from underneith. Just make sure you have the car jacked up pretty high. On my TA, the back bumper was d@mn near on the ground.
The AIR tube plugs for the headers are a 3/4 with a 16 thread. No if's and's or but's.
The header bolts that FLP supplies may be good bolts, but the lip on the bolts will be nearly touching the header primary on virtually every one. This means you can't get a socket on them. When I was about to start my header install, a friend told me to get some ARP header bolts, as he said they have smaller heads on them. I don't know about this, but ya might try it. One tool that I found to work VERY well with the FLP bolts, was something I've always called a "crow's foot." It's just the open end of a wrench, with a 3/8 drive. The size ya want in the 7/16, and it worked like a dream. Of course I say this after trying to squeeze a full size wrench in there for them before...
For sliding the driver's side header up in there, I've heard a few different complaints about it. Usually it's a problem with the steering knuckle being in the way of sliding it up in there. Mine slid up in there just fine, but it sits pretty close to the heat shield for the steering knuckle. What I did, was remove the oil pressure sending unit to get the header up in there. It's the thing inside that silver sleeve just over your oil filter. This allows you a little more room to maneuver the header around down there. All you have to do to remove it, is slide that silver sleeve back, and then use an 1 1/16 wrench to unscrew it. Keep in mind there's a clip inside the sleeve which ya must undo as well.
I also did the over the valve cover wire install at the same time. Now THIS is a serious pain in the ***. Perhaps it'd be easier for someone with smaller hands, but if I had to do it over again, I don't think I'd do it. (read: I haven't finished putting them in yet) It's just taking me much longer than I'd care to spend on wires. :-/
Hope this has helped, if not, then congratulations. You've just wasted 5 minutes reading the rest of this page. ;)
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