i have a 93 f150 with the 5.0. i have some headers and an entire new exhaust system in the mail coming to me. my question. is removing the original manifolds something i can do in my driveway kind of thing? i know i can reach them and all that, but is soaking the bolts to loosen them up going to be enough? or should i just take it to a shop and have them do it? i've never put on headers before, but they look straight forward.

any tips or advice would be awesome. thanks guys!!

 

My bro and I took my driverside manifold off with a bit of elbow grease and a hand torch for heating a frozen bolt or two, the otherside would be a bit of a pain I think.

 

It is not an easy thing to do but it is not all that hard. Me and a buddy did mine. The hardest part was geting the bolts tight. Had to use a wrench and a pipe. The header to down pipe bolts were the worst.

 

yeah i figured the passenger side would be the worst. am i going to need a second set of hands to do this?

 

It never hurts to have a second hand. It could be helpful at sometimes but is always nice to have someone to BS with and get the beer.

 

haha true enough. i just dont really know anyone that'd give me a hand. lol that wouldn't charge me anyways lol my one car buddy just went to jail...

 

if you dont care about the exhaust thats on there now just cut it off... break the bolts on the flanges and cut the pipe in places where you can get it off...

next pull the manifolds... on these engines if they are dry I do them hot...

pull off the manifold and clean the mating surfaces with a Surface Prep disk...

USE FACTORY gaskets on the headers DO NOT USE the supplied gaskets they will blow out... the stock factory gasket will not and it will last forever....

tighten the center cylinders first and work outwards each way or you will warp the flange... the rest is easy peasy

 

I'm doing this job next week. I plan to pull the plastic wheel well for better access with my impact. An old trick. Warm the engine before breaking the bolts. Just like using a torch but easier and more even. Hot metal expands.

 

i bought a different set of gaskets and bolts other than what comes with the headers. and im assuming when you say dry, thats exactly what you mean. like no oil or anything on them. and yeah, all my old piping is coming off so im just gonna cut it to pieces.

when i prep the surface of the head, do i need to caution against debris falling into the exhaust ports?

 

unless you bought the better Aluminum or Copper flange gaskets use the factory...

anything else is Asbestos and they get brittle...

when you surface prep the mating surface you dont need to worry about stuff in the ports... it will blow it out as soon as you crank the engine... big chunks (if any) should be picked out ahead of time