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TEXAS-SPEED.COM
2010-15 Camaro 6.2L Header Installation
Tools
▪ WD40 for exhaust bolts ▪ 10mm, 13mm, 15mm Combination wrenches
▪ 3/8” Ratchet ▪ Optional: 3/8” air ratchet and impact gun
▪ 5/8” Spark plug set ▪ 4” Long 3/8” extension
▪ 6” Long 3/8” extension ▪ 12” Long 3/8” extension
▪ 10mm, 11mm, 13mm, 15mm 3/8” Drive sockets and ratchet (deep and standard length)
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Bolt Sizes
Disassembly
Ignition Coil bracket bolts: 10mm (5 ea.)
Dipstick Tube: 15mm (1)
Header/Manifold Bolts: 13mm (6 ea.)
Catalytic Converter: 15mm (2 ea.)
OEM Cat-back Band Clamp: 15mm (2 ea.)
OEM Tunnel Brace: 13mm (4 total)
O2 Sensors 7/8” (2 Pre, 2 Post)
Steering Shaft Bolt 11mm (1)
New Accu-Seal Band Clamps 15mm (1 per ea. clamp)
1. Make negative battery cable loose. (Battery is in trunk)
2. Open engine compartment. (Hood)
3. Remove engine cover.
4. Lift vehicle using jack stands or by using a two or four-post lift. (Preferred)
5. Spray WD-40 on exhaust bolts located at front and rear of catalytic converters. Let soak.
6. Spray WD-40 on O2 sensor threads and let soak to alleviate thread galling when removed.
7. Loosen 15mm band clamp bolts.
8. Remove spark plug wires.
9. Remove coil packs by removing bolts (5 ea.) on each side.
10. Remove all (8) spark plugs using 5/8” spark plug socket.
11. Remove oil dipstick tube and set aside by removing the single 15mm mounting bolt.
Sometimes clearance modifications need to be made to the bracket.
12. Remove ground wires on passenger side cylinder head with the (2) 15mm bolts, and note
ground bolt position.
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Disassembly (cont.)
13. Unclip front O2 sensor connectors, (Black) located at the rear of each cylinder
head. A small, pocket screwdriver is useful in this step.
14. Unclip rear O2 sensor connections. (White) These are located on the left and right
of the transmission. If not using the tear O2’s, make sure to zip tie the unused
harness connectors securely.
a. You can optionally use electrical tape to seal the connector from
and moisture.
15. Loosen the flange nuts on the front catalytic converter, but leave a few threads
hand-tight for easier removal once back under the hood of the car.
16. Remove the six (Per side) exhaust manifold to cylinder head bolts and set aside
to be reused unless you have new header bolts.
17. The exhaust manifold will be loose at this point but not removable. Set the OEM
exhaust gasket aside. It is reusable if the rivets holding the MLS layers are not
rusted apart.
18. Go under the car and loosen the front cat pipe flange nuts while supporting the
manifold.
19. Once the manifold is loose, remove the cat pipe assembly by sliding it forward off
the cat-back assembly. Then remove the exhaust manifolds from under the
vehicle.
20. Remove O2 sensors if not performed previously.
21. Remove the lower steering shaft bolt and slide the steering shaft upwards
towards the steering column. Some headers need the steering removed and
some do not. This makes a small difference for all headers. Do not turn the
steering wheel or the lowering steering shaft with the steering shaft disconnected.
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Catback Removal (For full exhaust install only)
If a full exhaust is being installed, the catback can be removed at any time before
or after manifold removal or header installation.
1. Loosen the band clamps using a 15mm socket.
2. Loosen only two of the tunnel brace bolts. This will be used to balance and
support the exhaust as a 3rd hand until it is ready to be fully removed.
3. Loosen the rear bumper valance where the exhaust tips are residing. If you have
a lift you do not need to do this, but with jackstands it is best to just remove the
valance.
4. Using a prybar, remove the rubber exhaust hangers holding the factory exhaust to
the rear subframe, and the ones near the exhaust tips.
Some lubricant may be required if the rubber hangers are stubborn.
The rubber hangers are going to be reused so try not to tear them
up too much.
5. Once the exhaust is loose, get one buddy at the front of the exhaust, and yourself
at the muffler area and then have the guy covering the front section take loose
one tunnel brace bolt and swing the tunnel brake out of the way. It will not be
reused so once the exhaust is lowered you can ditch the brace and install the
bolts back in place to hold the heat shields from rattling.
6. At this point you can simply just remove the exhaust by sliding the system
rearward to slide off the catalytic converter pipes and then lowered.
*If you kept the rear valance in place, move the angle the exhaust down at
an approximate 45° angle before the mufflers and tailpipes can be removed
from the valance panel. This is almost impossible with one person and on
jackstands. If using jackstands, you may want to cut the old exhaust using a
reciprocating saw at a half-way point if you do not plan on reusing it, this
would facilitate easier removal.
