SC430 HEADER INSTALL THREAD w/PICS, DYNO
02-10-06, 11:56 PM
#31
Sorry guys, damn Porsche is still in the garage holding up the SC from the header intall. I would rather not have two cars up on ramps as you never know what may arise. The hold up is that Porsche does not make a fuel inejctor seal kit (o-rings and tip) for the 968! 
They want me to buy a complete injector. 
So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.
They want me to buy a complete injector. So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.
02-11-06, 07:27 AM
#32
Originally Posted by Pearlpower
Sorry guys, damn Porsche is still in the garage holding up the SC from the header intall. I would rather not have two cars up on ramps as you never know what may arise. The hold up is that Porsche does not make a fuel inejctor seal kit (o-rings and tip) for the 968! They want me to buy a complete injector. So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.
They want me to buy a complete injector. So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.I wish I had a porsche, I wish I had a garage, I wish I had ramps for the car, I wish I had headers, I wish I had brembo's
02-11-06, 10:29 AM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by Pearlpower
Sorry guys, damn Porsche is still in the garage holding up the SC from the header intall. I would rather not have two cars up on ramps as you never know what may arise. The hold up is that Porsche does not make a fuel inejctor seal kit (o-rings and tip) for the 968! They want me to buy a complete injector. So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.
They want me to buy a complete injector. So the search is on for a seal kit. The headers are next up on the SC. Should be next week. Can't be too soon as I have 13" Brembo calipers waiting to go on afterwards.
02-18-06, 09:56 AM
#34
Driver School Candidate
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S & S Headers Installers in South Florida
I live in South Florida (Cooper City) and I need a mechanic to install my S & S Headers and Magnaflow high flow catalytics. I would also like to install a new exhaust system in 2.25 inch tubing. Does anyone know of a good Mechanic and/or Exhaust shops in South Florida? I have Borla Exhaust installed already. Please help.
02-19-06, 02:14 AM
#37
He He, thanks for the cheering. I needed it.
Here are some notes:
Order 4 cat gaskets from the dealer for the converter. Not includes in the kit and you will need them. Scrap all old gasket material off of the flanges.
You will need 4 qty 10mm bolts around 50mm in length with washers and nuts. Not in kit.
Motor mounts do not need to be removed. Plenty of room.
I removed the heat shields with the manifold. Just moved them around to gain access to the nuts. Cutting them just adds time as the 430 has tons of room.
Only one nut each side might be a challenge and it appears that it is much easier to gain access to it vs the GS400 looking at other posts. This nut can be easily removed using a box wrench from the engine bay for both drivers and passengers side. Ensure you have a good lock on it though. It is the top nut on the 2nd pipe from the front of the car.
Left Y pipe installed on car. Removed cats of course. I also removed the rear body brace that goes under the exhaust in the rear so the y-pipe will lower to facilitate easier cat removal.
Oil dipstick needs to come out. Remove after removing all of the nuts on the driver side manifold as the loose manifold will allow it to come right out. Same for the installation. Put in the dip stick before tightening the header bolts, otherwise it will be very tough to get the dipstick in there without bending it.
Drivers side O2 sensor would no longer reach the connector unless pulled very tightly which I was not about to do so I spliced an 5" extension into it so that it would go back where it should. The O2 opening on the drivers side should be at 3 oclock vs the 6 oclock position. So figure on doing this as your O2 will fail given how far the wire must stretch. DO NOT pull on O2 sensor harness as it will easily pull wires out adding hours to the job.
O2 sensor heat shields will not fit. No provision. No surprise. I just wrapped some wire protector over the O2 wires to help out. Should be no concern.
Steering coupler must be removed, but takes only 5 minutes. Mark with a marker or White Out.
A bag of bolts is included to replace the manifold studs. However the studs DO NOT need to be removed so do not bother or risk it. The bolts serve no other purpose in this install, just put them aside. I did need to use 4 bolts/nuts from my stock as the flanges on the headers have 2 studs total vs 6 on the OEM manifold. Luckily I have a good assortment of metric hardware for just an occasion.
Passenger side header flange is slightly off making the cross brace installation a bit tight and tricky.
