Marc P

After having a blown headgasket on my 95 4runner, I am having headers installed to remove the crossover pipe that gets the #6 cyl hot.

The guy doing my install just called me and said the passenger side header hits the firewall and will not allow the head to go far enough back to install?? Has anyone heard of this? Does it make a difference if you install the heads and then the header?

BTW this is a 3.0 auto.

Jay351

How much clearance are we talking about? Downey headers are notorious for not being the best quality/fit/finish. Is there room to "massage" the firewall?

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Marc, do not quote me, but I thought I read a long time ago here that with the headers on a 3.0 a 1" body lift helped.

I know yours is SAS'd, but is the body at stock height?

I am sure I have read that over the years, as at one time I was contemplating putting headers on my old rig with the 3.0.

Roger Brown would be the guy to ask on this I bet.

Jay351

I have seen MANY installed without body lifts, I think its a downey thing....

Marc P

These came off a 93 4Runner, so I am not sure what the issue is. Is there a difference if you put the headers on after the heads are installed??

You cant really "massage" the firewall on that side because you have fuel lines, transmission kick-down cable and more running in the same spot.

Jay1

I put downey headers on my brothers 94 runner and the hardest part way removing the old. The fit is tight but possible.

abecedarian

maybe a motor mount or the trans mount has shifted skewing the engine to the side.

I can't imagine the header being that close to the firewall even with 1/2" of downey fubup.

vjr021

Are there any other options for headers besides Downey?

I bought my 4Runner with some sloppy headers on it and don't want to go back to stock manifolds.

Mr_Martinez1982

yea something is wrong. why is he tryin to put the head W/ header on? when i put on my DT's, i put the head, then the header. I recall reading that you had might have to "massage" the firewall on Downeys website. Doug Thorley's site says theres fuel line clearance issues, but that wasnt that big of a deal.

Marc P

Apparently the headers are on now.

Mr_Martinez1982

lol question the mekanik, unless he is i an i is he

Marc P

He tried to put the headers on with the heads and it did not work. He was able to get the headers on once the heads were in place.

Marc P

Got my truck back today.....$1700 later I have reworked heads, new gaskets, Downey headers, and a custom Y-pipe to do away with that peskey crossover pipe.

I still need to figure out the EGR and reed valves, move some of the lines and wires that run way too close to the passenger side header, and find a new location for the transfercase cooler.

Here are some pics of the new exhaust....

really tight on the pass side..


new Y-pipe..the exhaust guy has an RTI ramp so I know the driveshaft clears..




drivers side is clean..


EGR is blocked off for now...

vjr021

Is it okay to bypass the EGR?

BoostinChick

Oh geez...use the search feature on this question. You will get a lot of "yes" and a lot of "no". It will all come down to what you end up doing and what your smog laws in your state will "allow".

Nice looking headers I may consider doing this myself how much did the headers and labor cost you if you don't mind me asking? Not sure if I want to do the header install myself or just fess up and pay someone to do it.

mt_goat

I don't like the way the headers almost touch the fuel lines. I thought you were suppost to bend those out of the way and insulate them. I'd be worried about brake lines too. EDIT: Sorry, I see now you'll be addressing those problems.

On a positive note, good work on the heat shield for the spark plug wires!

benwahballs

x2 on heat shield
any idea where u got it? when I pull my headers off to helicoil all my threads, I'd like to slap on one of those shields.

You might want to consider some sort of exhaust wrap to reduce heat. I know there are pros/cons to this, but I am just throwing out options as opposed to bending, rerouting all those tranny lines. On my 5spd, the brake and fuel lines were relatively easy to just "gracefully" move out of the way.

The mechanic prob had what he thought was a good idea w bolting the headers up to heads before hand, as accessing the bolts afterwards is a real pita (I believe I needed a double swivel for a couple of the ones in the back). But in those pics you still have a decent amount of clearance between your header and firewall, so they probably just won't stuff in like that.

OFF TOPIC
goat what do u live on this forum? 7k plus posts, wow. Wanna move up to canada and help me work on my truck?

mt_goat

He probably used the stock exhaust manifold gaskets, which include the heat shields. But I guess you have to cut them up some to fit.

LOL, yeah I live here now. I did start posting 4 years before you though.

RobD

Should have thrown a few more bucks at it and swapped a 3.4 and avoided those pesky headgasket issues.

Marc P

A few more bucks???? Probably another 2k at least!! I thought about it long and hard.....what it came down to is money and time. With desert season coming up, I did not want my truck down.

I figure in a couple years the 4.0 will become more available, and I will swap that in.

I moved all the lines out of the way, and all seems good for now. I have the reed valve hooked up, but the egr is disconnected for the time being.