Bullitt long tube header installation

[NGOT8R]

I’ve been working on the long tube header installation on my 2019 Bullitt for the past three days. Prior to this, I had done one other LT install on my previous S197 Mustang. On that one, I dropped the entire K member. I had planned to do the same on the Bullitt, but ran into a problem getting the lower strut bolts to release after hitting them with a hammer. I only had a carpenter’s hammer on hand, so I had to work around the K member. I’ll share some lessons learned, so that the next person doesn’t struggle with certain parts of the install like I did.

- Tip: Strap the steering wheel in place, so that when you disconnect the steering shaft, the steering wheel doesn't rotate and lose it’s clocked position. I’ve heard that it is really a big deal to correct if you allow this to occur.

- Support engine and transmission with a jack. I used my scissor jack for my motorcycle (1000 lb capacity) with a tree stand on top of that to gain the necessary height. I also used two old phonebooks, so that the transmission wouldn’t rest directly on the tree stand.

- Remove motor mount plates (accessed top nuts from engine bay with three long extensions and then removed studs and bolts mounting the plates to the engine, followed by the starter last, as this makes accessing the starter bolts easier.

- Tip: Removing all studs made the factory header removal much easier on the passenger side. I struggled with removing it for over an hour before I decided to remove the studs, after which the header came right out.

- Tip: Run a thread chaser (not a tap) through all 16 holes. Note: This is a long and tedious process, but it is very necessary to make sure that the new header bolts go in with ease. The reason this step takes so long is, you have to tighten, loosen and tighten the chaser repeatedly until it is seated. Don't forget to spray the chaser with WD-40 or some other type of lube.

- Installation of new headers was a little tricky. The instructions said to install the four bottom bolts about three threads in, to hang the header off of. This would not work for me. After about 30 minutes of trying, I resorted to installing the most forward bolt and gasket, hung the header on that bolt and then with the rear of the header resting on my head, aligned the rear of the gasket and installed a rear bolt, so that the header could hang without me having to continue holding it. Note: All bolts screwed in super easy by hand only. Once all bolts were in, I used a combination of a 1/4” ratchet, 13 mm socket, short extension and a 13 mm box wrench to snug up all bolts.

- Running a thread chaser through the motor mount bolt holes also made installation of the Steeda polyurethane motor mount bolts super easy as well. These were torqued from the top of the car via the engine bay.

That’s as far as I have gotten today. I will attempt to torque all header bolts tomorrow. If anyone knows of a torque sequence chart or diagram, will you please post it in this thread? Thanks.

Here are some photos for reference.

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[el-guapin]

Kudos to you, Sir!.. Post sound clips when you finish!

 

[NGOT8R]

Thanks el-guapin! It’ll be a little bit before I get to that point, but I will definitely record a short video of how the car sounds with the updated exhaust. Pics of the X-pipe and stock active exhaust will be coming soon.

 

[Chente04]

Nice Man! what brand headers did you go with?

 

[NGOT8R]

Thanks Chente04! They’re Ultimate Headers. Top tier quality and no fitment issues at all. They even cleared the AC line; was worried that I would have to bend the line like I’ve read about others having to do with certain brands of headers on the S550. I am in the process of torquing the bolts as we speak. The battery died on my shop light, so I’m waiting on it to recharge. So far, I was able to easily get a torque wrench on each bolt except for the rear top and bottom on the passenger side. Still working on the driver’s side and will report back on that shortly. Here is a photo of the torque sequence that I am using.

 

[Cobra Jet]

You’re going to love the sound on first fire up and first WOT....

I’ve done LT’s on every Mustang V8 I’ve ever owned, including my 94 Cobra - can’t beat the sound....

Good luck and excellent tech thread too!

 

[NGOT8R]

Right on Cobra Jet! I agree, there’s nothing like it. I‘ve tried just mid pipes and/or mid pipes and shorty headers on my previous Mustangs and while they sounded decent to me, they just didn’t sound great to me. I hope it sounds close to my old ’13 GT which had a full Bassani exhaust (loved the sound of that car)! I know I‘ll be happy when I get around to pressing the start button on this one too. Can’t wait!

