TA Header fitment/install experience

[turbo nasty]

Got the headers in and figured I would write a lil somethin up. NO BS just my honest install experience

My stockers were done and would not stop cracking during the tig weld even though they were drilled and stress (heated) relieved. So the TA's beat out the "OTHER" choices out there IMO.

I chose the VHT flameproof header spray Flat Black since I could not afford the JET HOT and it looks great and holding up great so far. I went over the whole set with fine sandpaper and emery cloth. Then washed with a rag and HOT soapy water (palmolive dish soap). Heated them up a bit and speed water drying and then wiped the headers down with paint prep chemical. Hung em up with wire...Painted 3-4 thin coats just to get them colored and let that dry. Was careful on install and then followed the on car curing process and everything is holding up great and seems to be a great durable finish. I like the looks of the finish

As far as install areas...

They came with no instructions, but good quality gaskets and hardware. I used SCE copper manifold gaskets since I had a set already and saved the ones that came with the headers. Used the 3 bolt turbo gasket that came with it and no leaks yet..real nice design on that gasket!

The pass side header was challenging (metal lines the most) and had to be put in from the top

1.Had to move the pos+ wire to the starter over toward the engine to clear(just loosed at the stud and swung over and retightened)
2 The 2 fuel lines that run on/along the pass side frame adjacent to the starter hit the the headers. I removed the clamp on top of the frame rail and bent the lines over a little and the put the clamp back 180 degrees from before utilizing the same bolt hole and they cleared fine.
3. The turbo and DP had to be removed also.

The driver side was not bad and put in from underneath

1. Only problem was one of the bolt holes on the AC/alt bracktry had to be drilled out just a little(rat tail file would have worked since it was a a small amount catching the bolt).

The biggest Pain and frustrating part was the crossover Vband clamp connection/crossover install.

1. The bolts must be bent on the clamp prior to install. They simply WILL NOT line up if not. and even then they are a major pain.
2 The cross over must be put together prior to install and it is a booger to hold up and try to assemble the clamps. I used a wire tie around the tranny lines to hold up the crossover during the v band install.

I had the Kirbans heat shield for the pass side rear control arm bushing that hit the headers and had to remove it. Thugh my Motor mounts are the originals and this could be the reason. I also have a tq strap.

All spark plugs are easliy accessed and nothing hits the steering shaft and plenty of room on oil pan and flywheel area.

Cant really judge spool and overall power yet since I think my puck is not sealing on my turbine housing. But at 19 psi the car pulls harder in the midrange for sure.

Car is so quiet now that you hear the alternator and injectors and thats it. Wierd a that I had grew so used to the exh leaks on the factory headers.

Every other set of headers I have put on was a Major pain anyways and these were better then the normal crap u must go up against on instal.
The get a ATTA boy from me.

 

[Nick Micale]

....
...1. The bolts must be bent on the clamp prior to install. They simply WILL NOT line up if not. and even then they are a major pain.

2. The cross over must be put together prior to install and it is a booger to hold up and try to assemble the clamps. I used a wire tie around the tranny lines to hold up the crossover during the v band install..............

Good info, especially about bending the bolts on the clamps.:smile:

As far as installing the crossover, especially by yourself, here is what I have done many times:

Put the pass side and clamp on, and leave it loose. You can then slide in the DS pipe into the pass pipe, and fit the clamp on the header flange while holding the pipe in place on the DS header. Then tighten both clamps.

This is easier on a lift, but have done it on the ground as well.

 

[Boost231]

glad to hear you finally got them and got them on the car. let us know how you really like them once you get everyhting worked out on the car.

 

[turbo nasty]

Good info, especially about bending the bolts on the clamps.:smile:

As far as installing the crossover, especially by yourself, here is what I have done many times:

Put the pass side and clamp on, and leave it loose. You can then slide in the DS pipe into the pass pipe, and fit the clamp on the header flange while holding the pipe in place on the DS header. Then tighten both clamps.

This is easier on a lift, but have done it on the ground as well.

HEY NICK WHERES MY HEADERS...LOL:biggrin:

Thanx for the input and I tried that and just could not get the drivers side to pull over.

 

[turbo nasty]

glad to hear you finally got them and got them on the car. let us know how you really like them once you get everyhting worked out on the car.

Will do

 

[Nick Micale]

HEY NICK WHERES MY HEADERS...LOL:biggrin:......

Good question, still waiting for DHL to deliver them?

This past week they lost another large package that did not even make it out of Phoenix!

 

[TurboDave]

Cool write up turbo nasty!!

I need to do one similar for my Translator Pro and Power logger now that they're installed and running. Just gotta get busy and get it all written down.