MUST have 6 point sockets. Do not attempt with 12 point or risk damaging a nut and a few are very tough remove if you mess it up. Fortunately all of mine came out great. Used a ton of spray on the nuts beforehand and I let it sit 20 minutes. I used a 1/2" 14mm 6point and extension with breaker to remove all of the nuts except the 2 mentioned above. 1/2" is much better to break nuts vs 3/8" and a ½” extended 6 point socket will reach fine on this car. Have several extensions available, at least a total of 16”. A good quality u-joint is required as well.
Once the headers are installed, I had to use a combination of sockets, box wrenches, and crows feet wrenches to torque them down as a few were hidden and would not allow a ratchet/socket to fit.
OK, everything is in and complete. I took my time, yet still managed to complete around 4.5 hours or so with lunch and breaks in between. Figure 5 hrs for your average Lexus mechanic if you take it in. Keep in mind that Lexus books the manifold install to include removing the engine which is completely not necessary. I also have many years experience with working on cars and have more tools than your Lexus dealer tech minus the lifts and Lexus scanner so the average Joe is going to take much longer. Perhaps as long as 6-7 hours even with the right tools. I had a couple of DVD’s going in the garage as well as reading emails and lunch, so it was a nice manly garage day for me and I have 3 bandages to prove it.
So the difficulty rating on this from 1-10 with 1 being an air filter and 10 rebuilding the transmission would be a 6. About the same as a torque converter swap IMO.
Caution again: Do not strip any nuts as it could take 1-2 hours for each nut to remove depending on where it is. Soak those nuts first with WD-40 or similar and let sit for while.
Now I did take it for a spin. The battery was disconnected during the install so the ECU was reset. Unfortunately it is raining
so I was limited to how hard I could lay into it. But….so far I do notice an improvement especially around 3k rpms to redline. No noticeable lack of lower end power or torque. Once it stops raining I will give it another go and of course dyno it again next week for the real results.
Noise: No noticeable noise over what is was prior to the header install at idle or wide open. But I do have a loud SRT intake. So far no exhaust leaks (knock on wood), but I just installed it so we shall see in a few thousand miles.
I will post pics later.
Lee
Here are some notes:
Order 4 cat gaskets from the dealer for the converter. Not includes in the kit and you will need them. Scrap all old gasket material off of the flanges.
You will need 4 qty 10mm bolts around 50mm in length with washers and nuts. Not in kit.
Motor mounts do not need to be removed. Plenty of room.
I removed the heat shields with the manifold. Just moved them around to gain access to the nuts. Cutting them just adds time as the 430 has tons of room.
Only one nut each side might be a challenge and it appears that it is much easier to gain access to it vs the GS400 looking at other posts. This nut can be easily removed using a box wrench from the engine bay for both drivers and passengers side. Ensure you have a good lock on it though. It is the top nut on the 2nd pipe from the front of the car.
Left Y pipe installed on car. Removed cats of course. I also removed the rear body brace that goes under the exhaust in the rear so the y-pipe will lower to facilitate easier cat removal.
Oil dipstick needs to come out. Remove after removing all of the nuts on the driver side manifold as the loose manifold will allow it to come right out. Same for the installation. Put in the dip stick before tightening the header bolts, otherwise it will be very tough to get the dipstick in there without bending it.
Drivers side O2 sensor would no longer reach the connector unless pulled very tightly which I was not about to do so I spliced an 5" extension into it so that it would go back where it should. The O2 opening on the drivers side should be at 3 oclock vs the 6 oclock position. So figure on doing this as your O2 will fail given how far the wire must stretch. DO NOT pull on O2 sensor harness as it will easily pull wires out adding hours to the job.
O2 sensor heat shields will not fit. No provision. No surprise. I just wrapped some wire protector over the O2 wires to help out. Should be no concern.
Steering coupler must be removed, but takes only 5 minutes. Mark with a marker or White Out.
A bag of bolts is included to replace the manifold studs. However the studs DO NOT need to be removed so do not bother or risk it. The bolts serve no other purpose in this install, just put them aside. I did need to use 4 bolts/nuts from my stock as the flanges on the headers have 2 studs total vs 6 on the OEM manifold. Luckily I have a good assortment of metric hardware for just an occasion.
