Hello,
Well after a marathon with help of a friend, I have installed the Mike
Leach headers on my truck. Man, am I going to be a sore puppy when I wake
up later this am! With the help of the instructions and others on here, was
able to get them on and ready for the welds at the muffler shop later
today. Went ok, tho got a few questions, hope someone can supply some answers:
1) How in the devil are you supposed to torque the header bolts? Lucky to
get a regular wrench on most of them. I tightened all about the same amount
and plan on doing it again when returning from the muffler shop.
2) The instructions say that the truck might take up to 500-700 miles
before any improvements are noticed and that it might idle rough. Does the
computer take this long? Thought unplugging the battery reset it and ready
to go.
Very neat install and very impressive looking engine bay area. The Y pipe
is greatly increased in size and fit perfectly. Hardest part of the job,
which wore you out in the beginning, was prying the factory Y pipe out. It
was a chore, think I lost 5 gallons of water sweating.
Very loud when starting up to put on the ramps to hook up the Y pipe. Will
be a loud across town trip to the muffler shop, was not about to try to
wedge the adapter into the cat to exhaust hookup, would have been a bear.
Helpful hint for those trying this in the future, I took the power steering
pump off and it let the stuck headers fall into place, very easy. Do need a
deep socket 14mm, which necessitated the run to Sears in the middle of the
operation. Also you can forget leaving the back stud in on the passenger
side, it hits the header.
Saw how easy the belt removes and how easy it will be to get to the crank
pulley, so that is the next mod...waiting on my new F&B TB and I will be a
happy camper.
Sorry for the length, hope a little of this can help others ease the pain...
Bob Hardt
Aiken,SC
99 Black Dakota CC 5.2 Auto, Mike Leach headers, Flex-A-Lite dual 12" fans,
Quick D intake
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