Installing torque tubes on the old 460

[Wanabee FTer]

I woke up this morning kinda looking forward to (or kind of dreading) installing new Banks headers on my '97 f53 class A motorhome. I fired up the compressor and said a few prayers to the broken bolt gods and got to work. I was hoping for the best, but after reading too many threads about frozen and broken exhaust bolts I was quite nervous. I still had the front end on jack stands and the wheels off due to installation of the new FSD's the day before. I was still hopeful because the MH was born in So Cali and has stayed there all it's life, so relatively rust free.
First I soaked all the exhaust bolts and fittings with penetrating lube. Next I removed the exhaust flange bolts, and the EGR and AIR tube fittings, so far so good. The next step is where I started holding my breath. Starting with the R-F mani first, I hit the exhaust bolts with my air gun as Banks suggests. First one came out smooth, the second one would not budge. I went to all the rest and persuaded them to come out, then maxed out the air pressure for the last one. Schwooo, it came out ok. I went over to the driver side and continued the process. Pretty much the same results with 2 bolts left that were stuck. One is not accessible with air behind the shock tower, the other was the rear most bolt. The bolt behind the shock tower is accessible with a 1/2" breaker bar. I said a couple hail mary's and laid on it.
Crrackk! I though it was all over but when I continued with a ratchet it came out! Whew, only one left. The last one was the most stubborn of all. Using max air pressure I was afraid to just sit there and attack it with my rattle gun, but no choice. I didn't know 30 seconds could seem so long, then slowly it started backing out. I did it. I removed all the exhaust bolts without breaking one of them.
That's enough excitement for one day. I removed both manifolds and discovered 2 cracks starting on the driver side manifold. Feels good to replace something before you even know it's bad. My nerves are now shot, so after working on it a couple hours I quit for the day and will continue on tomorrow.

[VanDiemen23]

Heating to cherry red with a torch can be a real help (propane torch usually won't do it but Mapp gas usually will). Contrary to popular belief, it's not the expansion that breaks things loose (no dissimilar metals so the stud and nut change at about the same rate) but the heat drives the oxygen out of the iron oxide, reducing the rust, and the stickage. If you let them cool off a bit and then hit the hot stud/nut with liquid wrench or Kroil the cooling of the parts will suck the lubricant up into the threads.

Use good nuts like ARPs on the studs and a little copper anti-seize. Re-torque after the first couple hours and they'll stay put and come off when you want.

[Lt46]

Nice work Wannabee...been there, done that when installing my Thorleys. I removed the shock tower for better access. Recomend running a tap into the block to clean-up the threads to ease reinstallation. PB Blaster was my friend and used silver anti-seize on all threads. Re-torquing fasteners will be needed after a couple of heat cycles.
Have fun, you're 1/2 way there.

[jupoa]

Put a Banks system on my 97 F53 as well. Very satisfied.

A few tips: Chase the threads with a tap, blow out the debris. Use anti seize. When installing the drivers side, start the rear bolts first. Some of the rear bolts are problamatic if you start snugging down the front ones first. Retorque after a good long drive.

When I put the rest of the exhaust in, I used props to position the various sections where I wanted them before I tightened the clamps. I didn't use the heat shields where the pipe wasn't close to anything or where the coach already had shielding.

Good luck. Sounds like your off to a good start.

[Nick-B]

Good job John! you're gonna like how headers will really "wake up" that old 460.

When I pulled my old manifolds, they had both vertical AND horizontal cracks in them.

[Wanabee FTer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jupoa Put a Banks system on my 97 F53 as well. Very satisfied. A few tips: Chase the threads with a tap, blow out the debris. Use anti seize. When installing the drivers side, start the rear bolts first. Some of the rear bolts are problamatic if you start snugging down the front ones first. Retorque after a good long drive. Good luck. Sounds like your off to a good start.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Too bad I got an early start or I might have read them first before I started this morning. Jupoa and Lt46 you are absolutely correct about chasing the threads with a tap. I struggled alone to get the headers into the tight confines of the driver side, only to find I could not tighten the exhaust bolts properly. Darn it (not the words I used at the time) had to unhook the EGR and AIR tubes to remove the headers and tap out all of the exhaust bolt holes Reinstalled the driver side headers and all went smooth from there on. Installing the passenger side was cake, except Banks supplied 2 incorrect length bolts, I called them and they said they would get the correct ones to me ASAP.
Due to the redo of the driver side, I spent a total of 5 hours working on it today. Way more time then I thought. I was hoping to hear it run today but not willing to kill myself to do it. Hoping to wrap it up tomorrow, will post back with status.

[Wanabee FTer]

OK, that's a huge item off my list. Exhaust is all hooked up. The old spark plugs with 53k could have been reused, but decided to replace now while they were out. I choose Autolite double platinum, I run those in my Ranger and it seems to like 'em. I also installed the Banks ram air kit today. Everything went smooth, only thing hanging me up now is 2 incorrect exhaust bolts. I did start it briefly to inspect for leaks, very quiet, even with 2 missing exhaust bolts it is perfectly sealed. I won't be fully warming the engine up until I get the 2 missing bolts. I haven't decided what type of mufflers I want to use, so I reinstalled the existing exhaust system until more funds are available to complete the job.

[Lt46]

John,
Nice work! Feels good to have it behind you! I'll add another tidbit which may or may not be a concern for you, but I found the need. After my 1st road trip with the Thorleys and at our 1st stop, I noticed a burning plastic smell. Investigating around the headers I noticed the corrugated plastic wire loom showing some melting. Not burning but melting from heat exposure. I had originally thought everything was clearly out of harms way. So, my solution was to pick up some heat shield material and wrapped ALL and ANY wire loom, tranny coolant lines, rubber tubing etc.etc. everything anywhere in close proximity with the shield material. No problems since. Just an FYI

[Wanabee FTer]

Hi Peter,
I think I have that covered. Banks included 4 heat shields. One for the trans shift cable, one for the starter/wires, one for the brake lines and one extra that I used for a small section of wire loom on the left frame rail. Thanks for the heads up, I will be paying close attention for any burning odors for the first few hundred miles.