Help!!!!! Install long tube headers. 1/58"

[joseandmarilyn]

Im having trouble installing my long tube headers. I dont know what brand are they, they have a three bolt flange on the collector.

I removed all spark plugs, they wont fit through the bottom or top, either side.
I know they fit cause my buddy had them on his mustang a 1989, and mines is a 1988 coupe. Its my first time doing this and im having tons of trouble.

Can you guys help me.

[rick23reed]

you are going to have to lift the motor off the motor mounts to fit the long tube headers in.

[Scut95]

Quote: you are going to have to lift the motor off the motor mounts to fit the long tube headers in.

i believe this is correct....you may even need to losen to tranny cross member so you can lift that as well.....i did short tubes and got lucky that i didn't have to do this.

[joseandmarilyn]

thanks you guys i got them in......now the car wont start.
It started once and it had a mis-fire,so i took off all the spark plug wires, and put them by firing order, the cars wants to fire up but it doesnt, it has spark and fuel but why wont it start,? (I think i dont havethe firing order right on the ditributor which one is number 1 on it.?)

[rick23reed]

Yeah headers can be a nightmare to install unless you open your eyes to all the possibilities such as the ones you and I have described. When lifting the engine that far out of its mounts , caution needs to be excercised as to not smashing the distributor, or "cam sync". housing against the firewall or stretching the radiator hoses to far while leaveing them connected. In some "botched" attempts of header installs that have been towed into my shop, the plastic inlet/outlet necks have actually been broken off due to trying to lift the engine too far. Header installs can get a little tricky with the "long tube" version. Obviously thats why they came up with "shorty's". In my opinion "long tubes" are the way to go for serious racers but in our new and improved "micro wave oven" got to have it now with out much effort world we live in, the shorty's are becoming very popular. Rick.

[lowflyn]

Quote: Originally Posted by joseandmarilyn thanks you guys i got them in......now the car wont start. It started once and it had a mis-fire,so i took off all the spark plug wires, and put them by firing order, the cars wants to fire up but it doesnt, it has spark and fuel but why wont it start,? (I think i dont havethe firing order right on the ditributor which one is number 1 on it.?)

I cannot recall the distributor order on a 88 5.0..hopefully someone will chime in here shortly...

[Herbstang]

Ford had the 2 different firing orders. Non HO firing order 15426378 . HO firing order 13726548.

[joseandmarilyn]

I actually didnt install the long tubes, i went with a pair of hooker super comp equal length. The headers were already installed and the car fired up, but had a mis-fire. I tried to fix that by arranging in order the wires but now it wont start. but the car started at first with the new headers.

[rick23reed]

You get it started yet? The info on the fireing order is obviously correct. Just remember the direction the distributor rotates in. good luck. Rick

[joseandmarilyn]

yeah its counterclockwise, but which is number 1 on the distributor.? I cant get it to start. Ive been working on it since yesterday,and im trying to get it ready for thursday, Im going to the track. It wont start i dont know whats wrong.

[rick23reed]

If you are standing directly in front of the engine number one is the wire terminal that would be in the "1 o'clock" position. "6 o'clock " would be closet to the radiator. If you look closely on the dist. cap you may even see a little "1" marked on it. You can also go the long way and pull no. 1 spark plug, bump the motor around until you feel the piston building compression, align the 0 degree timing mark on your harmonic balancer. then pop the dist cap off to see where the rotor is pointing. that should be no. 1 plug wire terminal. Again good luck. I'm fairly new tothis site and don't know if phone numbers are allowed to be given out, but it would be much easier for me to walk you through this over thew phone. Let me know.

[joseandmarilyn]

I checked and i have everything good on the dist. but it wont fire up, it just cranks, it sounds like its going to fire up but it wont, the red wire on the battery gets really hot and the starter solenoid smokes a bit. the car fired up in the beginnig but had that misfire, i took off all the wires and put them back and it wont start now.jose 7147198991.

[rick23reed]

Check All of your ground wires from the battery. The negative cable should have the one large cable, and about three small ones if I remember correctly. Make sure they are clean and tight! Next check all the connections at the starter. You need to have good cranking voltage, at least 11.0 while cranking the engine over. If you don't have a means of checking the voltage just make sure the engine is spinning as fast as it normally would. You may have knocked a wire loose around the back side of the engine or down low near the starter when you first attempted to install the "long tubes". You need to check to see if it is a "spark" problem or a "lack of fuel getting to the engine problem". If you have a can of starting fluid or carb cleaner just pull off a vacuum line or air inductiopn line at the intake manifold "squirt" a little juice in the hole, quickly replace the line and attempt to start the beast. If that doesn't work, pull a wire off the dist and lay it right on top of the hole you pulled it off of. Have someone crank the engine over while you watch for spark. Let me know what you find. 6196025063. Rick

[joseandmarilyn]

the cables on the starter were loose but i fix it,Ill check the battery cables, I have spark,and fuel cause i checked the line. The car started at first when i just installed the headers. i think maybe i through the timing off.

[silverstangboy]

thats a really small header, I'd suggest a 1 5/8"s instead hehe (thank you!, i'll be here all week!)

[rick23reed]

Quote: Originally Posted by joseandmarilyn the cables on the starter were loose but i fix it,Ill check the battery cables, I have spark,and fuel cause i checked the line. The car started at first when i just installed the headers. i think maybe i through the timing off.

[rick23reed]

Jose, you ever get your ride runnin'? I ain't heard from you so I'm hopeing you did. Rick

[rick23reed]

Yes, 1 5/8 headers would be better, but changing the spark plugs with 1/58 headers is REALLY easy!