wrustywrench

installed headers on my 98 a4,, Lg long tube with cats...this is how it went,,,,,drivers stock manifold,,,cant get out from bottom,,,must remove alt and take out form top,,,header went in easy from bottom,,,,had to remove two coils from valve cover (rear most),,,the tab on the bottom of header needed bent down do I could get header bolts in,,I used stock gm gaskets....pass side,,,,manifold came out the top easy,,,still had to remove starter to get new header in,, valve cover had to go also,,,OK,, Now I start bitchin,,,the lower header mount required pulling the headers together 1/4 inch to get bolts in,,,and the dipstick tube dont fit right,,gotta modify the bracket so the tbr fits tight,,,and the real thing that sucks is no one told me you have to remove the manifold to put the new air tube on,, this really suck,, I am going to cut and modify the stock one with an extensoin to fit,, the install did not go to bad,, but whoever said yiou dont ave to remove the alt and starter on LG headers must beat the crap outa them,, I did leave the plugs in and no problems,,,did not break any sensors either,, the O2 simm and directions are easy,,,,everything else fit ok,,,,I feel for 1800 plus bucks the things should fit , all holes should line up and you should get a set that uses the air tube for year you have,, not have to change to a newer one,,,,but they do look good,, I drilled holes and tystraped the o2 sensor wires to the pan,,,and used tunnel screw and clamps to keep wires off headers.....it better be worth it,,lol......I did all of this on a kwiklift with no problems,,a buddy helped,, and it still took us 6 hours,,,am I am a mechanic so I dont screw around.... :eek: :cool: :cheers:

HalfMoon

wow,,,,ok.,,,,,I made it through there,,,,even without the capitals or any linespaces....;;;;;

;)

I think this is a matter of installer patience. Some people have no issues at all, a couple others claim alot of problems. I've yet to install them, so I can't say for sure. However, with the many reports of error free installs I think it has to be a matter of the installers methodology and abilities (I'm no great wrench, and I am a perfectionist, so I expect to have issues with my install.).

Hey, they're on, you should be out there driving them, or having a beer to relax and reward yourself. :)


[Modified by Tony_C5_04, 10:01 PM 1/17/2004]

LittleBoyBlu99

:iagree: :lol: :lol: :thumbs:

jeanlucpicard

On the drivers side you should drop the steering column shaft (bolt under plastic bell-shaped cover) and then pull the shaft to the wheel well. That opens the entire side for the header to go in from teh top and it only takes 5 minutes.

The passenger side will always require dropping the starter.

You want pain???!!! Try installing a set of SLP headers on a C5. You have to strip out the passenger side wiring harness and reroute / rewire 1/2 the car. The end result is nice but you are looking at a 6-8 hour task for the wiring alone.

Enjoy your work and burn off some rubber :lol:

wrustywrench

ok,, I should have spelled better and used proper punctuation,,but it was 1 am ,, and I wuz tired,,,,,weak excuse but tue...lol.. As far as saying I have no patience,,WRONG,, I am a qualified mechanic,, do things the right way and chose LG for what I thought would be a straight forward install, I was told that the steering shaft (which was not in the way) wold not ave to be unhooked,,,as the header want in smooth from th ebottom,, however I was also told it was not required to remove alt,, I removed the studs and o2 sensor from stock drivers side manifold ans no way would it come out bottom,,,motor would not raise even after removing the mounts nuts,,,,however the alternator is not bad to remove, just lay it out of the way,, the manifold came out easy after that...the header bolts would not start until I bent the lower tab to allow the header to be raised....driversside was not too bad,, the pass side the manifold came out the top without removeng the coils or plugs, I was told you did not have to remove the starter,,, yes you do,,,not to bad either , I cannot see how c5 's can differ enough to have different install directions,,,My grip was the bolt holes not lining up,,and the air tube change which I feel the header should be made to fit the year you have,,,,If you are doubting my mechanical abilities,,,you are barking up the wrong tree....

Gonzo

Dang, Good Job, but it just illustrates why people like me should pay people like you to do this stuff :cheers: :cheers:

Heck if it were me hammers and all sorts of tools would have been flying :lol: :lol:

But as Clint Eastwood said, "A mans gotta know his limitations" :thumbs: :thumbs:

Gonzo

LG Motorsports

Sorry to hear that you had a hard time installing the headers. The stock manifold does have to come out the top and the alternator and coil pack does have to come out, as well as the spark plugs. The then the headers can go in from the bottom.

The benefit is that the steering shaft can stay in.

