Alright, i hear alot of people asking how hard the header installation is on a 350z, but before you answer that question you have to know what kind of person and what kind of automotive skills you have. if you don't know how to properly bleed your coolant system or if you are known to strip a couple bolts now and than, this job is not for you..

I am not a mechanic nor do i have a garage or a lift but i did do my homework and i am a car enthusiast.

below you will see my tools that i worked with and i will give you instructions (not step by step) on how to complete this installation... if you are a person who NEEDS step by step instructions than this instal is not for you.

So i found a guide on 350z wiki and was a little scared by what you were required to do but i was lucky to find out that instead of removing the ac or starter or engine mounts you can do this installation (conditions permitting of course)PLEASE read the entire wiki install too it has great tips and hints and doesn't leave anything out like i probably did so if your not sure about something look it up there and read it before

I have the no name long tube headers 300$(yea ima cheap ass)

TIP: instead of just bagging and tagging (which is a good idea) also combine that with screwing screws back in their home.

TIME TO START

PLan to not drive the car for at least 3 days, yes it takes that long.. we are not all mechanics with air tools and shop lifts :).. be relaxed, you will save time and money by being careful and not breaking anything or stripping any screws than by rushing... if you get frusturated take a break and come back later

-well lets just start by taking crap off.. take off your whole intake leaving the MAF sensor in place

-take off sturt bar and engine cover

-drain coolant from the plastic screw under radiator and disconnect the drivers side AND Passenger side metal coolant tubing and EVERYTHING that is connected to it...
(this takes a lot of time ... dissconect all tubing and all wires attached to this , on the drivers side it is connected to the engine by 3 bolts and alota hoses.. don't lose the bolts

once everything is clear and 6 hours has just passed and alota bloody nuckels your engine will look something like this.(pictured)

spray rust remover on the underside of the body where the little bracket in the picture on the floor is connected to the cats... its connect by 4 bolts, remove this and while your there do the same for the 4 bolts (2 on each side) for the cats connecting to the Y pipe

remove 12 header bolts (6 on each side) spray rust remover on them) some of them came out with the studs .. i guess it doesn't really matter,, use a big ass breaker bar and a 14mm deep socket to get these out..( as stated on wiki they moved the ac compressor out of the way , which i can only guess was to get the first boly on the drivers side header..) by using this combination of a deep socket and swivel extension i was able to remove the bolt without touching any Ac components
DONT STRIP THEM PLEASE BE CAREFUL THATS ALL I CAN SAY .. depending on the type of headers you have , some bolts may be more difficult to screw in than they came out, such as my last , farthest bolt on the passenger side i can't seem to even get in.

PS i took out the headers and the cat(downpipe) at the same time becuase i have long tube headers.. though i think it would be easier to do the same thing with regular ones since dissconnecting the downpipe to the headers is rather difficult.its a good time to put test pipes or resognated pipes in anyways

when i took the headers/cats out i left all the 02 sensors in and just dissconnect the wires... this makes it 30000 times easier than taking out the 02 sensors while the pipes are in the car..

NO need to take off steering shaft or nuckle, well i guess it depends on the type of headers you have, aslo i did not take off the starter or the a/c compressor or did i hoist the engine either.

working around this a/c tubing in the picture is the worst part of this installation, though it is a pain in the booty, i really wouldn't recomend removing it hahah..

wheelie baby!!!

this is the wrench i used for the first bolt on the drivers side header... use your imagination and innovation. you do not need to unbolt the a/c

long tube headers = no cats (bolts to y pipe)

they are finally in and just finishing to tighten the last bolts , i am also going to put header wrap before i reassamble the entire cooling system (note) i learned from a mistake from this installation and that was to install header wrap BEFORE putting the headers on.. duhh..but i got most of it in the engine compartment wrapped

alright just finished 8/08/08 :) everything is good no exhuast leaks buttttt.. one of the o2 sensors on the cat was rusted on and the threads were stripped so i'll have to buy a new 100$ sensor..

overall reassembling the car takes a 1/4 of a time less than dissasembling... do your coolant right and get all air out of the system.. you don't want a 4000k engine to overheat for a stupid mistake... its going to smoke its going to smell like popcorn... the long tube headers with no resognators are raspy which isn't a good thing but it can be fixed with an exhuast system ... its louder more deep i think, Performance is decent and  the car goes through the rpms much faster. just got a new o2 sensor so no more CEL.. a few more bolt ons and i will leave the Z alone... NExt is kinetix Z+ plenum

After all countless hours of research and pricing and listening to exhaust... i've ordered the Invidia exhaust.. its in the mail.. i'll have pictures soon

overall it feels good to be done :D

OKAY UPDATE.... when doing the headers... learn from my mistakes... obviously wrap the header wrap before putting them on the car.... and second use high tempature threadlock and tighten all bolts evenly or they will come loose a couple weeks later!!! take care

Page#

1 --> Original pictures

2 --> Current pictures

3 --> Smoked Taillights

4 --> Header Installation

5--> Intake Plenum Installation