Passenger side header flange is slightly off making the cross brace installation a bit tight and tricky.
MUST have 6 point sockets. Do not attempt with 12 point or risk damaging a nut and a few are very tough remove if you mess it up. Fortunately all of mine came out great. Used a ton of spray on the nuts beforehand and I let it sit 20 minutes. I used a 1/2" 14mm 6point and extension with breaker to remove all of the nuts except the 2 mentioned above. 1/2" is much better to break nuts vs 3/8" and a ½” extended 6 point socket will reach fine on this car. Have several extensions available, at least a total of 16”. A good quality u-joint is required as well.
Once the headers are installed, I had to use a combination of sockets, box wrenches, and crows feet wrenches to torque them down as a few were hidden and would not allow a ratchet/socket to fit.
OK, everything is in and complete. I took my time, yet still managed to complete around 4.5 hours or so with lunch and breaks in between. Figure 5 hrs for your average Lexus mechanic if you take it in. Keep in mind that Lexus books the manifold install to include removing the engine which is completely not necessary. I also have many years experience with working on cars and have more tools than your Lexus dealer tech minus the lifts and Lexus scanner so the average Joe is going to take much longer. Perhaps as long as 6-7 hours even with the right tools. I had a couple of DVD’s going in the garage as well as reading emails and lunch, so it was a nice manly garage day for me and I have 3 bandages to prove it.
So the difficulty rating on this from 1-10 with 1 being an air filter and 10 rebuilding the transmission would be a 6. About the same as a torque converter swap IMO.
Caution again: Do not strip any nuts as it could take 1-2 hours for each nut to remove depending on where it is. Soak those nuts first with WD-40 or similar and let sit for while.
Now I did take it for a spin. The battery was disconnected during the install so the ECU was reset. Unfortunately it is raining
so I was limited to how hard I could lay into it. But….so far I do notice an improvement especially around 3k rpms to redline. No noticeable lack of lower end power or torque. Once it stops raining I will give it another go and of course dyno it again next week for the real results. Noise: No noticeable noise over what is was prior to the header install at idle or wide open. But I do have a loud SRT intake. So far no exhaust leaks (knock on wood), but I just installed it so we shall see in a few thousand miles.
I will post pics later.
Lee
Last edited by Pearlpower; 02-25-06 at 08:54 PM.
02-19-06, 11:26 AM
#39
You Are De Man!!
Lee,
You are truly a force to be reckoned with! We all appreciate the step by step details. I personally, would never attempt this install, (due to my lack of tools and experience) but as you stated it gives us a gauge to use when paying the dealer or servicing agent. I value you as an SC430 expert, and fellow CL member
You are truly a force to be reckoned with! We all appreciate the step by step details. I personally, would never attempt this install, (due to my lack of tools and experience) but as you stated it gives us a gauge to use when paying the dealer or servicing agent. I value you as an SC430 expert, and fellow CL member
02-19-06, 07:41 PM
#41
Analysis
Put about 50 miles on the car now.
Performance: There is without question a performance increase throughout the entire range and not just up top. The car no longer feels held back and instead launches forward and duplicates the feat in 2nd and still pulls hard into and through 3rd. I would rather not guestimate as to how much HP/TQ is gained and I am too tired to get the G-Tech out and install it but this car is much quicker and acceleration is very smooth or jolting depending on what your asking for.
Put another way ,I am feeling quicker acceleration with the headers than with the SRT intake install. Could be that the exhaust, intake, and headers are working in concert to obtain these results.
Part throttle acceleration is much better and the power/tq increase can be felt from just off idle straight to redline regardless of where the throttle is. This is more than I expected. BUT.....................
Problem:
Big fat Check Engine light came on. Now before the alarmist come running and screaming let me say this, "calm down" and let the diagnostics run it's course.
Code: P0125, coolant temp too low for closed loop operation.
Now that code on Lexus vehicles is very misleading as it has nothing to do with the coolant temp. in fact the description is incorrect.
What is means is that the O2 sensor is reading a lean condition. Car is still in closed loop mode when this occurs as proven with the laptop iand software n the car on a drive.
