Hi people. I have bough a second hand "ss" exhaust sytem. Due to the desintegration of the oem 26 year old back box on my car I fitted the rear section. I am contemplating installing the headers and mid sections sometime next week. the system came with two blanking plates and I assume that the location will become evident once the airpump is out of the way.
The main worry I have is that I have heard that the caburetor must be adjusted once headers are installed and teh airpump is removed.
Has anyone on here done this themselves? If so do you have any tips?
I have a Haynes manual that came with the car and it seems that a lot of the stuff on it applies to US cars, but it does offer some idea as to how to remove the thermal reactor.
So far I have plenty of penetrating fluid at hand for the four nuts as the one in the rear section require cutting.
I recently replaced the two belts that were on the car with some Halfords ones that came with it. If I remove the airpump, will the car be OK with only one belt? If so should I buy a "better" belt. Any suggestions welcome.
What sealant do you use for the blanking plates? RTV hgasket maker OK?
Lastly, what would happen to the hot air hose for the air cleaner?
Will cold start become a problem.
Cheers,
AR
I\'ve got 2 lots of fitting instructions for 2 different stainless systems; they\'re essentially the same thing. I used them for fitting my own Double SS system off a donor car a couple of years back, no problems. PM me with your e mail address and I\'ll send them.
Yes the carb\'s a bit fiddly but it\'s a matter of setting the idle screw to fastish idle (1000 rpm), then slowly screwing in the mix screw till it just starts \'hunting\' then backing the mix screw back a tad to get smooth idle. Then reset the idle down a bit if you want. For belt and braces, follow that with a drive to an MOT station for an emissions check.
Remember that your car is exempt from the emissions test anyway at MOT time.
The thermal reactor has one screw under the manifold that\'s an absolute bastxxd. Resolve now to drop the antifreeze and take the manifolds off now, it\'s easier, plus the O Rings will be OK for a good few years after. Remember you want those 2 O Rings for the inlet manifold coolant connections as well as new inlet and exhaust gaskets. All easy stuff from the suppliers on here.
One belt fine for street use-the belt that comes off is only the air pump drive.
Blanking plate seals - nothing but engine oil on a simple gasket - home made is OK - the gasket duty is nothing at all.
Put back the top heat shield as you replace the exhaust and the hot air hose pops back into place on that.
The other slightly difficult bit is cutting the stub pipes that duct into the Thermal Reactor. They\'re stainless so a bit of hard work to cut. Just work away with the hacksaw - the data sheets tell you where to cut.
Cold Start is same as before - the engine is so heavily choked to start that the idle/mix adjustments you will make have no effect.
Phew....I feel like I\'ve done it all again!!!!
Thank you very much David your post was really descriptive of the process. It seems like it has the potential to turn into a pig of a job!
Is the purpose of the MOT station visit to check the gases?
You mentioned dropping the coolant, is this part of removing the intake manifold?
PM on the way.
Cheers,
Ary
Not really a pig but so much easier to take the inlet manifold off. Last time I tried without and had to stop and do it anyway.
Yes MOT equipment can confirm the CO percentage whilst you tweak the carb, but I\'ve always gone it alone. I have a bit of hunting at cold but once warm it idles a treat.
The intake manifold has coolant going through it. There\'s 2 O rings in recesses in the Aluminium. They get brittle after many years and coolant starts to be lost, usually visible lying on the manifold at the back of the carb....a regular visible inspection point for me, as is the level in the expansion bottle.