 

[Elp_jc]

Looking good. Hey, what torque are you using for the header bolts? Just curious. And the mid-pipe has small cats, right? Are they 200 cell? Let us know if it's enough to avoid fuel smell. But don't think it'd pass any emissions test; you need at least 400 on each side for that, I think.

 

[NGOT8R]

Looking good. Hey, what torque are you using for the header bolts? Just curious. And the mid-pipe has small cats, right? Are they 200 cell? Let us know if it's enough to avoid fuel smell. But don't think it'd pass any emissions test; you need at least 400 on each side for that, I think.

Thanks Elp_jc! I torqued in two stages. The first stage was 18 fl-lbs and the second stage was 24 ft-lbs. I was able to get a torque wrench on all but #6 and #7 on the passenger side based on the torque sequence pic above and all but #1, #8 and #3 on the driver’s side. I had to use either a 1/4” ratchet and short socket, or a 13 mm box wrench on those.

Yes, my cats are short. I’m not sure whether they are 200 or 400 cell. How can I confirm how many cells they have?

 

[Elp_jc]

If not stamped on there, ask the seller. Hopefully 400, but they look like 200 to me. But hey, something is better than nothing . It should be enough to avoid fuel smell, which is super annoying, especially for women.

 

[Bullitt_3461]

Awesome thread, please post sound clips. I have the Steeda H-Pipe so far and I love it. I've heard a few people mention not going with long tubes because there aren't as many benefits as people sometimes mention.

I would be interested to hear your take on this.

 

[NGOT8R]

Awesome thread, please post sound clips. I have the Steeda H-Pipe so far and I love it. I've heard a few people mention not going with long tubes because there aren't as many benefits as people sometimes mention.

I would be interested to hear your take on this.

Thanks Bullitt_3461! Yes, I will post sound clips when done. ImcN tell you from personal experience on my S197 that they were worth it and that’s why I installed them on my Bullitt. I won’t lie and tell you that it is a walk in the park to install them, because it’s not.

I reported earlier in this thread that I had no fitment issues; well, that was said prematurely. When I said that, the motor was still slightly jacked up in the air and awaiting the install of the motor mount bracket top bolts into the Steeda mounts.

Fast forward to today, I threaded the top bolts into the motor mounts by hand a few turns, lowered the motor and snugged them up to check fitment and everything looked good. Note: The passenger side top motor mount bolt has to be installed and tightened from the bottom, but the driver’s side can be accessed via the engine bay with a few long extensions. Once both motor mounts top bolts were in place, I moved on to connecting the steering linkage and that’s when Immediately noticed that there was a clearance problem. As you can see in the pic, the top knuckle on the shaft, as well as the shaft make contact with one of the header primary tubes. I decided to move on to prepping the rest of the exhaust, while I try and think of the best way to deal with the steering linkage problem.

I cut the suitcase off of the factory active exhaust in preparation for installing the Steeda X-pipe. I used a ratcheting exhaust cutting tool to cut the pipes to length and the cuts turned out super straight and clean. I also weighed the factory suitcase and X-pipe. The suitcase was 15.9 lbs and the X-pipe was 9.6 lbs.

 

[Jasef]

@NGOT8R how is everything going? Did you get the steering linkage issue solved?

 

[NGOT8R]

@NGOT8R how is everything going? Did you get the steering linkage issue solved?

I have been at a standstill (at least on my end), on the header install. I reached out to the header manufacturing company on 9/25 and briefed them on the fitment issues, as well as, sent them very detailed documentation/photos. After calling back their 2019 R&D Mustang GT to check some things on that car and going to Michigan to check on the mid-pipe fitment on another S550 install, they finally built me a new set and shipped them last Friday. Apparently, those efforts have allowed them to make the necessary design changes to the headers and mid-pipes, which should allow for a seamless fit this time around. I have received tracking information and the package is on schedule to be delivered Wednesday. It has been a long road, but looking at the bright side of things, the slow resolution has afforded me some time to get all of my other mods done to the car. Stay tuned for an update on the fitment of the replacement set of headers.

 

[Voo Doo]

Steeda uses Kooks!!

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