JBA installation tips (kind of long)

From: Stephan Boianoff (sboianoff@mdc.com)
Date: Mon Aug 17 1998 - 11:08:39 EDT


My Performance Coated JBA's arrived Friday. I'm in Missouri and they
were shipped to me from Performance Coatings in Oklahoma on
Wednesday. Two days - not bad for UPS Ground. Anyway, after going
over the instructions and a close inspection of the headers (I guess I got
lucky and got a really nice looking set), I put them on that night. Total
install time was ~5 hrs. Keep in mind, this was my first header install, I
did 95% of it myself(there are a few times when it is definitely an
advantage to have a second pair of hands), and I went very slowly.
There are a few installation tips that I would give out. Here they go...

1. This was already brought up by Rob Lipinski, but it is worth
mentioning again since I was stupid and didn't hede his advice. Go to the
hardware store and buy a cheap 7/16" combo (or open end) wrench.
The placement of a couple of the head flange bolts will require you to cut
this down to get anything that resembles a decent turn on the bolt head.
You'll see what I mean.

2. The instructions say to start both of the center bolts before moving on
to the others. I found it easier to start one center & one at each end.
This keeps the header better balanced. One note here: the holes in the
header were a suprisingly good match for the heads. No modifications
were necessary at all. Once you get one started at each position, the
others go right in. Very nice after hearing some of the horror stories.

3. The instructions call for the use of a sealer in addition to the supplied
gaskets. I used Permatex Ultra Copper (thanks to Rob's advice). This
seems to work very well by applying a somewhat thin coat. Definitely
helps to hold the gasket in place while jockeying the header into position.

4. Before starting, remove the battery completely, disconnect the plug
wires and flip them up onto the intake, unbolt the coil and hang it in front
of the radiator. Believe it or not this will give you enough room to work
(at least on a '98 5.2L). Both headers went in from the top. The
passenger side is a very tight squeeze, but with a little patience, it can
be done without so much as a scratch to that pretty coating.

I guess that's it. If anyone has any specific ???'s feel free to e-mail me
direct. Seat of the pants indicates a noticeable mid-rpm (1500 - 2500)
gain. I'll be curious to see any mileage changes. I'll keep ya posted.

Steve



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