Now if you look at the picture above of the laptop you will see no voltage from Sensor 1 and the Fuel Trim at a high 19+% which means the ECU is extending the injector cycle to compensate what it thinks is a lean condition. Dumping more fuel causes a rich situation though I am not sure how much performance is affected at this time.
No voltage most likely means bad O2 or what I think-bad crimp on the extension I made. Remember above I stated the O2 sensor on the drivers side will no longer safely meet the connector. So one or more of the 8 crimps on the O2 extension must be loose. Too bad as I really made a nice harness for it when it was completed but that is how this hobby works sometimes.
I am sure the car will run even harder once this is completed and I feel that the headers is not directly responsible for this.
I will remake the O2 tomorrow evening and will know more afterwards. For now I am pleased with the performance increase and will post a small movie of an acceleration run with the G-Tech shortly. Dyno is on for later this week.
So MY opinion which may or may not matter:
PERFORMANCE: 1-10 with 10 being best, 10 so far. Hopefully 11 once the O2 issue is fixed.
Granted the dyno will prove the numbers, but there is no doubting the performance improvement.
FIT: 5, passenger side flange is off 1/4".Had to make some adjustments on the cross brace to fit.O2 sensor flange on drivers side is too low and will not allow the O2 sensor to wire to reach unless stretched or spliced.
FINISH: 6, nice coating, but manifold surface is very rough and the long term seal integrity is unknown. About the worst surface I have seen on headers in all my years. But so far no exhaust leaks or hint of one. I will retorque in a few miles.
CONSTRUCTION: 8, good solid welds appear to be very durable. Solid construction and nice thick flange area to resist warpage.
PRICE: 10. where else are you going to find headers for a top end car at this price? Check prices for Bimmers and you will see 3-5 times more.
Overall rating: 8, performance speaks for itself and considering this is a new item and I am not aware of anyone else with a 430 with these installed ( ) so I am cutting them some slack here as I am sure the headers will go through a few more changes (fixes).
I will post an update on the O2 fix tomorrow and dyno later this week. Later...
Lee
Performance: There is without question a performance increase throughout the entire range and not just up top. The car no longer feels held back and instead launches forward and duplicates the feat in 2nd and still pulls hard into and through 3rd. I would rather not guestimate as to how much HP/TQ is gained and I am too tired to get the G-Tech out and install it but this car is much quicker and acceleration is very smooth or jolting depending on what your asking for.
Put another way ,I am feeling quicker acceleration with the headers than with the SRT intake install. Could be that the exhaust, intake, and headers are working in concert to obtain these results.
Part throttle acceleration is much better and the power/tq increase can be felt from just off idle straight to redline regardless of where the throttle is. This is more than I expected. BUT.....................
Problem:
Big fat Check Engine light came on. Now before the alarmist come running and screaming let me say this, "calm down" and let the diagnostics run it's course.
Code: P0125, coolant temp too low for closed loop operation.
Now that code on Lexus vehicles is very misleading as it has nothing to do with the coolant temp. in fact the description is incorrect.
What is means is that the O2 sensor is reading a lean condition. Car is still in closed loop mode when this occurs as proven with the laptop iand software n the car on a drive.
Now if you look at the picture above of the laptop you will see no voltage from Sensor 1 and the Fuel Trim at a high 19+% which means the ECU is extending the injector cycle to compensate what it thinks is a lean condition. Dumping more fuel causes a rich situation though I am not sure how much performance is affected at this time.
No voltage most likely means bad O2 or what I think-bad crimp on the extension I made. Remember above I stated the O2 sensor on the drivers side will no longer safely meet the connector. So one or more of the 8 crimps on the O2 extension must be loose. Too bad as I really made a nice harness for it when it was completed but that is how this hobby works sometimes.
I am sure the car will run even harder once this is completed and I feel that the headers is not directly responsible for this.
I will remake the O2 tomorrow evening and will know more afterwards. For now I am pleased with the performance increase and will post a small movie of an acceleration run with the G-Tech shortly. Dyno is on for later this week.
So MY opinion which may or may not matter:
PERFORMANCE: 1-10 with 10 being best, 10 so far. Hopefully 11 once the O2 issue is fixed.
