madmanmax3000

Hey guys, I'm planning on tackling the Comptech Header install myself later today, but since I'm 17, I gotta get this cleared by my parents (they are worried about the car falling on me ).

They want me to find out the best and most sturdy way to jack up the car for doing a header install, so I figured you people would be my best resource. TOV mentioned a front jack point, I can't seem to find it..

Where do you think I should put my jack/jackstands??

GIBSON6594

Jack stands will be fine, there are 2 little metal bars right behind the front tires. That's where you put the stands.

Good luck

BTW, there have been stories of people dying because there car falling on them while doing mods, so they have a right to be worried

dom

^^ What he said and be careful.

RMATIC09

madmanmax3000

hmm...thanks guys

I gotta show this thread to my parents before they will let me do anything, so if anybody has something more reassuring to say that'd be good

CCColtsicehockey

I have not had any experience installing a header but I installed my complete catback exhaust myself. just basically give yourself a complete day to do the work make sure you have all the right tools and then just take your time. dont try to rush anything. and dont forget to put the ebrake on.

CCColtsicehockey

Link to exhaust install

Thought that link may help a little or it may not.


Also I was looking at your pics of your car any chance you are interested in a free OEM spoiler I need to swap Trunks with someone.

gsclifton

iTrader: (2)

Getting the car up on jack stands is one of the first and easiest steps in a DIY Header install. Do you have the tools (breaker bar, sockets, wrenches, torque wrench, etc) to complete the install after you get some air under the car?

Here is a picture of my car up on stands from a while back.



If you can get the car secured up on stands, you are about as safe as you can get without access to a hydraulic lift. Be sure and chock the rear tires.

TSX6one9

Please have a couple more people out there with you as well. Don't do it on your own. Good Luck

jlukja

That picture is textbook. The jacking point is right under and behind the front bumper (in the center). Make sure your car is on a flat surface. Do not jack up the car if its on a sloped driveway. Put blocks behind the rear tires (to prevent the car from rolling back). Engage the e-brake. Raise the car with the jack. Slide the jackstands into position (as shown in the pic above). Lower the car onto the jack stands. Move the jack out of the way. You're in business. Good Luck.

gfd1182

first of all make sure the car is cool becuase the header is HOT!. dont forget to put the ebrake on and pro the back wheels so the car doesnt roll away from you. By all means try to get some other people to help you, or even better have your parents give u the money so you could have installed at a shop

madmanmax3000

thanks guys, this makes things a lot more clear and should be enough to reassure my parents

CCC, the OEM wing really ain't my style, sorry...but thanks for the link

gsclifton, that picture is just what I was looking for, thanks a ton

gfd, it's not about the money, I like to buy and install my own parts, gives me more pride of ownership (seeing as I didn't buy myself the car)

and just as a general note...I will be doing this with a couple friends, not alone

CCColtsicehockey

Thats good to hear

narci

Even though you pull the e-brake, I would put blocks behind the rear wheel just incase.

jlukja

Let us know how it went when you're done.

CCColtsicehockey

CCColtsicehockey

fuckleberry

I thought the manual shows the proper jacking points

CCColtsicehockey

pretty sure that it does.

moda_way

It does.

I should be doing my Header install shortly along with the hi-flow cat as well. Just waiting for the header to show up.

rtlltj

is a breaker bar really necessary for these types of installs? Is it just to give you more torque when removing really tight bolts?

rtlltj

what i mean is

Do you guys think you need a really long breaker bar or just the standard one that comes with rachet sets?

joerockt

From what I understand, yes. The bolts that hold the header on do not have any antisease on them.

Tsx536

Yes I would definitely use a breaker bar. You don't have much room to work, so you want to get as much leverage as you can while your underneath there laying on your back. You can get a breaker bar at Pepboys for like $5-$10 bucks. Not the highest quality, but it will do the job. Also make sure to get some ratchet extensions. The bolt that holds the header to the engine block was biatch for me to get off, because I didn't have the right extension. I would also spray all of the bolts with knockoff, while the car is still warm. Here are the tools I had when I did my install.



Install instructions:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...2&postcount=89

Full thread that where the header install is discussed in depth:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...8&page=3&pp=25

JTso

iTrader: (2)

*

Tsx536

^^ That's a great thread also. Those papers you see in my post are a printed version of JTso's install thread

moda_way

According to the Service manual, they are also locking nuts too.

Did everyone use anti-seize on the nuts upon reinstall?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I did.

ooze48

You're going to install headers but you can't find the front jack point or figure out where the jack stands go? Dude, are you sure you should be doing this?

I'm no mechanic but I just slapped on some Tein coilovers as my very first mod ever. If I couldn't figure out where the front jack point is after looking under the car for more than 10 seconds, I would have drove it directly to a garage to have them do the install.

Be careful. Good luck.

joerockt

Good point.

If your folks care for your safety, probably should kick down the extra coin to get it installed.

virtualbong

Good luck with the install Max. Did you also get a high flow cat to complete the bolt ons?

Another extra thing that you could do is put your wheels on each side of you so that if the stands should tip over, at least the wheels will save you from the car completely crushing you.

peter_bigblock

Don't let these guys give you too much of a hard time. Everyone jacks up a car and crawls under for the first time. The front jack point took me a while to find, too, and I've been working under cars for 20 years. It's about a foot or so behind the front bumper, right in the middle, and there's a fairly big arrow pointing at it from behind (the arrow is aft of the jacking point).

Never put your jack or stands on anything other than a concrete floor (as opposed to asphalt, or on pieces of wood to increase height) and never put pieces of wood on the jack's cradle to increase the jacking height. If you can't get the car up as high as you need, get a bigger jack. Be SURE to chock both rear wheels, and not with just a 2x4. Don't have any arms or legs under the car while you're jacking or when it's only supported by the jack. Put the jack stands under the jacking points behind the front wheels (see your owner's manual). Set the car gently down onto the jack stands and leave the jack where it's out of your way but accessible in case someone needs to jack the car up quickly. Make sure your jack stands are in good condition and are rated for a couple tons each.

Good for you for tackling the project yourself, working on your own car is half the fun of modding, IMO, and you'll become familiar with what's what on your car. Plus, the money you save will eventually add up to nice savings or more mods.

fuckleberry

was thinking exact same thing.

madmanmax3000

I've never used the front jack point, only the ones behind the front wheels, sorry i'm not an expert with it...

one thing that I don't know is WHAT ARE THE PROPER TORQUE SPECS FOR THE DIFFERENT BOLTS???

virtualbong

If you wanted to drop by my place, you could borrow my Helms. If I have time, I can take a picture of the pages you need, but I'm pretty busy.

fuckleberry

I was about to add "make sure you have all the instructions " in my prev post, then I assumed you did.

madmanmax3000

yeah i was surprised to see that the comptech instructions didn't mention the torque specs for the bolts...weird

do you think i could stop by my dealership and take a look at a service manual?

moda_way

All get 33 ft lbs of torque.

madmanmax3000

thanks Ryan, after this my next mod is going to be Helms manual

ooze48

That's cool. I hope you didn't get the wrong idea.

I wasn't trying to talk down at you for not knowing where the front jack point and/or where to put the front jack stands. It sounded like you looked for them and couldn't find them. I was simply saying that they seem very easy to find if you look, especially thanks to the big arrow up front for the jack point. I'm sure the manual points out where to put the jack stands (at a minimum, it might also point out the front/rear jack points), so if you couldn't figure this stuff out quickly on your own, doing the headers might be a bit much for you to handle.

Basically I was just asking if you thought this all through.