 

[John Wilde]

Cool write up turbo nasty!!

I need to do one similar for my Translator Pro and Power logger now that they're installed and running. Just gotta get busy and get it all written down.

I would love to read your experience Dave.
Also thanks to TS for the great information.

 

[turbo nasty]

TTT

 

[t3intercooled]

Cool write up turbo nasty!!

I need to do one similar for my Translator Pro and Power logger now that they're installed and running. Just gotta get busy and get it all written down.

I would be extremely interested in the powerlogger write up. Will be doing that this winter. Love this board!!!!

 

[SloGN]

Got the headers in and figured I would write a lil somethin up. NO BS just my honest install experience

My stockers were done and would not stop cracking during the tig weld even though they were drilled and stress (heated) relieved. So the TA's beat out the "OTHER" choices out there IMO.

I chose the VHT flameproof header spray Flat Black since I could not afford the JET HOT and it looks great and holding up great so far. I went over the whole set with fine sandpaper and emery cloth. Then washed with a rag and HOT soapy water (palmolive dish soap). Heated them up a bit and speed water drying and then wiped the headers down with paint prep chemical. Hung em up with wire...Painted 3-4 thin coats just to get them colored and let that dry. Was careful on install and then followed the on car curing process and everything is holding up great and seems to be a great durable finish. I like the looks of the finish

As far as install areas...

They came with no instructions, but good quality gaskets and hardware. I used SCE copper manifold gaskets since I had a set already and saved the ones that came with the headers. Used the 3 bolt turbo gasket that came with it and no leaks yet..real nice design on that gasket!

The pass side header was challenging (metal lines the most) and had to be put in from the top

1.Had to move the pos+ wire to the starter over toward the engine to clear(just loosed at the stud and swung over and retightened)
2 The 2 fuel lines that run on/along the pass side frame adjacent to the starter hit the the headers. I removed the clamp on top of the frame rail and bent the lines over a little and the put the clamp back 180 degrees from before utilizing the same bolt hole and they cleared fine.
3. The turbo and DP had to be removed also.

The driver side was not bad and put in from underneath

1. Only problem was one of the bolt holes on the AC/alt bracktry had to be drilled out just a little(rat tail file would have worked since it was a a small amount catching the bolt).

The biggest Pain and frustrating part was the crossover Vband clamp connection/crossover install.

1. The bolts must be bent on the clamp prior to install. They simply WILL NOT line up if not. and even then they are a major pain.
2 The cross over must be put together prior to install and it is a booger to hold up and try to assemble the clamps. I used a wire tie around the tranny lines to hold up the crossover during the v band install.

I had the Kirbans heat shield for the pass side rear control arm bushing that hit the headers and had to remove it. Thugh my Motor mounts are the originals and this could be the reason. I also have a tq strap.

All spark plugs are easliy accessed and nothing hits the steering shaft and plenty of room on oil pan and flywheel area.

Cant really judge spool and overall power yet since I think my puck is not sealing on my turbine housing. But at 19 psi the car pulls harder in the midrange for sure.

Car is so quiet now that you hear the alternator and injectors and thats it. Wierd a that I had grew so used to the exh leaks on the factory headers.

Every other set of headers I have put on was a Major pain anyways and these were better then the normal crap u must go up against on instal.
The get a ATTA boy from me.

That is pretty much what i had problems with when i install my ATR ebay headers. The cross over with the band clamps seals great but are a pita to get bolted up.

Same here on beaing able to hear the alt and injectors i too had welded my stockers too many times.

 

[8AV8]

Do you have any installed pics of the engine bay?

Is your turbo cocked at all or do the TAs keep the turbo straight?

 

[turbo nasty]

Ill snap some pics and post em up the turbo is straight and sits like the stockers.

 

[WSLN 6]

Be careful bending the v-band clamp bolts, they are not the strongest. Was just tapping them with a hammer to put a slight curve in one, and it snapped in two.....Not cool. Oh well, time to drill it and put in another bolt or something.

 

[turbo nasty]

I heated mine first ..good point. Wish they would address the band clamp issue

 

[87GNSteve]

There are no fuel lines on the passenger side.
Were you refering to the tranny cooler lines

 

[turbo nasty]

:biggrin: ding.....ding....ding....you are correct, you get a gold star.

The "Transmission lines" NOT "Fuel Lines" are the lines I was speaking of.

If you are doing the install youll get a rough jist of it from what I wrote. Or at least that was my intent.

 

[nightrain]

I also have the TA headers, but my experience was a bit different. I can start by saying I am thoroughly happy with the performance of the headers and I'm leary of posting anything even remotely negative on these boards. But, the install for me was nasty. I bought the stainless version as they were out of stock of the carbon steel and our racing season is quite short up here. Also, my stock manifolds (ATR DS manifold, though) were fine; no leaks. I just wanted more power.

