FAQ: The Exhaust Thread

Codith, what did you do about your spark plug boot farthest on the right (closest to TB) on the front side of the engine?

It touches the exhaust manifold. Had to use a zip tie to get the wire away from it.

Did you have any other issues with your install?

Quote :

charlieRobinson wrote:

Codith, what did you do about your spark plug boot farthest on the right (closest to TB) on the front side of the engine?

It touches the exhaust manifold. Had to use a zip tie to get the wire away from it.

Did you have any other issues with your install?

I just bent the boot upward a little
No other issues besides the trans dipstick tube

The dude who installed mine yesterday said he had a hard time getting the rear one in. Did you have to rock the engine forward or anything?

I am getting a vibration, little on the floor and a little more under the seats? What could cause this?

I checked underneath and it doesnt appear that the DP is touching the sway bar or anything.

Any ideas?

I installed my rear header from underneath the car. I didn't have to move or rock the engine in any way, shape, or form.

Your exhaust is probably tweaked a little.....there's probably some "new" stress on the hangers causing your vibration. I'd take a look at the rest of the system and see how tight or loose all the rubbers are.

The vibration is coming up right through the seats. Nothing on the steering wheel, gas or brake pedals. When I give it some gas the vibrations go away. Its usually from at a stop do I feel it.

Frick, fix one thing (exhaust leak) get a new problem....


Im going to call the guy this afternoon and see if we can get it back on the lift and check it out.

Codith, how/where do I find the spark plug boot protectors/extenders you have here in this shot?

The headers physically extend farther down than the factory exhaust. Meaning that the front of the exhaust system is now lower to the ground, and thus "pushes" the rear of the exhaust closer to the body. It all pretty much has to be tweaked in order to be right. I spent some hours taking the stress off of all my hangers wen I installed my headers. The tips were almost touching the bumper after the install. I changed some hangers and heated/bent some things to make it right.

It seriously sounds like the exhaust is grounding out somewhere. When you accelerate, the engine twists towards the bulkhead, and pushes the exhaust downward. This movement might just be enough to move whatever is touching away from the body, making the noise temporarily go away.

Thanks Scott.

he just called me back and told me that the rear header is touching the rack n pinion. He said it bolted up fine but this was the only way it would fit. Still wondering why this would put vibes into the seats and not the steering wheel?

Did anyone else with zzp headers have this issue? He's going to put it on the lift for me saturday so I can get some pics.

WTF?

Edit:
Scott, I was just thinking about what you were saying... Are you suggesting that if I loosen and rearrange catback exhaust that it could possibly alleviate the tension or whatever is on the rear header allowing it to rest properly before tightening everything back up?

You may have to actually shorten the front pipe by about an inch. It's probably the flex joint that's touching. Not only is the header DP longer, but it also extends farther length wise. If care isn't taken when installing and mating the existing exhaust, there will be excessive tension on the joint when you set the car on the ground.

My flex joint was touching my sway bar before everything got tweaked. Now the flex is nice and straight without any tension on it at all.

Hmm yeah that's a little odd if the headers are touching the rack. Mine definitely don't and I have lots of clearance from the sway bar unlike the SLP knock-offs. I'd probably have to go along with Scott's theory 'cause I can't really think of anything else. Is your rear trans mount good? Oh yeeah you have the newer 99+ style G/H body rear trans mount setup don't you. Pics.

Btw those boot shields in the picture are the OEM ones off the original wires. I'm not using them anymore actually, just naked boots. James convinced me they aren't helpful.

Abaddon wrote:

You may have to actually shorten the front pipe by about an inch. It's probably the flex joint that's touching. Not only is the header DP longer, but it also extends farther length wise. If care isn't taken when installing and mating the existing exhaust, there will be excessive tension on the joint when you set the car on the ground.

My flex joint was touching my sway bar before everything got tweaked. Now the flex is nice and straight without any tension on it at all.

Scott, what do you mean by 'front pipe'? the section of DP before the flex? Did you have any vibrations in the seats before you got your flex off your sway bar?

From what I see, it doesnt look like the flex is touching the sway bar. I will find out for sure Saturday and get pix.

turtleman wrote:

Hmm yeah that's a little odd if the headers are touching the rack. Mine definitely don't and I have lots of clearance from the sway bar unlike the SLP knock-offs. I'd probably have to go along with Scott's theory 'cause I can't really think of anything else. Is your rear trans mount good? Oh yeeah you have the newer 99+ style G/H body rear trans mount setup don't you. Pics.