On the passenger side, our instructions do say to remove the coil pack and valve cover and install them from the top. We have installed many of these and have never had to remove the starter.

As for the bolt line up, we suggest that the bellhousing bolts go in before tightening the other bolts. And we loosen up the bracket on the bellhousing during this process as well. This allows any tabs that are off slightly to line up.

We Charge $350 for the install, which is 4.6 hours. Looks like you did very well, time wise since you had never seen the headers before. Maybe we can send some customers to you for header installs?

The payoff is the nice power and low end torque you will feel.

Have fun with the car. And Thanks for going with LG Pro Long Tube headers.

Lou Gigliotti LGM

HalfMoon

:confused:

Looks like I need a new reference book to go with all these C++, C#, PHP, and SQL books.
:rofl: :rofl:

2k1vert

Sorry you had problems. I found that I had to remove the alt and coil pak fro the driver side, the drivers manifold removed from the top and the drivers header installed from the bottom without issue. The passenger side I had to remove the coil pak and valve cover and the manifold removed from the top and the header installed from the top. I did have to take a pair of vice-grip plyers to bend the header-bellhousing mount up about 1/4" inch to clear the starter and then I bent it back straight after dropping in and before actually starting the header bolts. I had a heck of a time getting the bellhousing bolts in even with the header bolts just barely started. I had to use a medium sized pry bar to get it centered. Again, part of it is me 225lbs laying on my back with the car about 20 inches off the ground and already fairly tired. The point is that really have not done any wrenching in 23 years and faired pretty well. I thought the install was not too bad all in all.

Aa lift to get under the car to work would make it a much easier task. :cheers:


[Modified by 2k1vert, 12:50 PM 1/18/2004]

NICK YOSKIN

i agree. i like to to see his blood pressure!! probably break the gauge :rofl: :lolg: :D

dpd

hopefully this coming weekend i'll be putting my lg's in[they should be here by tuesday,and hopefully all this snow here will be gone!].my car is a 03 z06.i'm sure i'll run into minor technicalities,but should be ok.i know the exhaust manifolds both come out from the top.everyone that i know that in-stalled them didn't need to unbolt the motor mounts or steering shaft or starter.i will post my results when i'm done.

Bone_Stock

I am purchasing a set of these from LG tommorow if they come in. This information is very helpful. Is there a noticeable difference in the C5's with these headers? Also, did anybody have any issues with exhaust leaks?

2k1vert

I noticed a huge torque difference after installing them with high-flow RT cats and GHL exhaust. I also did a Blackwing at the same time. All combined I got 36 RWHP increase and 41RWTQ increase. I really like what they did for my car. :cheers:

itsonlyairandfuel

wrustywrench and my experiences are pretty much identical, I loosened the starter and still had to raise the engine a little to get the left side in. I was on a lift with a helper, so we could wiggle and adjust, but it sure wasn't a drop in fit. Sure wish they would have had the cats available on the first shipment mine stinks up the garage something terrible, and thats starting and leaving within a minute. PS they are definitely loud enough with the stock TI muflers. I would buy them again but with the cats this time.

99SilverC5Coupe

Can anyone tell me if I will have to pull the intake manifold to change the airtubes? My car is a 99 6spd.

Thanks

sbelow

Background: Waiting for delivery of my LG's for an 01 z06. I'm attempting to install myself (maybe limited help). I'm interested in learning and doing my own mods, but realize this is on the edge of my abilities. I've got time (thanks to MI winters) and beer on my side though! :cheers:

Newbie Questions: 1. What are the air tubes that were originally referenced? 2. The headers don't come with gaskets? Anyone know the part # to get the stock gaskets from GM?

Thanks!
SB

Vetteman Jack

Glad you got them on. Sounds like a lot of work - but should be worth it. :thumbs:

Mirek

Yes the manifold has to come off to install the '02+ airtube needed w/ the LGM's.
Lou sent me one free months ago.
I am not running cats so the whole system is use-less to me anyway - I'm blocking off the headers and taking all the AIR stuff out.
I think you could rip all that out, block the headers and - even if you run cats-use 02 simms to delete any code it may throw.

Cary

Give Lou G. a call 1-877-LGMotor. He will answer all your LGM Pro LT Header Install questions. I admire those that do these mods at home but I like the security of letting a professional shop, LGM, be responsible for service on my C5.

2k1vert

I have a 2001 C5 and my LGM headers came with gaskets for the air tubes as well has the haed exhaust gaskets. I did not have to buyanything else to install them. Since I am not sure of the differences for a older model C5's, I can not speak for your needs.