Physically installing the headers and crossover were no trouble. I wrench on the rest of the car, so this was no big deal. I, too, had the same issue with the band clamps; real PITA's. The problems were:

Turbo mounting flange had the turbo pointing a few degrees CCW (looking from above), which made it impossible to connect the DP back up and had the 4" turbo inlet blasting into my IAC. I had to grind out the 3 holes to be able to rotate the turbo back to its original position. Not a big deal, but irritating for the $$$ of the headers. TA told me all the headers are made on the same jig and nobody else complained. My bad luck I guess, but I would think the 3 bolt turbine inlet wouldn't change itself while it sits on the work bench.

Then, upon startup I had exhaust leaks at the heads. No big deal, just hot torque the bolts. No results. Tried to torque bolts after it cooled down. Same leaks. Mind you, I had yet to take the car down the road. Figured I'd toasted the gaskets by now (yep, fiber was burned off the metal core), so went with copper and copper spray sealer. Still had leaks after hot torques. Now I'm getting frustrated. Took the DS to machine shop and he laughed at how warped they were. Flanges showed no evidence of milling after welding, so I figured perhaps the welder had a bad day. It's actually not easy to warp stainless flanges with the proper heat input. $35 later I was back in business with nice flat flanges. Well, that just made the PS header leaks that much more noticeable. But, you can't put that one on a sanding table because the turbo mount is in the way of a flat position on the table. I'm an old hand at metal crafting, so I hand filed the flange as flat as I could (the first few file marks told the story, too). New gaskets and bingo, no leaks.

So, for $1100 I was disappointed in the quality of the stainless fabrication. I would expect to do this extra work and buy the extra expensive gaskets, if the headers were half the price. But, again, I'm quite happy with the final result. Still leak free and maybe just my imagination, but the car sounds "throatier" than before.

 

[gnkid1987]

i had to also bend a brake line on the passanger side because it was too close to the header. and i had to force the header in its deffinatly a tight squeeze but they do fit awsome. and put the clam on the passanger side first it does make it easier i tried the drivers side clams first but i couldent get it. vice grips also are handy to sqeuuze the clam together if your doing it alone

 

[Lee Thompson]

same here

I also have the TA headers, but my experience was a bit different. I can start by saying I am thoroughly happy with the performance of the headers and I'm leary of posting anything even remotely negative on these boards. But, the install for me was nasty. I bought the stainless version as they were out of stock of the carbon steel and our racing season is quite short up here. Also, my stock manifolds (ATR DS manifold, though) were fine; no leaks. I just wanted more power.

Physically installing the headers and crossover were no trouble. I wrench on the rest of the car, so this was no big deal. I, too, had the same issue with the band clamps; real PITA's. The problems were:

Turbo mounting flange had the turbo pointing a few degrees CCW (looking from above), which made it impossible to connect the DP back up and had the 4" turbo inlet blasting into my IAC. I had to grind out the 3 holes to be able to rotate the turbo back to its original position. Not a big deal, but irritating for the $$$ of the headers. TA told me all the headers are made on the same jig and nobody else complained. My bad luck I guess, but I would think the 3 bolt turbine inlet wouldn't change itself while it sits on the work bench.

Then, upon startup I had exhaust leaks at the heads. No big deal, just hot torque the bolts. No results. Tried to torque bolts after it cooled down. Same leaks. Mind you, I had yet to take the car down the road. Figured I'd toasted the gaskets by now (yep, fiber was burned off the metal core), so went with copper and copper spray sealer. Still had leaks after hot torques. Now I'm getting frustrated. Took the DS to machine shop and he laughed at how warped they were. Flanges showed no evidence of milling after welding, so I figured perhaps the welder had a bad day. It's actually not easy to warp stainless flanges with the proper heat input. $35 later I was back in business with nice flat flanges. Well, that just made the PS header leaks that much more noticeable. But, you can't put that one on a sanding table because the turbo mount is in the way of a flat position on the table. I'm an old hand at metal crafting, so I hand filed the flange as flat as I could (the first few file marks told the story, too). New gaskets and bingo, no leaks.

So, for $1100 I was disappointed in the quality of the stainless fabrication. I would expect to do this extra work and buy the extra expensive gaskets, if the headers were half the price. But, again, I'm quite happy with the final result. Still leak free and maybe just my imagination, but the car sounds "throatier" than before.

Had to open up the 3 turbo mounting holes. I DID NOT call in with my experince. Maybe the same with the CLUB cams--no reports of lobe failure.