Btw those boot shields in the picture are the OEM ones off the original wires. I'm not using them anymore actually, just naked boots. James convinced me they aren't helpful.

He said rear header but he couldve meant the DP. I tried clarifying with him several times but he kept saying the rear header was touching....

Knowing that you had no issues gives me confidence this should be an easy fix but it does make me worry that it might be wrong now and causing damage by being bolted up the way it is.

I will get a pic of the front set of plugs to show you how dangerously close the right plug boot is to the front header. Had to zip tie it up to prevent it from touching.
the extenders/shields look like a good solution.

Thanks , guys. Ima keep noobin on til i get this stuff corrected.

charlieRobinson wrote:

Scott, what do you mean by 'front pipe'? the section of DP before the flex? Did you have any vibrations in the seats before you got your flex off your sway bar?

By front pipe I mean the first straight section of exhaust that the header connects to...the center pipe that runs down the tunnel. You might have to shorten it. It might be too long now causing tension. Does it look like your exhaust tips might be out farther than they used to be? Look at the exhaust hangers underneath and see if they appear to be leaning towards the back of the car or stretched out. If the bottom of the hanger is pointing towards the rear of the car, the exhaust needs to be shortened up. All the hangers should be straight vertical. Anything otherwise is evidence of tension on the system.

Thanks, Scott. I will check this asap.

It doesnt look like the flex portion is touching anything at all. Looks like its hanging a bit too low tho.
Check out how close that spark plug is to the front header. Also, cross over section is super low compared to stock? like right above trans and not even close to the TB like it used to be.

All this look the same for anyone else with zzp headers?

I couldnt get a good look at the rack or rear header tho. I will get more pics when i get er on the lift saturday.

I'd need to se underneath the car....the rest of the exhaust system. Mainly the hanger at the "Y", and the 2 hangers on the mufflers. Also, a pic of where the exhaust exits the header DP (center of car). That's where we'll find a problem.

I don't like how tight those headers are to everything. That plug wire zip ties to the harness (pic 1) isn't a good idea. Also, what's with the hose clamp just hanging out in the middle of that hose (pics 3 and 4)??

Don't worry about the crossover. It looks like they used a bigger diameter pipe. That whole section will move with the engine....it won't touch anything.

Good question about that hose clamp. I will get more pics asap.


Just a thought but.......... could the lowering springs bring the rack n pinion closer to the rear header?

Is that a possibility? I am only guessing here...

charlieRobinson wrote:

Just a thought but.......... could the lowering springs bring the rack n pinion closer to the rear header?

Is that a possibility? I am only guessing here...

No. All the lowering springs do is level out the lower control arm and bring the wheels closer to the body. As long as the cradle mounts aren't modified (spacers), nothing in the engine compartment is affected by lowering springs.

EDIT: Even if spacers WERE installed in the cradle, the rack and engine would move with it. You'd actually have to modify engine or rack mounting to affect the spacing.

Yikes. Maybe get some of these:

Thanks, Scott.
what else would bring the rear header into close proximity to the rack? Why would this cause vibrations through the seats? I will get pics from under the car uploaded asap saturday.

charlieRobinson wrote:

Thanks, Scott.
what else would bring the rear header into close proximity to the rack? Why would this cause vibrations through the seats? I will get pics from under the car uploaded asap saturday.

Bad rear trans mount
Either way you can maybe shim up that mount too but I'd do that as a last resort

Thanks, Codith. #9 here? I will check it out with mechanic Saturday. I dont know how much higher up my trans can go. The cross over is literally hovering right over it as it is.


Interesting...... a review on ZZPs header product page:
http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/p/432-Stainless-Headers.aspx
The only reason i gave it four stars is because installing the rear manifold was tricky, as it hit on the power steering lines on the rack and pinion. They eventually went in once I got help from an extra set of hands and rocked the motor forward a little bit more.

The search continues.............



Just found this link. Looks like this guy was having a similar issue and mounts were the culprit. Codith, you might be on to something!

http://buickforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-33696.html

Wow, another reason to vote for my cheap-a$$ knock off headers! I never had a problem like this! (although I did have to replace the el-cheapo-flex pipe and boy is it quieter!)

To be fair, Charlie is at 160k and is still on the original stock mounts (I'm guessing anyways).