Granted the dyno will prove the numbers, but there is no doubting the performance improvement.FIT: 5, passenger side flange is off 1/4".Had to make some adjustments on the cross brace to fit.O2 sensor flange on drivers side is too low and will not allow the O2 sensor to wire to reach unless stretched or spliced.
FINISH: 6, nice coating, but manifold surface is very rough and the long term seal integrity is unknown. About the worst surface I have seen on headers in all my years. But so far no exhaust leaks or hint of one. I will retorque in a few miles.
CONSTRUCTION: 8, good solid welds appear to be very durable. Solid construction and nice thick flange area to resist warpage.
PRICE: 10. where else are you going to find headers for a top end car at this price? Check prices for Bimmers and you will see 3-5 times more.
Overall rating: 8, performance speaks for itself and considering this is a new item and I am not aware of anyone else with a 430 with these installed (
) so I am cutting them some slack here as I am sure the headers will go through a few more changes (fixes). I will post an update on the O2 fix tomorrow and dyno later this week. Later...
Lee
Last edited by Pearlpower; 02-19-06 at 11:07 PM.
02-19-06, 09:05 PM
#42
Lexus Champion
Lee,
Great work, great post. Looking forward to the dyno numbers but as stated in other posts the response improvement is obvious and these engines seem to really wake up with the headers.
The 02 fitment is due to the location is for the 1998-2000 GS400 and even then the angle is slightly different due to the collector shape. Needing to extend the harness is a pain. Hopefully an easy fix such as a plug on extender could be sourced.
You mention the flange on the passenger side header being off 1/4"? The flange shape should be spot on. Do you mean alignment of the flange? I would think that would throw off the Y pipe fitment. Maybe you can elaborate.
At any rate my hat is off to you for having the guts to try these headers. Maybe you just could not pass up the potential
My guess is we will see more and more 430s running these.
Great work, great post. Looking forward to the dyno numbers but as stated in other posts the response improvement is obvious and these engines seem to really wake up with the headers.
The 02 fitment is due to the location is for the 1998-2000 GS400 and even then the angle is slightly different due to the collector shape. Needing to extend the harness is a pain. Hopefully an easy fix such as a plug on extender could be sourced.
You mention the flange on the passenger side header being off 1/4"? The flange shape should be spot on. Do you mean alignment of the flange? I would think that would throw off the Y pipe fitment. Maybe you can elaborate.
At any rate my hat is off to you for having the guts to try these headers. Maybe you just could not pass up the potential
My guess is we will see more and more 430s running these.
02-19-06, 09:23 PM
#43
Hey Lee!
Very nice write-up man. Good details and description for others to follow too. You've got my respect with just this single thread.
i see you had some similar type issues as I had when I installed my headers on the GS400 but, all in all, they are all a part of the go-fast hobby and who can complain when we are some of the very very few to have headers on a Lexus!
I hope you find an easy fix for that O2 sensor!
PS. those rims look great on your car.
Allan
Very nice write-up man. Good details and description for others to follow too. You've got my respect with just this single thread.
i see you had some similar type issues as I had when I installed my headers on the GS400 but, all in all, they are all a part of the go-fast hobby and who can complain when we are some of the very very few to have headers on a Lexus!
I hope you find an easy fix for that O2 sensor!
PS. those rims look great on your car.
Allan
02-19-06, 11:40 PM
#45
Originally Posted by SSK0771
Either I am blind or its not posted here.
How much were the headers?
How much were the headers?
Here you go.
SSheaders.com-turn down your volume as their site is annoyingly loud on the home page. Scared the hell out of me the first time as I normally keep the volume up.
https://ssl10.mysecureserver.com/bos...namicIndex.asp
jbrady,
The passenger flange that connects to the car is rotated (on mine at least) about 1/4"counterclockwise too far. This prevented the proper connection of the cross brace on the transmission with a hole on each end to fit perfectly. I had to finagle it to fit without putting too much stress on the header assembly as well. BTW, thanks again for getting these headers on the market.
Well I drove around again this evening (so much fun) as I really enjoy the added and real performance. I pulled codes afterwords and received Pending P0130 and P0133 codes which are O2 sensor circuit and O2 slow response. Both of which I already knew of but good to know the ECU is confirming my suspicions.
Last edited by Pearlpower; 02-20-06 at 12:21 AM.