JBA Shorty Install

I've read through a lot of threads here regarding header installation. I'm getting a set of JBA Shorties tomorrow and am thinking of installing myself. A lot of the instructions I've read seem fairly involved. I have an 05 Manual transmission and in looking at the stock manifolds under the hood it looks like I should be able to get to everything with out any issues. I see that I need to remove the plug wires (I have new ones coming anyway) but for just the headers (no mid pipe yet) can I do it without removing a lot of stuff?

I had some fellow gto owners on here help with mine, and it not to bad. You dont have to take any else really off to get them in.. but on the passenger side you have to push over the abs lines to get the header in. You dont even have to loosen it...just kinda push them while you lowering the header and it will barely squeeze by. You also need to take the dip stick tube out but that is very simple..just take out the one bolt on the bracket and slide it out...no oil came out when we did mine...I reused my stock gaskets as alot of people say they are much better then the ones you get from jba. You should buy 1/2 inch longer collector bolts, cause most people say the ones given to you are short and its hard to get the nut started, so i bought same size ones..just 1/2 inch longer and they worked fine. Getting the bolts in place by the collector will be the most time consuming but if you have help it wont be to bad....If everything goes right it should take about 2-3 hours taking your time with help...good luck.

Should I just reuse the bolts form the stock manifold?

Yep...i mean i did...and also heard that from numerous people.. But you do need to try and use their collector bolts or just buy new ones like i said... I just went to a local hardware store and got them.

Quote: Originally Posted by xtaspeed05... I had some fellow gto owners on here help with mine, and it not to bad. You dont have to take any else really off to get them in.. but on the passenger side you have to push over the abs lines to get the header in. You dont even have to loosen it...just kinda push them while you lowering the header and it will barely squeeze by. You also need to take the dip stick tube out but that is very simple..just take out the one bolt on the bracket and slide it out...no oil came out when we did mine...I reused my stock gaskets as alot of people say they are much better then the ones you get from jba. You should buy 1/2 inch longer collector bolts, cause most people say the ones given to you are short and its hard to get the nut started, so i bought same size ones..just 1/2 inch longer and they worked fine. Getting the bolts in place by the collector will be the most time consuming but if you have help it wont be to bad....If everything goes right it should take about 2-3 hours taking your time with help...good luck.

Bingo! its not hard but it helps to have another set of hands

So go get (4) 3/8 - 16 X 2 1/2" instead of 2".

OK

[quote=xtaspeed05;6172435]. Getting the bolts in place by the collector will be the most time consuming but if you have help it wont be to bad....QUOTE]

I hear that, I think it took me longer to get the bolts in than it did for the headers.. lol

Quote: Originally Posted by GOATMAN06... I hear that, I think it took me longer to get the bolts in than it did for the headers.. lol

ditto

have a friend stop by too, the extra hands always help. And how are you getting the car off the ground?

Quote: Originally Posted by P33v3... Should I just reuse the bolts form the stock manifold?

Yes, with anti-seize.

I did the whole swap of the headers by myself in about 2 hours...maybe 3-4 more hours for the rest of the JBA system (mids, cats, cat-back).

Easiest system swap I ever did. A few weird places that required some extensions to get, but nothing too bad. Had some fitment issues on the mufflers that required some cutting/welding of a hangar, but that's a different story.

It's not bad and can be done with simple tools.

Quote: Originally Posted by P33v3... So go get (4) 3/8 - 16 X 2 1/2" instead of 2". OK

exactly...thats the size i used...works perfect.

Quote: Originally Posted by gm4life... Yes, with anti-seize.

+1

reuse the stock gaskets, use antisez on the bolts its very simple should take about 2hrs to complete. good luck

Took me about 8 total hours to complete, but that was with a hour long lunch, engine cool down time (drove it to work), and a few breaks here and there when people stopped by.

By far connecting the collectors to the mid pipes took the longest. I didn't listen and tried to use the supplied bolts. I think I spent most of the time to trying to get the passenger side connected. It was down right ridiculous to do with those bolts. The passenger side gave me hell. I literally had my brother upside down under the hood standing on his head holding the bolt while I tried to use two 1 foot extensions from the other side.

After lunch I did the entire drivers side from start to finish in a hour. If I had to do it again I bet I could do it in under 2 hours with longer bolts and experience.

I find removing the spark plugs and coil pack makes a little more room.

+1 on the longer bolts, stock header bolts and gasket.

i didnt have to remove the coils or the plugs fit right in perfect.

+1 for longer collector bolts
+1 for reusing the manifold bolts with some anti-sieze
+1 for reusing the stock gasket
+1 for the collector bolts taking the longest of all steps

Even in a crowded '04's engine compartment it was cake.

Thanks everyone I will be doing it on Sunday. I'll post the results then.

Easy install to do by yourself if you have it jacked up enough. I agree on the bolts. Initially did it with the stock mid pipes, then a few months later got some catless mids, too loud, uninstall the mids, put some JBA catted mids, much better. So from all that I agree, get the longer bolts.

Good luck!

JBA catted mids will probably be next. Well after the JBA plug wires get here. So this weekend the Skip Shift eliminator goes in and then the JBA's.

Very interested in the results as I have been thinking about shorties..

i jbwelded the nuts to the header flange.It holds them in place so you don't need another set of hands. jba headers and catless mids really wake up a set of magnaflows.

Quote: Originally Posted by george g... i jbwelded the nuts to the header flange.It holds them in place so you don't need another set of hands. jba headers and catless mids really wake up a set of magnaflows.

Yeah I build golf clubs and was thinking of doing that with the golf club glue I use for club heads.

UPS just dropped them off and they are awesome looking. I have the Titanium Coated ones. Very well built, nice finish, fairly light at about 10 pounds each.

JBA Shorties and catted mids are next on my mod list...will this be an even easier task if I have a lift here on my base to get at it from the bottom?

$4 an hour for a lift plus all the hand tools you need...cant go wrong.

Best advice I could give ya is try and get a helping hand. Having a friend there could save you a lot of trouble. I know some people say it takes 2 hours(they must be really good)..but you might want to expect a 5-7h time frame if youre doing this yourself since theres always minor problems here and there. Make sure theres another car nearby you could use just in case something come up and you need to head off also. It could get frustrating sometimes, but worth it at the end, hope it goes well for ya

Congrats on the new headers! As most are saying this is a quick and easy job, and assuming you're installing these on a cold motor it shouldn't take you longer than 2-3 hours, even if you're a huge noob when it comes to wrenching. Use the stock gaskets and bolts, and there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that you'd need JB Weld for any of this. But if you still can, I'd recommend canceling/returning them and buying some long tubes, because there's no good enough reason to waste money on shorties

Removal of the spark plugs is not necessary but insures you will not break one by dropping the ex. manifold on it. Use 2 1/2" grade 5 bolts. They don't rust as fast as grade 3.

Don't expect much of a sound mod until the mids are done. The mids seem to be the real choke point in this exhaust system. If you are not going to do much more then exhaust and maybe a mild cam, don't waste you cash on the long tubes. Shorties and mids are the cost effictive way to do it.

Me and my buddy did mine in my driveway with catless mids....took about an hour start to finish.

Went in fine. Longer bolts were helpful.

I got the sound profile I wanted just slightly deeper and more throaty. I may stil get catted mids though.

I also now have the skip shift eliminator and I REALLY like that. It seems to have made shifting much more smooth for some reason.