i plan on long tubes eventually. my o2s will be soldered and heat shrinked when i do it. dont see the point in paying that much for extensions.

 

That's all I did - Hell the headers even came with the extra 02 wire to do it

 

The driver's side manifold fits fine, but I had to take the front driveshaft out to clearance the collector flange and the last bend in the inner most tube. There's only about 1/4" - 1/2" between the drive shaft, heat shield, and header. YIKES. I had to beat the hell out of the pass. side tube that hits the starter solenoid. Sucks that it's so flat spotted now, but it has to be better than the stocker or shorties. At least the starter moves with the engine.

FYI, the #2 tube on the pass. side only needs another 3/4" of tube before the first bend out of the flange to clear the flared out section of the bell housing just behind the starter, and the #4 tube nees to have the tube cut at an angle just after the first bend out of the flange, then cut after the second bend and remove that piece. Then heat the last bend in the tube and turn it out, away from the flange 3/4". Then you'll see that it's a straight shot to the other side and you can weld in a straight section. Done deal. Not a drop in process by any means...requires cutting / TIG welding, a hot torch, BFH tool, pry bars, a dremel, a wad of cash, and an extremely hard head. Also, O2 extenders, new header gaskets optional, Magnaflow Spun-cats, nickel anti-sieze, locking header bolts, etc. I haven't even bolted the pass. side header in yet, let alone the rest of the pipe.

If I had it to do over, I'd probably say F it and go with JBA ceramic shorties and pretend they make HP.

 

LOL im glad i used these with a 5.4 :P they fit so nice! i can still swap my starter in like 20 mins. i'll give credit to the fact the top bolt isnt very fun to get to and takes some time with so little room for the ratchet to tighten it up.

i went down to flomaster and asked the guy to make some bends that matched the passenger side pipe that has the o2 bung in it after the resonator. he almost told me to leave cuz he didnt have stainless like that, but i told him i dont care if it aint purdy its going on a 4x4 truck lol. i think if i can get this exhaust to mate up to my old exhaust i'll be happy. any of u guys using the harley kit on a 4wd? i didnt want the Y pipe.

 

The manifolds are in. Got maybe 1/2" clearance at the front drive shaft and maybe 1/8" at the starter solenoid. Will the solenoid take the heat? Which way does the engine twist when you wick the throttle?

 

Get you some header wrap and put it on the tubes near the starter.

 

I'll try to squeeze it in there, but it may be too late now that it's bolted in. I'm more worried about the drive shaft clearance.

Dynatech got back with me and said they have never received a request to make the 4.6L longtubes so they couldn't justify it. They did offer to give me exclusive rights to the 4.6 kit if I purchased a certain amount of them...said they'd make a jig for it and all. If anyone wants to go for it...let me know.

 

Awesome, the engine twists over to the pass. side when you nail it, so I should be alright on the driveshaft at least.

 

Alright, got some DEI 1" header wrap and DEI stainless locking ties. Hopefully I can squeeze it in there, or else I wasted $50. I'm really wondering what's worse...1/8" gap or making contact with the header wrap.

 

Double wrapped the section of tube that crosses the starter, should take care of that.

 

At full temp, I can nearly rest my nail on the tubes coming straight off the head without getting burned. I'm not at all worried about the starter now. MY GOD is it loud...I never thought I'd say that. Getting a Dynomax Bullet installed tonight. Feel REALLY nice, but I'm trying to stay out of it till the tuning on Wed.

 

Dyno Run:



Pass. side header mod:



Luck'd out on the driver's side:



Notice anything missing?

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...213-220031.jpg

 

Driver:

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...213-220028.jpg

Passenger:

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...213-220027.jpg

 

I've read most of this thread with great interest. That's a lotta work you went through getting those long tubes to fit on your 4.6. Credit to you man.

"Notice anything missing?" No spark plugs, is the header gasket missing? You got the nice locking header bolts. Where'd you get those?

Anyway, I'm looking for a pair of stainless shorty's but as equal-length as possible vs the cheaper unequal length ones. Has to be stainless. It's for my previously owned 98' 4x4 4.6 that I sold to my buddy.

Turns out the collector bolts where the donuts seals live are pretty much rotted out from rust. In fact I think one side is holding on only from friction provided by the rearward exhaust mounts. LOL

He's got a quote for $599 for factory manifolds and I told him to forget it... get some JBA catforward 1677S model headers or these ones I found on ebay from obx: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-03...QQcmdZViewItem
$295 plus $25 s&h.
What do you guys think of those OBX ones, damn cheap for 304 stainless. Would EGR bung be correct for 4.6 egr? His EGR is all rusted to sh*t too so that pipe will have to be replaced while in there.

JBA http://www.jbaheaders.com/detail_shorty.asp?id=1677S is $456 so a lot more money.

He's not looking for a real seat-o-pants-meter improvement but for same money or less better than cast manifolds right?

Any other tips or suggestions? His mechanic is gonna do the work.

 

Hint: EGR

Damn, I just tossed my perfectly good manifolds last Thurs. Yea, SS is the only way to go...looks badass all blue & purple colored.

I think the OBX quality is top notch, even if it is Chicom ripoff. I'd go with those if it were me.