jc06VMAX Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 tomorrow morning one of my buddies and myself are gonna put some pacesetter lts on my truck. i've read around and think i have everything straight, but are there any little details that get looked over that i need to keep in mind or anything like that? i saw in an older thread to torque 11 ft. lbs. from the center out then after a heat cycle torque to 18 ft. lbs. any other tips to make things run smooth and headache free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 use anti seize on your header bolts. makes life easier if you need to remove them good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 (edited) Installing Pacesetters on the 2WD trucks is a snap. 18 ft-lbs is a lot of torque on the fastners IMO, it is more important that they be coated with a little anti-seize and tightened evenly to 11-15 ft-lbs. Do reuse the factory steel gaskets, be careful with them and they are almost infinitely reuseable, and no retorque is required. With the Pacesetters you will have the most hell at the collector, make sure that the pipes (collector joint) are in alignment with each other to prevent collector leaks. Your biggest hassles will be uninstalling the factory exhaust - I HIGHLY recommend you soak everything in thread penetrating oil (PB Blaster, etc) tonight, then again tomorrow a good 30-mins before attempting disassembly. I would heat the motor, then as it is cooling off spray the penetrating oil, the heat will pull the oil into the threads; do not spray the 12 header bolts, but rather the 6 collector nuts and the O2 sensors. The O2 sensors will be an absolute PITA and you will round them off with a wrench unless you pre-soak, and they are expensive to replace. We have had about 1/5th of the time had the O2 sensor threads 'weld' themselves into the bung, and when you remove them from the factory pipe it destroys both the sensor threads as well as the bung threads from extreme galling; be careful removing O2 sensors. Also, apply a little anti-seize on reinstallation, but DO NOT get any chemical on the sensor probe itself or it will be fouled/ruined. I cannot remember, but I think you might have to undo the single 15mm bolt holding together the steering shaft, and separate the shaft temporarily to slip the header into place. Mr. P. Edited November 6, 2009 by Mr. P. (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 (edited) If all else fails, make sure to have a sawzall handy.......and please do not use air tools!!! Edited November 6, 2009 by Fireman31 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8 UR HMI Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 dont forget to get the front tires off the ground at least 6 inches or ur gonna have a hell of a time getting the passenger one in!!! good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc06VMAX Posted November 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 thanks everybody. hopefully i wont run into any major problems with the o2 sensors . i should have some pics and vids up either tomorrow night or saturday. might do a how-to on the install. we'll see. thanks again and God bless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahoBLKss Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 TAKE THE DRIVER SIDE MUD SKIRT OUT OF THE WHEEL WELL FOR EASY EXCESS TO THE HEADER BOLTS.... WILL SAVE YOU TONS OF TIME AND YOUR KNUCKLES!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454327 Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 How did this go? I've been working on mine a couple hours a day for the past two days and I'm just now to the point that I got all the old exhaust off. I knew to spray everything down with penetrant ahead of time so all the bolts that I needed to undo just came right off. I only had a little bit of time yesterday so I focused on taking off the front wheels and removing the inner fenders (MUCH easier) and today I broke out the saws-all and cut all the old exhaust off (PITA!!!!) I did find out that my O2 extension are not the right ones. I got the square ones because I knew the rears were square and it turns out this truck has some trapazoid shaped front sensors and NOBODY carries anything like that. I'm probably going to have to do some cutting and soldering (YIKES) if I need them. I might not though as the ARH headers seem to have the O2s in a good spot but I'll know for sure tomorrow. I'm doing a stall install at the same time so I did spend some time dropping the cross member. Also a little heads up to anyone looking to install headers, remove the metal flashing from the driver side manifold to get to the rear bolt without too much trouble. I went through the fender and removed the flashing and used a sqivel joint 13mm socket and a 2ft extension to get it loose. Also remove the oil dipstick BEFORE you even think of removing the passenger manifold. Don't ask me how I know! If anyone can give me a breakdown of how to get the torsion bars out of my way so I can drop the tranny I'm all ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 (edited) ... I might not though as the ARH headers seem to have the O2s in a good spot but I'll know for sure tomorrow. My ARH longtubes required an O2 sensor on the driver's side; on the 2WD trucks you can use a 12" extension but on the AWD/4X4 trucks a 2'ft extension is needed so you can re-route the wire in a way to not get burned on the exhaust or wrapped-up in the driveline. Unless they moved the O2 bung... And there is no way to remove the torsion bar crossmember, and removing the torsion bars themselves is not necessary to R&R the trans. Mr. P. Edited November 6, 2009 by Mr. P. (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454327 Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 My ARH longtubes required an O2 sensor on the driver's side; on the 2WD trucks you can use a 12" extension but on the AWD/4X4 trucks a 2'ft extension is needed so you can re-route the wire in a way to not get burned on the exhaust or wrapped-up in the driveline. Unless they moved the O2 bung... And there is no way to remove the torsion bar crossmember, and removing the torsion bars themselves is not necessary to R&R the trans. Mr. P. So how do I get the transmission down to where I can pull out the stall and put in the new one? Pull it back just a little bit then drop the front strait down? I have a transmisson jack so I won't be in a bind doing this. If that doesn't work do I have to pull the transfer case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc06VMAX Posted November 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 How did this go? I've been working on mine a couple hours a day for the past two days and I'm just now to the point that I got all the old exhaust off. I knew to spray everything down with penetrant ahead of time so all the bolts that I needed to undo just came right off. I only had a little bit of time yesterday so I focused on taking off the front wheels and removing the inner fenders (MUCH easier) and today I broke out the saws-all and cut all the old exhaust off (PITA!!!!) I did find out that my O2 extension are not the right ones. I got the square ones because I knew the rears were square and it turns out this truck has some trapazoid shaped front sensors and NOBODY carries anything like that. I'm probably going to have to do some cutting and soldering (YIKES) if I need them. I might not though as the ARH headers seem to have the O2s in a good spot but I'll know for sure tomorrow. I'm doing a stall install at the same time so I did spend some time dropping the cross member. Also a little heads up to anyone looking to install headers, remove the metal flashing from the driver side manifold to get to the rear bolt without too much trouble. I went through the fender and removed the flashing and used a sqivel joint 13mm socket and a 2ft extension to get it loose. Also remove the oil dipstick BEFORE you even think of removing the passenger manifold. Don't ask me how I know! install went really smooth today. i took my truck over to my buddy's garage and sprayed all the bolts down with wd-40 to start out with. everything came loose very easy, surprisingly. only part that gave us some trouble was simply cutting the factory exhaust. we had to have gone through 6 or 7 sawzall blades cause we didn't have the correct blade. with the truck on jack stands, we just fed the headers up from the bottom and had no problem at all getting them in. didn't have to take off the tire or remove the inner finder or anything. only thing i took off was the drivers side of the engine cover to get to the furthest back bolt. i guess everything went so smooth due to my truck being 2wd as opposed to all the stuff there in an awd. pretty much everything mr. p said was dead on - install was a piece of cake...hardest part was removing the factory exhaust. the battery randomly crapped out on me so i didnt make it to the muffler shop in time to have things buttoned up, so i'm heading there first thing in the morning. had the joy of running open headers for a while. i'll have a somewhat detailed how-to here in the next couple of days, though im sure it wont be nearly as detailed as one of the numerous mr. p how-to's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted November 7, 2009 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 install went really smooth today... Rgiht-on! So how do I get the transmission down to where I can pull out the stall and put in the new one? Pull it back just a little bit then drop the front strait down? I have a transmisson jack so I won't be in a bind doing this. If that doesn't work do I have to pull the transfer case? Yeah you have to drop the transfer case; it sounds like a PITA over the job required on the 2WD trucks but it's only another 30-45 minutes of effort to R&R the transfer case. Remember to undo the FORWARD bolts on the transfer case coupler, not the rear ones. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454327 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Almost done...I'm not very efficient but I only really had my wife as help and I was doing a stall, headers and full exhaust at one time. The worst part IS removing the old exhaust. I only had to go through 3 blades though as I picked my spots to cut very well and actually left the manifolds attached to some of the exhaust (that actually a good tip!) The transfer case wasn't really a problem and the transmission wasn't as bad as I was thought. I took my time and worked on it a little here and there. She fired up today and sounded very nice. It's MUCH more free revving for sure and the sound is amazing. Dual 3" into single 4" has a nice deep tone and the Hooker Maxflow muffler sounds great! There is less rasp with the new system than the crap that was on the truck when I bought it. The only thing left to do tomorrow is route the drivers O2 sensor and put the drivers side wheel and inner fender back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 ...Dual 3" into single 4" has a nice deep tone and the Hooker Maxflow muffler sounds great! ... Yeah I bet that does sound really good! Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss454327 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Yeah I bet that does sound really good! Mr. P. I'll try to get some sound clips up when I'm all done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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