Trying to fit the header I bought from Feral at DatRats. He told me it would interfere and would need to be adjusted but I'm not sure how to do it. IN the pic below there's a black mark which is where it hits the transmission (doesn't hit the gearbox like I thought it would) - which is kinda weird because I thought the LHD and RHD blocks and trannys were the same. On well, anyway right at that mark it probably needs about 1/4" to 1/2" to fix the problem. Shoudl I just hammer that spot in - or will that kill flow in that tube? If not, how would I go about fixing this? I don't know how the whole cluster of tubes coudl be bent all together without breaking something, and it's not possible to bend them one at a time. Well anyway I appreciate any suggestions.
michael

I dont reccomend hammering the spot as it will change the flow and basciall deceive the purpose of having extractors. Wouls i be right in saying they couls be for a manual car. As automaticas are bigger than a manual?

hope this helps

Michael,
What part is it hitting? is it the housing around the clutch or on the steering box area?

You can dent the pipe a small amount without having any noticable effect on flow. You may be able to solve the problem by fitting two gaskets joined with silicone. Fit a circle clamp to the pipe and then make up a strut back to the block to support it.

When it goes back to the area past the collector you fit a slip joint exhaust and this allows the engine to move without stressing the exhaust.

The car is a manual. It's hitting the bellhousing, nowhere near the gear box. I figured if I made a smooth dent several inches long to keep it flowing it won't affect it too much except for the slight reduction in flow area of that tube (probably will still better than the stock exhaust). What concerns me is that it may rattle against the bellhousing or heat it where it makes contact. Maybe I'll need an insulator between the header and the bellhousing.

What I might try to do is build a wooden vice to grab all 4 tubes near the flange and try to bend the whole set of 4 at once. It won't take much I think. The wood will keep it from scratching and will keep pressure off the flange as I bend it. I'll just need a lot of leverage to bend all 4 at once. If that doesn't work maybe I"ll try your idea feral. But I'm not sure if thickening the gasket will help enough. Thanks for the ideas.
MIchael

Shouldn't any header made for an A-Series be able to clear the transmission whether auto or man?

I'll try to get a pic showing where it hits and how it sits on the head. Feral thought it would hit the gearbox - not the tranny which would make more since. Or maybe it also hits the gear box when the wheel is turned one way or the other. I should try that.

I have had that exact problem a couple of times with A series extractors and have solved it by use of a hammer on the offending runner.I think any loss of power would be negligable.

What I was talking about was making a loop of steel to clamp around one pipe near the housing where it hits and run a tube back to some part of the engine or bell housing bolts so it pushes the tube away from where it hits. two gaskets just give some flexibility of position with minimal movement on the head face. If it was worth the effort this would be a way to keep the pipes pristine.

As side draught said, if a small dent was not a problem, the dent would have a very small effects on performance if any.

Quote:Ummmm, i always thought that the gearbox & the transmision were one & the same thing. We usually use the word "transmission" when talking about autos, & "gearbox" when talking about manual transmisions, but they are pretty much interchangeable terms.
"Tranny" seems to be the US term for either type of gearbox /transmision.

I tend to think that if you can gradualy deform the tube, rather than beat it in, then you will not lose cross section or flow capability. By this i mean that if you can convert a section from round,.. to oval, or other shape, without pushing the wall of the tube inward, then the cross sectional area of the tube will remain pretty much unchanged.
Doing this may require a sturdy "G" clamp & a couple of shaped dies, maybee carved from wood, they need only to be able to spread the load over a small surface of the tube to allow deformation instead of crushing.
Just a thought.

Matt,
Some cars locally have trouble around the clutch cover area but most dont. I think there may be a small varaition in the OD of the clutch housings between gearboxes.
These headers are designed as a one fits all type and normally dont have much of a problem.

The US ones I have sold all have had this same clearance problem. Maybe your trans is slightly different diameter to ours???