Acura3.0CL

Ok, I just installed my headers. Their for a 2000 Accord V6. (Megan Racing Headers)

Everything was bolting up fine until it came to the flex pipe to the cat...there was a 1/2 in gap. So I had to push my exhaust in from the rear to get the thing bolted up. Now my exhaust tips are pushed in .5". Also, when everything bolted up, the whole exhaust shifted to the right. Now my CAT rubbes aginst my heat shield and rattles and my exhaust tips are over to the far right.

MY MAJOR PROBLEM IS:

Theres a black bar that runs under the engine. (its got a little loop on it if u had to be towed) THIS WILL NOT FIT BACK ANYMORE!!! Is that black bar like a sub frame rail support or lower strut bar or something?? Or is it just there to help protect the underpart of the engine (like if u bottomed out)

For some reason, the flex pipe is in the way and the 2 bolts dont line up and fit....

CAN I DRIVE WITHOUT THIS BAR BEING BOLTED TO THE 2 FRAME PARTS???

(if u dont know what im talking about, theres a black bar that runs front to back under the engine)

lnsyone

the cross memebER?

Acura3.0CL

i donno what it is...comptechs install instructions called it a "center beam bar"

Acura3.0CL

heres a pict of the bar...

lnsyone

oic. ionno what that is. prolly something that 3.0's have

ghost_masterCL

do not drive without it. its' an integral part of the fram. why did you remove it anyways? I never had to remove mine when installing. You might need to get the headers bent to fite properly.

Acura3.0CL

the comtech instructions told me to...the called it a center beam...to help allow more clearence

Acura3.0CL

its called a center beam...what does it do!?!

[img]http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/acura/jsp/mws/catimgs/13SY80_B480[img]


#12....

it connects to the rear beam and cross beam

Acura3.0CL

bump

Acura3.0CL

MODS: you can close this thread....no one can help so i'll go get help somewhere else.

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

Did you get the headers bent to fit? Also, try putting the bar back on and taking off the eaders. Start over, and do it with the bar left on. Also, did you put the right header on the right side? There are not identical, as it may seem. But then again, I have the obx ones.

wilp99

try hammering it with a hammer (a big one) where it hits the headers.. i had to do that with mine.. but it was only touching by mabyee 1/2 inch.. and mine went back on with it touching.. the only reason i bent it was cause im pretty particular about how stuff is aligned.. kind of an excessive compulsive thing.

or you can try to elongate the holes to the right alittle to make the bar move over bout 1/2 inch.. i was going to do this if the bending didnt work.

wilp99

and cocoa is right the left and right headers are not the same..however if it all bolted up ok then its prolly on the right way.

ghost_masterCL

well considering it's an important part of the frame, or sub-frame at least, and it's positioning. I'd say it keeps the engine from getting pusshed back into the cabin if you were to get in a head on collision. Plus it kind of protects the bottom of the engine. If you were to go ver a big bump or something, rather than the oil pan hitting the ground, that bar would.

Acura3.0CL

oh shit....are u kidding me?!?! the headers arnt the same?! left and right are different!?! This could be why nothing wanted to fit up just right...(I had a .5" gap between the downpipe and the CAT) How can I tell which head is left and right?!!? (Can I just look at the front one and see if its the wrong one w/o taking them both of??)

Maybe I have the heads backwards...because the downpipe and cat shifted to the passenger side of the car....(which is y the bar wont fit)

Acura3.0CL

SO yea, for the Megan Racing Headers (V6)...how do I tell which is the front and which is the rear??

wilp99

is there a stamp that says megan racing? usually the stamp goes in the front. mine had a gap in my exhaust too. but they didnt bend to the passanger side.. try swapping the headers and if it seems not to make it any better then leave them the other way..

Acura3.0CL

theres stamps on both headers that say "megan racing"

My delema is that my car has an appt. at 8:30 am to get the piping redone because of this problem. Now I dont know if I should cancel the appt. try to fit it myself tomorrow, and if it dosnt work, then make another appt. for tue.

Or, I still take it to the shop and tell them the situationa and see what they think, and if they can fix it... (i really didnt want to spend too much $ though)

ghost_masterCL

well when I put the headers on thw rong sides on my OBX headers the down pipe didn't even waqnt to bolt up to them, so if the downpipe bolted up fairly easily then they are probably on teh right sides. probably just needs to be bent.

Acura3.0CL

well, what I did was attach the back head the the downpipe, then feed it up threw the bottom and bolted the back head to the block, then all I had to do was bolt on the front head, then connect the downpipe to the front head. After that, then I realised I had a 1" gap. Maybe if my piping was longer, everything would of bolted up and fit right, but because of the gap, i pushed everything together (which possibly shifted the whole exhaust to the right side, thus putting the CAT into the heat shield and putting the downpipe (flex pipe) in the way of where the OEM BAR bolts up. Im hoping if I was to add another 1" or so, everything will straighten out.

I wish there was a way I could tell if the headers were on the right way. Why cant a company like megan racing make something easy like having the logo on only 1 head, meaning thats the front...ahhh!! You know, I tried to save $350 for install by doing it myself and I end up installing the headers twice, with one visit to the acura dealer, and now another visit to the Midas guys....this sucks. My tranny cooler, alarm, blackouts, eyelids, and taillight tint better not give me this much problems!!

