One of the oldest and easiest ways to extract some extra power from your engine and add some 'stylin' to your engine bay is to install an exhaust header. Headers are available for purchase from our Webstore. This install will cover the installation of a mild steel header and also show why it is a good idea as the factory manifolds are prone to cracking.

The install is fairly easy to do just about anyone can do it but something that can occur is the breaking/stripping of bolts. So take your time doing the install. The best time to do this is when the engine is cool so you don't burn your hands and the penetrating oil won't burn away as you soak the bolts. The best thing is to spray the bolts with the WD40 and let them soak for a bit; get the ones underneath too where the spring bolts are.

Start by unbolting the bolts underneath the car this way the last bolt you undo up top won't cause the manifold to fall on your head if you were to take them out later. You should save all hardware that you unbolt just incase you might need it.

When you get the flange unbolted underneath the car there are 3 bolts located just around where the front pipe meets the manifold. These three bolts bolt the manifold to the engine block and are the reason why the stock manifold cracks. When you have them removed unplug the O2 sensor lead and it is time to start removing the nuts and bolts at the top of the manifold.

Start with the lower row and take one out at a time. The fasteners that are nuts may cause the stus that are threaded into the cylinder head to come out when you try to undo the nuts. If that is the case keep proceeding to remove it, you will have to replace it with a bolt later. When the lower row is out begin with the top row leaving the middle one in for now. When they are all out take out the middle one and carefully pull the manifold away from the head. You may need a pry bar in order to do this but very careful that it doesn't drop and ding something like your toes.

When the manifold is off it may take some manipulating to get it out from under the car. It is handy if you have a jack to jack the car up a bit to give you some more room. With the manifold off toss it in the garbage and grab the steel brush and begin cleaning off the old gasket material from the cylinder head

When the head is clean we suggest running the 8mm tap through all the bolt holes to clean them of any rust. This will help prevent stripping any bolts when you install the new manifold.

Installation is the opposite of the removal except you will have to install an O2 sensor. You may want to try and salvage your old one they are quite difficult to remove after awhile. We recommend using a new one, it saves alot of work. Also you might want to clip the wire of the o2 sensor to the block, to keep the wire from touching the header.

When you install the new header use new gaskets and torque all the bolts on the cylinder as little bit at a time. If you tighten them tight right away chances are you will distort the header's flange where it meets the head and you will get exhaust leaks or you may break a bolt in the head.

Finally we have a picture of how much power you can expect with a sport exhaust and header on a stock GTi. This graph shows flywheel hp. Multiply the values by 1.33 to convert kw to hp.

The intention of this article is to give the reader an idea of what is involved in installing an exhaust header. It is by no means a guide or a complete set of instructions on how to complete a header installation. The author & SSGTi.com takes no responsibility for damage or loss as a result of someone attempting a project like this. Things of this nature are best left to experienced people with the equipment and knowledge to do the job.

Author: B. Faherty