Greg at Great Lakes Custom, Mt Clemans, MI. did my JBA header install yesterday. His first 04 F150 header install. He promptly just tossed the instructions and winged it. He does have 28 years experience, mostly on Fords I might add. His work is first rate, so I just let him do his thing without interuption. The entire job took 7 hours with some cussing and swearing on the passenger side which took 4.5 hours. The install cost $350. Well worth it for sure. I do not have all the right tools that he does or a hoist. This install myself could have been a nightmare for me all on its own. I did use Stage 8 locking Header bolts to prevent future headaches ($60). I had considered going to high flow cats or have him remove the rear ones, however we ran out of time. I'm on the fence on that one.
Now after a couple of drive cycles I would say that I'm pleased with the power results. My expectations were certainly not high considering my truck almost weighs 6000 lbs. I'd say there were gains in hp & tq from 1200 rpm and up, not alot but I did notice it. At highway cruising speeds it seemed effortless to slightly tip the throttle to pick up some passing speed. The sweet spot is between 2200 & 4200, where I noticed the most gains. Again not huge but noticeable.
Overall drivability improved with noticable engine smoothness throughout the entire rpm range.
Next are E-fans and UD pulleys. They are here but its still to cold in Canada for a home install outside.

Norm

 

Nice review, I'd do the e-fans and then the u/d pullies, not at once. That way you can determine the potential gains from each.

 

Did you notice any change with the exhaust note/sound at idle or on the throttle?

 

I think there is a company or two that have or are working on long tubes for our trucks. I would like to check those out also. Good review

 

You should consider going to a dyno to check out what kinda gains you got.

By the way, what other mods do you have?

 

It would only do him good to Dyno if he wanted the before/after of his next round of mods. What good does it do to dyno after headers are installed if you don't have a baseline?

 

Good review, and exactly what I thought of mine. Some people expect to gain 30+ rwhp off headers, and that's just ridiculous...so it's partially due to expectations. I agree, highway driving is definitely where you feel the difference...effortless was a good description...not to mention you don't have to "wait" for it to accelerate anymore, it gets up and goes pretty nicely for such a heavy vehicle. I like mine as well!

 

Nice. Id do headers on my truck if the install wasnt such a pain... After doing a set on my GFs mustang, I looked at my truck and said forget it!

 

Sounds good. Does the exhaust sound different? Do you have aftermarket or stock exhaust?

 

They are already available.

 

From where besides Dynatech and Pacesetter?

 

I love how on rpmoutlet's site they say the dynatech LTs can be installed in 3hrs.... Yeah.... Right!!

 

Headers on these trucks in 3 hours? Are you kidding? Try like 30! lol

 

I would like to say thanks to Devil Sun for the suggestion to use Stage 8 header bolts. Without his imput on this forum I would not of known about them.
To answer the question about noise increase at idle and WOT, I would say there was no change or increase. However, at WOT just hearing the engine work easier gave me a certain sense a different sound, hard to describe but one that sounded and felt better.
Lastly I would like to thank Greg for the Profesional install. Its not an easy job.
I'm running a 13" Flowmaster DF 40 single, just a swap with extension. This muffler I'm very happy with.
Othe mods:
Superchip 1714
True flow intake
Synthetic in engine & power steering
6" Pro Comp lift on 18" Pro Comp rims shod with 35 13 18 Toyo AT
Add a leaf and additional 1" block welded to the Pro Comp Block for additional rear lift.
This truck runs great and gets great mileage for a heavy truck. I wouldn't change anything.

Norm

 

I have a question, how hard would it be to change the spark plugs with those headers?