Please help with header install!

[HP Addiction]

My brother and I are installing Mac equal length headers on his 90 5sp GT. The driver side went on without too much difficulty. The passanger side on the other hand is a nightmare! We were finally able to pry the header and get it close to bolting up, but its is way too tight. So tight that we can hardly even get the gasket between the header and the block. Is there any way to make clearance? Furthermore, once installed I assume the header will be so tight that it will be touching the strut tower or some other part of the body. Is this a problem? If so, what can be done. Sorry for the long post, we are just at a complete loss right now. Had to stop for the night, as it started to rain.

Thanks!

 

[Black1987Stang]

IDK if this will help but I just figured this out last night. I was just finishing head gaskets on my friends blown notch and his MAC? Long tubes wouldnt line up for anything, I barely got a few cylinders bolted up (individual flanges) I put a jack to the bottom of the collector and after jacking it up a little, all the bolt holes lined right up. After that it was cake

 

[srothfuss]

Reused MAC headers are a PITA to reinstall! New ones need a BMFH hammer sometimes also....

If you don't have the proper clearance, the 3lb hammer will be all you need... I'd like to see pictures once you are all done since I am re-thinking my Longtube header istall.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Undo the engine mounts and jack the engine up a little. It's a PITA for sure, but it does give you a little more clearance.

 

[HP Addiction]

Thanks, any other opinions are welcome...Srothfuss, I will be sure to post pics when finished.

 

[jerry beach]

Friends should not let friends own that junk. A 4' johnson bar will come in handy to install those. And keep the BFH on stand-by it they dont clear as stated above. This reminds me of the old midas commercials. You have to make it fit.

 

[04sleeper]

For the benefits that you "Think" you get from equal lengths and the pain they give to install and fun plug changes, they are not worth it.

Get a pair of regular shorties with a 1 peice flange like FRPP's and you will thank yourself.

MAC =

.

 

[93 teal terror]

Heres how much clearance I have with mine. They are a PIA to get to slide in but once i get them past the strut tower I really dont have clearance issues. I had to get to motor mounts b/c the clearance was so tight my worn out mounts would allow the headers to hit. I would higly recommend using a set of felpro gaskets. The ones that come with the headers are junk and most likely will leak. Heres a few pics showing the clearance, gaskets, and where it hit. I also had to tie back my a/c lines.

 

[Deleted member 87397]

This post probably wont be of much use, but I had a new pair of MAC equal lengths ready to go on my car but when I heard what a pain they were to put in and how hard they are to put back on after use because of heat warpage on the individual flanges I sold them and went with some BBK's. Now I still got equal length ones, but I test fit them yesterday while I was working on a ton of projects and they slid right in on both sides with no clearance issues and they look sick as hell. When I'm ready for them to go in it will probably take about 15 minutes to do the job. So I guess the moral of the story is stay away from MAC equal lengths and any header with individual flanges. Sorry for the long winded post.

 

[mustangjoe87]

I have a set on my 84, they are a pain in the ass but with a pry bar and gentle pressure lol you can get it no problem.