I took a crack at installing EVO headers on my car today.

First of all don't believe everything you read about how easy this is.

Yes it can be simple but you can get into trouble quickly. I learned when you remove a stud from the turbo it may not go back in right and could become stripped. To remedy this I had to get the stud back out, chase the threads on the turbo flange with a tap and get a new stud. This turned what could have been a 1 hour job into a 4 hour ordeal; most of it spent looking for a new stud. Oh... I take no responsibility for this; if you screw it up don't blame me.

If you want the job to be simple make sure you have new hardware for the turbo side of the header. Order it from the dealer. All you need are 6 studs and nuts. You may also want a new turbo gasket and some anti-seize. You need a 13MM socket and ratchet, torque wrench and open end wrench (standard and stubby). A 13 mm swivel socket would help as well.

• Get a can of liquid wrench and soak the bolts on the turbo flange. I would let it set up for a while.
• Block the car in the front and jack it in the back. Once you have the car safely jacked up you can remove the headers.
• If all went well with the soaking of the turbo flange studs you should be able to remove the nuts from the studs on the turbo. If you find that the stud is backing out with the nut you will need to replace the stud when you get it out. If you try and reuse it you may not be able to get back in without galling the threads up. This is the mistake I made.
• Once you have the old header out if need be replace the studs on the turbo flange. Use anti-seize on the stud and try and thread it by hand into the turbo. If it is difficult to thread by hand you will need to take the stud and place two nuts on the end that has the longer threads. Tighten the two nuts together. You should now be able to screw the stud into the turbo using a wrench. If it feels like its getting bound up you may need to clean out the hole with a tap. Once the stud is in you can use 2 13mm wrenches to separate the nuts and remove them both from the stud. Hopefully you won't have to do any of this but being prepared with new hardware will save you allot of aggravation later. <O
• Using new gaskets install the new header, place a bit of anti-seize on the studs and bolts. You should be able to screw all the bolts in by hand to the point where the header is not loose. Using the new nuts tighten them up on the turbo flange. You may need the stubby 13mm open end wrench to get at all of them. Tighten the 9 other bolts to 25 ft-lb’s. Repeat the process for the other side. Carefully start the car and check for leaks.
• <OJack it down and enjoy.

 

I wish I would have read your post this morning.....It would have saved me four hours this evening. Same deal on header install, studs backed out from the turbo flange when removing the factory headers, quite the pain!

I'll be getting new studs as well....and some more liquid wrench.

 

Couple of things I learned when doing my exhaust

1)let the penetrating oil soak overnight
2)use a propane torch if necessary to heat the nut/stud to help it loosen
3)I chased the threads on every stun and hole with a tap and die before trying to reinstall the nuts
4)the porsche studs are weak and very easy to break

 

The hardware should be included with the headers for the dollars they cost.. We are not talking about a $300 set of headers out of a Summit catalog for a small block.

 

I found an extra set of 996TT headers (same as 997TT) and am going to grind out the welding slag and have them temp coated. This will probably cost me a total of ~ $200. It may not give quite the benefit of equal length mid-length headers but I doubt there is much power to be found here anyway

 

To be honest the studs do not normally back out. I install both the muffler and headers on a daily basis and that is not common. It happens every now and then but it comes down to how comfortable you are in and around a car. What I consider to be very easy may not be for someone else. However I still consider this a 3 on a 10 scale and patience is important.

 

So when you sell headers do you include the studs and nuts?

 

Hey Bro,

Nice screen name!

 

I include nuts because they need to be smaller, but never studs.

 

Thats Hysterical!

 

Why thank you!