Questions about Kooks install.

[DougS550]

If it doesn't start snowing by the time I get off work, I'll try & put on a few miles to see if I get the CEL

Great, keep us posted and be safe.

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[DougS550]

With the Big Daddies fixes, which of the 3 products are suggested to avoid the CeL? The mini cat says it’s for cat less applications while the angled and straight CEL fix just move the sensor out of the exhaust flow.
my Looks are catted but what I’m reading in the thread is that even with green cats I’m likely still to get a CEL. Correct?

I'm thinking Kooks Green cats to but still will put the defoulers on.

 

[jayman33]

The vibrant j hook foulers have worked best for our customers, a little more but they're quality.

As far as install, I honestly dont even know how many installs we've done.

We remove the battery, the battery tray and shield, Intake then then all the top bolts we can remove from the headers then lift the car. We only do one side at a time, this way the really dont have to worry about the engine moving more to one side than the other. We start with the passenger side, unbolt the engine mount and you can still lift that side of the motor up. unbolt bracket, starter (be very careful when bolting the starter back in with the electrical connections), we typically reuse the stock gaskets or if kooks they come with cometic which are multi layered. Passenger is easy to get to and we typically remove all the studs and use the supplied bolts. Some header brands have aggressive primaries and will hit the studs. Finger tighten all bolts then tighten away, dont tighten any hard until all bolts are in! Then reverse the steps, bolt in starter, engine mount and lower engine down. Driver side, unbolt bottom portion of the steering column, pull up and away. The driver side is super easy and takes about 20 minutes. Hardest bolt is the bottom backside bolt, so make sure that one is in there the fullest before tightening any others down!

I've done so many it takes me about 2.5 hours to install headers and about an hour if we have 2 people tackle it at once.

 

[Cordero1]

Great, keep us posted and be safe.

Drove around for about 25 mins but still no CEL. Winds picked up & trucks started laying down salt so will have to wait for roads to clean up. I have to say though, I might have the best sounding 5.0 in my town now.

 

[Cordero1]

The vibrant j hook foulers have worked best for our customers, a little more but they're quality.

As far as install, I honestly dont even know how many installs we've done.

We remove the battery, the battery tray and shield, Intake then then all the top bolts we can remove from the headers then lift the car. We only do one side at a time, this way the really dont have to worry about the engine moving more to one side than the other. We start with the passenger side, unbolt the engine mount and you can still lift that side of the motor up. unbolt bracket, starter (be very careful when bolting the starter back in with the electrical connections), we typically reuse the stock gaskets or if kooks they come with cometic which are multi layered. Passenger is easy to get to and we typically remove all the studs and use the supplied bolts. Some header brands have aggressive primaries and will hit the studs. Finger tighten all bolts then tighten away, dont tighten any hard until all bolts are in! Then reverse the steps, bolt in starter, engine mount and lower engine down. Driver side, unbolt bottom portion of the steering column, pull up and away. The driver side is super easy and takes about 20 minutes. Hardest bolt is the bottom backside bolt, so make sure that one is in there the fullest before tightening any others down!

I've done so many it takes me about 2.5 hours to install headers and about an hour if we have 2 people tackle it at once.

I'm sure the lift & an extra set of hands come in very handy. I didn't have either one of those. Although my 7 mo old baby with his little hands would of came in handy if he could help.

 

[jayman33]

I'm sure the lift & an extra set of hands come in very handy. I didn't have either one of those. Although my 7 mo old baby with his little hands would of came in handy if he could help.

lol lift does help for sure.

 

[DougS550]

Drove around for about 25 mins but still no CEL. Winds picked up & trucks started laying down salt so will have to wait for roads to clean up. I have to say though, I might have the best sounding 5.0 in my town now.

Thanks. I gotta hand it to you, Driving in the Snow, Wooshhh

 

[Zelek]

Is it required to re-torque the header bolts after they've been installed? I had a shop do mine and I thought about this but I wasn't 100% sure. Not that I hear any leaks or anything but getting to those bolts now seems like a giant pain. I've driven about 700-800 miles since.

 

[Cordero1]

Is it required to re-torque the header bolts after they've been installed? I had a shop do mine and I thought about this but I wasn't 100% sure. Not that I hear any leaks or anything but getting to those bolts now seems like a giant pain. I've driven about 700-800 miles since.

It says on the instructions you're supposed to. But then again the instructions were of no help. I never did it on my last install, was boosted & still put a few thousand miles on it & the retainers never moved. I wasn't even able to put on the retainers on the passenger top front 2 or the rear top 2. Will try again here in a few weeks. I'll check bolts for loosened ones.

 

[NJMike]

Is it required to re-torque the header bolts after they've been installed? I had a shop do mine and I thought about this but I wasn't 100% sure. Not that I hear any leaks or anything but getting to those bolts now seems like a giant pain. I've driven about 700-800 miles since.

The Tech at Ford who installed mine said it should be done. I'll check with him again when I get it back in another week (hopefully)

 

[Cordero1]

The Tech at Ford who installed mine said it should be done. I'll check with him again when I get it back in another week (hopefully)

Ask him to show you how he got them torqued. Because I would like to see that. Some bolts were so close to the tubing that I find it hard to believe they were torqued

 

[mkcotton]

Thank you, I don't think I have most of the flex sockets. I didn't take off the bottom plastic pans so I'll do that next. At one point I already had the passenger header on minus the farthest bolt. That's where I lost patience. Lowered the engine, raised it as high as could go. Still could not get that top farthest bolt in while header in. So I took it back off & tried with all top bolts on. This is where I stand now. I have an engine cradle, but does not seem to work that good. Probably will return it after this job. Will try it all again tomorrow. Thanks for your input & help.

Did you remove the battery box?

 

[mkcotton]

I was honestly expecting it to be much louder. But still really like the sound. Was just curious that sound was at first start.

Is your exhaust valved? Mine has the same sound on a cold start, but only when the valves are closed (trying to push by a closed valve I...)

As far as the violent, non-violent sound... mine is over the top violent for the first 30-45 secs of a cold start, but it does calm down quickly.

FTR, I have the Kooks 1 7/8 with green cats and performance connects (3" to 3") to a Borla Atak.

 

[Cordero1]

Did you remove the battery box?

Yes, along with the intake box on driver side. But I didn't even have to reach through the battery heat shield opening.

 

[Cordero1]

Is your exhaust valved? Mine has the same sound on a cold start, but only when the valves are closed (trying to push by a closed valve I...)

As far as the violent, non-violent sound... mine is over the top violent for the first 30-45 secs of a cold start, but it does calm down quickly.

FTR, I have the Kooks 1 7/8 with green cats and performance connects (3" to 3") to a Borla Atak.

It was exhaust valve. I have the kooks 3" all the way, so the valve just sits on top of the mufflers now.

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