SSAutochrome Headers Installed - Great!!

[bomber]

Just wanted to summarize installing the S&S Autochrome JBA clone headers.

1) You can use the stock nuts after removing the stock exhaust manifolds.

2) Patience! Patience and More Patience! The two botton inside nuts on both sides are somewhat burried inder the motor mount girdle. Have a medium depth 14 mm socket and a plethora of extensions and you will get them off and on without rounded edges. Read - I didn't remove motor mounts to remove and replace.

3) The cat connect bolts on either side are from HE double hockey stick and took the longest to addresss. My advice is to not play with a penetrating oil, go to autozone or were ever and get a nut splitter. I used pneumatic impact wrench on high to actually strip them off the studs. They are a BIT*H!!

4) Remove the cats and y pipes on both sides, it makes life much simpler removing the manifolds. Before tightening the new headers, leave them loose and reconnect everything before torquing.

5) The dipstick pipe will keep you from removing the drivers side exahust manifold and heat shield. You can actually gently bend it forward towards the radiator to get enough room. Remember to gently bend back in place.

6) All nuts are much easier by jacking, removing the tires, folding back the little dust aprons and have at it. You do not need pneumatic tools for the manifold nuts, just a good angle, universal, proper extensions and a little elbow grease - remember patience.

7) I did use a 14 mm open end ratchet wrench for tightening the top nuts. Get one - 10 bucks at Home Depot. Also not a bad idea to hit all the nuts with a little PB Blaster or Penetro pentrating oil the night before disassembly.

Ok for the good news, with the Borla cat back and the headers, the performance is great and will get better as the computer adjusts. This Tundra flat gets after it and the headers seem to really flow at about 2700 RPM. The sound is also great and the headers/borla are hardly noticeable when cruising. I was surprised they were that civil. S&S Autochrome has made some nice inexpensive headers that work pretty well. I suspect that will even get better during the next week. A couple of nits, they need to move the o-sensor bungs 10 degrees towards the engine on the drivers side and 10 degrees to wards the wheel on the passenger side. Even though they fit well, the drive side sensor wires are a little tight until you adjust the placement. On the passenger side, the sensor is pretty close to the engine/transmission but it still fits fine. I'll check back periodiacllly and let everyone know how the perfomance is.

PM me with any questions,
bomber

[KLS]

Just a quick clarification---

SS Autochrome is not the same company as S&S Headers. SS Autochrome sells headers that look a lot like JBA headers, and SS Autochrome sells a lot of these on ebay as well as their web site http://www.ssautochrome.com/level.itml/icOid/2

S&S Headers from Glendale, Arizona, is presently developing long-tube, full length headers for our 4.7 L V8 engines. http://www.ssheaders.com/


Ken

[tremo]

Excellent tips bomber! (I referenced this thread from the JBA Header Group Buy thread.) I can tell you from experience that I went through the same "pain" installing my JBA headers. Even your nits at the end are exactly what I was thinking! So, do you think the SS Autochrome headers are actually refinished/repackaged/OEM'ed JBA headers? They sure look the same to me!

Hey, post some pics of the finished job!

Seee-ya!

Jim.

[Dude Boy]

Jim:

I can see from the photos and specs that the flanges are different and there are welds on the tubing side. JBA's are welded on the head side of the flange only. The stainless is also a different number. Don't know if that's good or bad, but I think the SS Autochome headers may be made out of the better stuff.

5) The oil filler pipe will keep you from removing the drivers side exahust manifold and heat shield. You can actually gently bend it forward towards the readiator to get enough room. Remember to gentlly bend back in place.

Bomber:

Do you mean the oil dipstick tube? If you do, you can remove the tube really easy rather than bending it. Just make sure to stick something in the open hole to protect from dirt getting into the pan. I agree with you on the cat flange bolts. I had to chisel a couple of mine off. I think I broke like (2) 6 point sockets and ended up rounding one nut off completely. Make sure to keep tightening your nuts periodically so you don't develop any leaks.

Bob

[bomber]

Morning Bob and Jim:

Late night typing and thinking. Yes, the dipstick tub and not the oil filler tube ;>) The SS Autochromes are made of 304 Stainless and yes I will be retightning the nuts this weekend. Noticeable difference this morning on the way to work. The SS Autochromes are TIG welded and Jim is right, they are welded on the flange side and not the head side. I compared them to a set of JBA's at a performance store here in Atlanta and they are about as close to copying a design as you can get. I guess the only other thing of any importance was tapeing all the ports, filling with water and checking for leaks and straight edging the head side for flatness before installation. SS Autochrome warranty is for life - whatever that means!!

I'll try and post some pics when I get a minute.

bomber

[tundra4towin]

Bomber,
Saw your post after i had posted on the stone mountain headers topic. I installed a set of these this weekend as well! The increase was very noticeable, even my wife noticed and thats saying something!

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble with the cat bolts!
Mine where tight, however i was able to remove them without to much trouble. Maybe thats because it was 110 degrees out while i was doing it!

