[BlkGS]

I've reached the point where it's them, not me. I've been fighting the passenger side for days, and have reached the conclusion their design is simply too wide to fit up from below. It hits on the transmission, and it doesn't matter if you lift the motor or a.y of that, it's too damn wide.


They MIGHT fit if I remove all the tubing on the top side and try to drop them in from above. Maybe. Honestly thinking my best option might be buy a different set of headers that actually fit.

 

[Mitch808]

That sucks. Where did you buy those from, perhaps that place has some pointers?

I have kooks with cats and it was tight but fit. Even more expensive is ARH. With both you hadn't heard of fitment issues, at left I haven't.

 

[Rmvurtop]

Passenger side for me with the kooks had to come from the top

 

[BlkGS]

That sucks. Where did you buy those from, perhaps that place has some pointers?



I have kooks with cats and it was tight but fit. Even more expensive is ARH. With both you hadn't heard of fitment issues, at left I haven't.

Direct from speed engineering. They were zero help. They were like "oh yeah, it's a tight fit, but they should go in". Couldn't tell me if they were supposed to come in from the top or bottom. Said to check YouTube. I was like "yeah, the guy who did them on YouTube didn't have a trans in because he was doing a stall too".



I shoulda bought kooks or arh. I was gonna buy ARHs, ordered the.and everything but the seller couldn't ever make a tracking number happen. Said they were delayed by arh. Funny part was arh said that part was in stock. That seller was just somewhere in between a scammer and a really bad business.

 

[BlkGS]

Passenger side for me with the kooks had to come from the top

What stuff did you remove? It looks like 2 of the lines there are heater lines I can undo, but the rest appear to be ac lines, doesn't seem like moving those is an option.

 

[Snomongoose]

Sorry to hear this one. Have the pacesetters in mine but we're installed when I bought her.

 

[Mitch808]

The guy who installed my kooks removed something in my ac system as I had to have it recharged... Not sure if it was the lines or the compressor itself. I just dealt with the after effects

 

[FlomaxSS]

They will go in from top but you definitely have to get ac lines out the way. Figure out some way to get the r134 evacuated. Any AC guy or mobile tech will be able to do this.
Another option is using a jack and safety blocks under the oil pan, remove both engine mounts and push engine an inch over, then header goes in from bottom.
Speed Engineering headers rule!!! GM engineers are crap for using this engine-off-center mounting, shoving the engine all the way against the right shock tower and creating this problem to begin with. Changing plugs on this side is fun too.

 

[BlkGS]

They will go in from top but you definitely have to get ac lines out the way. Figure out some way to get the r134 evacuated. Any AC guy or mobile tech will be able to do this.
Another option is using a jack and safety blocks under the oil pan, remove both engine mounts and push engine an inch over, then header goes in from bottom.
Speed Engineering headers rule!!! GM engineers are crap for using this engine-off-center mounting, shoving the engine all the way against the right shock tower and creating this problem to begin with. Changing plugs on this side is fun too.

I tried that, I have both motor mounts disconnect from the frame AND the trans mount by the differential disconnected... That motor ain't pushing over for shit. Seems like a lot of people remove the cross member under the engine/trans junction and supposedly that creates the ability to move it around, I might give that a shot, don't have a ton of other options really. At this point I have one header on, my stock stuff is hacked to bits, and I don't have any of the plugs in. At best I could try putting the plugs and wires in and run it open manifold to someplace close for assistance, but that seems like a terrible idea.

 

[Az07TbSS]

Haven’t done this to mine, just spit bawling. If you removed the newly installed driver side header, would that give you more room to move over?

 

[BlkGS]

Reading the kooks install docs, it sounds like there's some sort of mount in the center of the big cross member under the motor and trans interface. That could be my problem. I didn't see it when I was looking, but looks has you drop that whole cross member to pull the y pipe, and put in all the bolts except the center 2 they claim are trans mounts. So I'm gonna give that a shot tonight after the kids are down to bed. Gonna feel like a real idiot if that fixes it but will be happy all the same lol.

 

[farbeyonddriven]

I recall all brands of headers going in from the top for the passenger side. I don’t think this is specific to the brand you bought.

 

[FlomaxSS]

If you haven't already replaced or upgraded to poly mounts, Now would be the time to do so!

 

[Rmvurtop]

Disconnect the AC lines from the valve covers, and the coolant resevoir. I lifted motor up slightly. If I remember correctly the speed engineering doesn’t have that huge flange on the collector tubes. My kooks that stupid ass flange kept hitting things. If I can get the kooks in u can get the speed engineering ones in.

 

[BlkGS]

If you haven't already replaced or upgraded to poly mounts, Now would be the time to do so!

I definitely don't have the time or patience for that, lol. It probably would be a smart choice though. They seem to be in ok condition, the heat shields are kinda ugly and the frame bracket seems like it's galvanized which is odd, but it's not a project for this time, for better or worse.

 

[BlkGS]

Fought it some more today.

Not sure what kooks is talking about, there is definitely not a pair of bolts on the crossmember that mount the engine and.trams. maybe they were talking about the rear trans crossmember, but not up at the front.

Gave up on them going in from below, tried from up top. They MIGHT fit in from the top, got them 70 there, think I need to unhook the heater core lines to slide around them. What a pain in the ass.

I stand by my comments that these speed engineering headers are crap. Do t be like me, spend a little more on a better set of headers.

 

[Rmvurtop]

There’s a bracket that is vertical on the back of the support for the ps rack. I believe it’s held in by like 8 or 10 bolts. If u lay under the car look towards the front and I’ll see it. It’s directly under the front drive shaft. There’s 3 bolts on dr and passenger side and I think there’s a couple that are vertical. That plate will remove and should give u some more room to move it around.

 

[BlkGS]

There’s a bracket that is vertical on the back of the support for the ps rack. I believe it’s held in by like 8 or 10 bolts. If u lay under the car look towards the front and I’ll see it. It’s directly under the front drive shaft. There’s 3 bolts on dr and passenger side and I think there’s a couple that are vertical. That plate will remove and should give u some more room to move it around.

Are you talking about the big ass crossmember that's under the steering rack, running between the two frame rails? I didn't see or feel anywhere that connected to anything above it and it seemed like it wasn't creating any obstruction or gain me anything removing it, but it's worth a try. It's the one with the boatload of 15mm bolts and 4 big 18mm bolts? The guy I. The far right here?

 

[Snomongoose]

Are you talking about the big ass crossmember that's under the steering rack, running between the two frame rails? I didn't see or feel anywhere that connected to anything above it and it seemed like it wasn't creating any obstruction or gain me anything removing it, but it's worth a try. It's the one with the boatload of 15mm bolts and 4 big 18mm bolts? The guy I. The far right here?

View attachment 105156

You are a better and more patient man than I am. Hands down.

 

[BlkGS]

You are a better and more patient man than I am. Hands down.

I have a toddler, it's a requirement lol. Plus getting these pieces of crap on is faster than waiting for some kooks to get delivered.