Acura3.0CL

:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire
AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, I just want to appoligize for being a postwhore about all this shit. Thanks everyone for their help. You know, if I would of known this install was going to be such a nightmare and require me to install the headerd (3) times, I would of paid the freakin $350 to let someone else deal with the problems. I wish I would of known the heads wernt the same. I figured I had them on correct and when I took it to midas thismorning, the guy told me he thought they were swapped wrong. So now, after countless wasted hours of trying myself, I've ended up having Midas fix everything encluding swapping the heads now, so after trying to save money, now im spending $200 to have them do it for me. (and after I installed them twice already with all my wasted time...:angryfire
I guess I've learned a lesson though all of this.
If my tranny cooler, blackouts, alarmsystem, painted engine covers, eyelids, new breaks, painted calipers, and LED dash light conversion all cause me as much trouble to install as these headers did, I'll go insane....I try to save money, learn how to work on my car myself, and end up screwing up and wasting my time and $$....AHHHH!!!
:angryfire :angryfire

Is there an offical DIY install instructions for 3.0 Headers?? Because if theres not, Im definitly doing a writeup so no one else has to deal with the same shit i've had to deal with...

ajtcl

It all depends on your level of experience... there are things I will do, and things I'll pay my bro to do... And then, there are those things that only the STEALER can do... I am glad there are only a few things in that last catagory.

Acura3.0CL

What do u mean by that!?! are you emplying that I stole something???

ajtcl

No, STEALER=DEALER. sorry man, why, did you... LOL j/k

Acura3.0CL

haha no...I thought you meant since I was doing all those other installs (like blackouts and LED dash conversion etc. that I was stealing everyone elses ideas and mods and copying them for my cl....haha sorry didnt mean to accuse you or anything...

umm as far as stealing goes... ...umm nothing for my car...maybe a few street signs here and there....no felonys, no felonys...lol..

ajtcl

As long as they weren't stop signs, they can get you for negligent homicide if someone dies from a stolen stop sign. Anyway, stealing ideas is the way this forum works, I thought. I love the LED swaps that I've seen.

wilp99

so... how does it feel?

i got stone racing headers for the cl type s 6 speed.. they have a bent header in the back to clear the transmission for the 6 speed. thats how i knew i had them on the right way...sorry bout all your problems.. did they have to bend the piping or did it all just bolt right up? hook us up w/ some info..

Acura3.0CL

GOD DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just waisted $160 on the headers, 8 hrs of my time trying to install them twice, AND NOW $300 AT MIDAS FOR THEM TO TELL ME THEY DONT FIT AND THEY WONT BEND ANYTHING AND THEY WANT MY OEM STOCK HEADERS BACK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD DAMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My god!!! Someone PLEASE tell me, ANYONE who has a 97 3.0 CL...WHAT HEADERS DO YOU HAVE!?!?! Because obviously these Megan Headers dont fit my car!!! I called up Megan Racing and they said these headers will only fit on the 99+ model CL.

WHO HAS HEADERS ON A 97 3.0?? What system do you have!?!?! I AM SOO SICK OF THIS SHIT!! I pretty much just threw away 8 hours of my time and about $400, just to get back to the OEM headers....

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FREAKIN PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EPS CL

Shit man, that sucks. They should fit, as the engine design didn't really change over the three years our car was made. If you're ever down in Texas, you should stop by. My friends and I could hook you up and get those bastards on.

Acura3.0CL

It dosnt make sence....the heads bolt to the engine block fine. the downpipe bolts up fine. But for some reason the downpipe angles over to toward the passenger side therefor not aligning up with the CAT and thus getting in the way of the OEM Center beam bar. (the flex pipe is right where the beam is suppost to be.

The guy at midas sat the OEM headers and downpipe next to the megan racing header ones and was like, "oh my! no wonder these wont fit, the downpipe is not the same length and these aftermarket headers are farther apart than the OEM ones. (where the downpipe splits off to go up to the back header, the 2 pipes are like 2-3" apart where the OEM system is like 1" apart.

ajtcl

wilp99, isn't yours a 3.0...? Maybe he should get the Stone Racing headers instead.

Acura3.0CL

It dosnt matter if its a 3.0...that parts easy...I know i need headers for a V6 3.0...its the year that matters. According to Megan Racing, their Accord V6 98-02 headers were tested on the 99+ CL only...

I got to looking, I think I know whats different between the 97-98 CL and the 99 CL...

If you look at this picture of the headers, look at the gap between the 2 pipes. (where the pipe extends out and up toward the back head)

http://www.v6performance.net/reviews...0044-large.jpg

Thats the Headers for the 98-02 V6 Accord (which you'd think would fit the 97-98 CL)

Then look at the pict of the headers on Dustbusters car. It looks like the gap between the 2 pipes is much smaller.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/225532



Soo I dont understand why the engine/exhaust setup would of changed between 97-98 to 99....but it looks different..

SO WHAT V6 HEADERS WILL FIT THE 97 3.0 CL?????

astro

LOL, you bought headers for the 3.2 V6, not the 3.0