Your notes where dead on in relation to the o2 sensors!
my drivers side was ok, but the passenger side was pointed directly @ the motor & trans. there is only about 1/8 inch clearance between the wires and the block. Do you think this will end up causing problems down the road???

The only thing i did different was i did not remove any additional exhaust components, cats or y pipe.

The passenger side slide right up from the bottom and the drivers side went in from the top down.

I see you are looking @ the y pipe from them. I am considering this as well. How much would you expect this improve performance?

[v8Toilet]

Did you notice if it has the fire cone collector like the JBA headers do?

[bomber]

Subject: ebay auction winner of Tundra Headers

Dear Sirs:

On June 30th I won an ebay auction for a set of your headers for my Tundra. I installed them this weekend. The URL is listed below:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2421060558

I have a couple of rather large complaints that I need rectification on please.

1) On the Drivers side header the O2 sensor bunge is located in a straight down position. This is unacceptable because it makes the sensor wire to the plug too tight. The bunge should be rotated counterclockwise about 25 degrees.

2) On the driver’s side O2 sensor, it is located so it points directly at the engine/transmission. Almost no clearance and I suspect that there will be premature O2 sensor malfunction. Not only that, I don’t believe you can remove and install a replacement O2 sensor. This sensor bunge needs to be relocated about 25 degrees counterclockwise also.

3) When I say counterclockwise, that is as the headers are installed.

4) Other than that, the install went pretty well. I would like to see the Dyno reports if possible because I believe the useable powercurve for these headers starts at about 3000 RPM when ideally, for a truck, you want low end power and torque at about 1500 RPM or so.

I look forward to hearing back from you and would also like to inquire about your Y pipe for the Tundra. Is it street legal? If so, how much would just the Y pipe cost?


Hello
Thanks for your email.

These headers have been through many many changes, and many installs before finally making the Bungs where they are at this time.

These are the same location as all other aftermarket Headers as far as Gibson, JBA etc..

The Y Pipe is street legal - it is on ebay Now

No Published DYNOS to report just yet

Thanks!

[bomber]

Had an O2 sensor light come on during the ride home from work. Disconneted the battery and the computer reset and the sensor light is off. Below is a conversation with SS Autichrome and their bung locations. After measuring this evening, for max clearance, they need to be adjusted about twenty five degrees as stated below. i do not know what that would do to operation. Also as far as the firecone, it doesn't look exactly like the picture but it does have a partition between pipes in the collector.

Remember to disconnect the battery and reset before suspecting a bad O2 sensor.

Hope this is helping folks.

bomber

[tremo]

Bomber,

I had my own O2 sensor saga documented here:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...threadid=14732

Scroll down to my post on 07-10-2003 at 10:07 PM and read "up". If it trips again, go to Auto Zone and they'll hook up their OBDII scan tool for free and provide you the code and any addt'l details from the computer. (You can also PM me as I have a print out of all the codes.)

It would be interesting if you got the same code as me (P0125: Insufficient Coolant Temperature for Closed Loop Fuel Control), which I received *after* I replaced the O2 sensor on the driver's side due to some JBA install problems (rounded nuts). However, after resetting the computer last Friday at Auto Zone, and even racing this weekend in 90+ degree heat, the truck has been fine. Fluke?

Re SS's comment:

These are the same location as all other aftermarket Headers as far as Gibson, JBA etc..

You can tell them that's not true for JBA! While the driver's side was a bit tight to re-connect, the passenger side WAS NOT pointed at the tranny and I saw no clearance issues. Perhaps this pic will help (driver's side header is on the bottom):

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo...cat=500&page=1

Seee-ya!

Jim.

[1spiffyTRD]

I was looking to get JBA headers, but from what ive been reading, it looks like these are Legit. Are the SS headers/ Y-pipe combo worth getting.

P.S. The price advantage looks pretty good.

[bomber]

Jury is still out. The performance is there at about 27-3000 RPM and up, it actually responds like a V8, very good workmanship on the set I received. The passenger side oxygen sensor has me a little worried because of the close proximity with the engine/transmission. That can probably be addressed with some self vulcanizing tape on the wires to the sensor body to make sure they aren't touching the block. I had another sensor light this morning after resetting the computer last night. Thanks for all the threads from the JBA group buy and sensor issues. I'll reset again tonight and see if I can't get over to autozone for a sensor diagnostics report. I'm going to try SS Autochromes Y pipe also just for kicks. Personally for me, the SS Autochrome headers were just to replace the stock manifolds until S&S released their Tundra Torquer headers. After waiting about a year, they are now coming out so I'll, at some point, end the science project if the S&S headers are as good as advertised or I find that these are acceptable. Right now, I'm pretty impressed with the performance but it is not in the area where trucks need it at the lower end.

[Bayou Thunder]

Figured I would let you know that I picked up a set of these headers on ebay this morning for $155.00. For that price I thought it was a steal. It is costing me less than $20.00 for shipping as well. I too am thinking about their Y pipe. Keep us posted as to whether you get it or not. I may go ahead as well if I can get the money rounded up.

Clay

[RM]

Is the SSAutochrome y-pipe stainless?

[Bayou Thunder]

Yes the Y-Pipe is stainless.

Clay