Stillen Headers + Berk HFCs self-install report

wstar · 04-03-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

Alright, I have given in to temptation. I have ordered the headers. When in doubt, pull the credit card out.

That's the spirit

I picked up an extra bottle jack this morning so I can manipulate the position of the exhaust from more places at once. Later today I'm going to put the whole car on stands (when I did the catback I just raised the rear), loosen *everything* up to and including the cat<->header bolts (but not header<->engine obviously), and get it lined up correctly with 2 jacks (supporting the Y-pipe and the center section), and see if I can get it off the crossmember permanently. Then I'll re-torque again, and if the "leak" sound is still there (and/or I can't get it off the crossmember), it's going to an exhaust shop tomorrow.

I really want to get this sorted out definitively so I can move on to the intakes this weekend, and then schedule a dyno for next week.

semtex · 04-03-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

That's the spirit

I picked up an extra bottle jack this morning so I can manipulate the position of the exhaust from more places at once. Later today I'm going to put the whole car on stands (when I did the catback I just raised the rear), loosen *everything* up to and including the cat<->header bolts (but not header<->engine obviously), and get it lined up correctly with 2 jacks (supporting the Y-pipe and the center section), and see if I can get it off the crossmember permanently. Then I'll re-torque again, and if the "leak" sound is still there, it's going to an exhaust shop tomorrow.

I really want to get this sorted out definitively so I can move on to the intakes this weekend, and then schedule a dyno for next week.

LOL. I read that as "I picked up an extra bottle of jack this morning . . ." I was like . . . how is getting lit up on Jack Daniels going to help??

Anyway, FYI my exhaust did the exact same thing you're describing, and I had to spend time making adjustments and tweaks as well. So, nothing out of the ordinary.

wstar · 04-03-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

LOL. I read that as "I picked up an extra bottle of jack this morning . . ." I was like . . . how is getting lit up on Jack Daniels going to help??

A bottle of JD might do me and the car both some good today. Been under there too long the past two days, need a real break

Quote:

Anyway, FYI my exhaust did the exact same thing you're describing, and I had to spend time making adjustments and tweaks as well. So, nothing out of the ordinary.

Yeah, so I just got done with the exhaust stuff again. It still hits the crossmember. I had it solidly 2 inches off of the thing when everything (boths sides of the cats and on back) was retorqued (with great precision to exactly "omfg I think I just broke my arm" ft/lbs), but then it falls right back onto the crossmember when I let the last bottle jack down. That's just where the hangers hang at. The jack is just lifting the whole thing up on the rubber hangers, and then letting it back down to their limit afterwards.

The upside is, I did find that 2 of the 6 bolts connecting the cats to the headers weren't properly torqued down when I went to loosen them (the hardest ones to reach, which makes sense). They were probably better, but insufficient, earlier on and had now shaken loose enough to notice. Getting that done right got rid of the ugly buzz I was talking about. The exhaust sounds perfect now. There's still a little odd rumble I can hear when the car is at crawling speed, but it's easily identifiable as the the center section vibrating against the crossmember it's laying on. Maybe I can just get some kind of rubber pad that can resist exhaust heat and stuff it between them? I donno at this point. Or shorten the rubber hangers (or bend the posts that go into them) somehow.

That "air pressure" noise I was talking about before is still there, most noticeably when gently engine braking around the 3k-ish region. I think it's just normal, as there's no other indication of a leak in the exhaust note anymore, yet if anything that sound got a little more noticeable. I kinda like it actually, as long as it's nothing bad.

Anyways, I'm not letting the crossmember thing get my spirits down. The car sounds and feels insanely good right now.

I think I'll do the intakes this weekend now for sure, although it may have to wait until Sunday, as I've got a big all-day drinking/bbq -type thing to attend during the day tomorrow.

ChrisSlicks · 04-03-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

I think I'll do the intakes this weekend now for sure, although it may have to wait until Sunday, as I've got a big all-day drinking/bbq -type thing to attend during the day tomorrow.

That sounds like a great plan. It's the first auto-x tomorrow and the forecast is rain turning to snow.

Of course Sunday when the Porsche club get it's turn it is going to be nice and sunny, go figure.

There might be some other way to adjust those exhaust hangers, maybe someone from Stillen might know, might be worth a call.

tru_Asiatik · 04-10-2009, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

A bottle of JD might do me and the car both some good today. Been under there too long the past two days, need a real break

Yeah, so I just got done with the exhaust stuff again. It still hits the crossmember. I had it solidly 2 inches off of the thing when everything (boths sides of the cats and on back) was retorqued (with great precision to exactly "omfg I think I just broke my arm" ft/lbs), but then it falls right back onto the crossmember when I let the last bottle jack down. That's just where the hangers hang at. The jack is just lifting the whole thing up on the rubber hangers, and then letting it back down to their limit afterwards.

The upside is, I did find that 2 of the 6 bolts connecting the cats to the headers weren't properly torqued down when I went to loosen them (the hardest ones to reach, which makes sense). They were probably better, but insufficient, earlier on and had now shaken loose enough to notice. Getting that done right got rid of the ugly buzz I was talking about. The exhaust sounds perfect now. There's still a little odd rumble I can hear when the car is at crawling speed, but it's easily identifiable as the the center section vibrating against the crossmember it's laying on. Maybe I can just get some kind of rubber pad that can resist exhaust heat and stuff it between them? I donno at this point. Or shorten the rubber hangers (or bend the posts that go into them) somehow.

That "air pressure" noise I was talking about before is still there, most noticeably when gently engine braking around the 3k-ish region. I think it's just normal, as there's no other indication of a leak in the exhaust note anymore, yet if anything that sound got a little more noticeable. I kinda like it actually, as long as it's nothing bad.

Anyways, I'm not letting the crossmember thing get my spirits down. The car sounds and feels insanely good right now.

I think I'll do the intakes this weekend now for sure, although it may have to wait until Sunday, as I've got a big all-day drinking/bbq -type thing to attend during the day tomorrow.

hi can you take a picture of where it is hitting??
just bought the stillen exhaust/berk hfc combe and want to know ahead of time what to look for when im doing the installation
thank you very much

semtex · 04-10-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru_Asiatik

hi can you take a picture of where it is hitting??
just bought the stillen exhaust/berk hfc combe and want to know ahead of time what to look for when im doing the installation
thank you very much

Here are pics of my car. Not sure if it's the exact same thing that wstar is experiencing tho, but my guess is that it is.

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