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Header Installation
The first components to be installed in an exhaust system are the headers. These
will be fully installed and in place before installing the remaining exhaust system
components. The longtube headers will install from the bottom of the car, and
before installation you will need to install the front O2 sensor extensions – these
are much easier to route before the headers are in place.
1. Install each header from under the car and into place on each side of the engine.
You may want some help supporting the header while going back to the
topside of the engine bay to install the header bolts and gasket, or use
bungee straps to temporarily support the headers if you are working alone.
2. Once the headers are near the cylinder head exhaust flange, you can install the
gasket and start the bolts. The stock gasket is marked “down” on the header side
– this writing is the bottom of the gasket and this obviously goes towards the
ground. If it isn't obvious enough or you are using an unmarked replacement
gasket, make sure the bolt holes match the pattern on the cylinder head.
3. It takes some finesse to install the first header bolt through the header gasket
while also supporting the weight of the header. Typically, it’s best to install a rear-
ward bolt first so that the header is more balanced to align the remaining bolts,
but any bolt you can install first to help support the weight is good enough. Some
people like using anti-seize on the header bolt threads, but this is optional step.
4. Once the first bolt is started, start aligning and threading the remaining (5) header
bolts. Make sure they are not cross threading as this is easy to do if the header
isn't perfectly aligned. Use a small alignment punch if needed, or you can also
lightly use a prybar and shop rag against a mostly threaded header bolt and
header tube to help align the header.
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Header Installation (cont.)
5. After all (6) header bolts are installed, evenly tighten down the bolts using a
13mm socket until snug then torque from the center out to 22 lb feet.
You can also use a closed-end 13mm wrench if torque wrench/socket
access is minimal.
6. Repeat the same process (steps 3-5) for the opposite bank exhaust header.
7. While in the engine compartment, now is a good time to finish the upper portion of
the installation. Start with reinstalling or replacing the spark plugs. You can use a
minimal amount of anti-seize on the spark plug threads if desired. Torque to 11 lb
feet. You can also tighten them snug without the use of a torque wrench if you
have a feel for spark plug torque.
8. Reinstall the coil packs if removed torqueing the (5 ea) bolts to 89 inch lbs.
9. Reinstall the dipstick tube, you will need a flashlight to see the proper orientation
in the block. This sometimes is easiest by having a friend align the lower portion
of the dipstick tube while you install it from the engine bay side.
Some headers require a spacer and longer bolt for the dipstick tube due to
the larger header flange.
10. Reinstall the passenger side ground wires – if removed.
11. Reinstall or Replace the Spark Plug wires.
12. Reinstall the engine cover.
13. Going back to the bottom side of the car, install the O2 sensors. The O2 torque
specification is 31 lb feet, but if using an open-ended wrench just try to get close
to that value by feel it will likely be good enough.
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Header Installation (cont.)
Header Connection Pipes
14. Plug in the O2 sensor connectors to the previously installed O2 sensor harness
extension and route securely using zip ties on the existing wiring harness routing.
Open transmission case holes or other usable non-moving/non-heated items.
Ideally you want to protect the wiring from falling loose and getting melted against
the header, or in a position that promotes wiring chaffing.
15. At this point, the header portion of the installation is complete, now we can move
onto connecting the headers to the existing exhaust, or replacing the entire
exhaust.
1. Installing the headers to stock catback connection pipes is pretty straight-forward.
Due to the slip-fit design, you may have to slightly lower and shift the stock
catback rearward with a prybar to slide the two pipes together, otherwise, it’s a
matter of installing as best as fitment requires.
2. Once the pipes and exhaust are in position and aligned, tighten all band clamps.
If you removed the stock catback then you will need to install it last. However, it
does not need to be removed to utilize full length headers with connection pipes.
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Optional Catback Installation
The 3” dual exhaust catback system is one of the easier aspects of the exhaust
installation. The TSP system shown being installed has minimal room for install
error, which directly helps the end users on their own installation. Some things to
keep in mind are that the pre-installed Accu-seal exhaust clamps all face
downwards as shown in the images and that the flimsy and interference-prone
body brace is not to be retained.
1. Install both the left and right catalytic converter extension pipes. These simply
slide into place. You can snug the clamps to prevent the cat pipes from sliding
more forward on the header than required.
2. Next install the X-pipe itself. Note that the Accu-Seal bolts face downwards if the
X-pipe is positioned correctly.
3. Install the left and right X-pipe extensions. These are non-interchangeable but
you can easily see that the differences are obvious, the left side routes near the
differential drain plug, while the right side is angled further out to match the
underside of the rear differential cradle.
4. If the rear fascia is back into place, you must insert the exhaust tip through the
fascia first, then align the exhaust piping.
5. Once the axle-back portion is installed, position all rear exhaust hangers back into
place on the exhaust. These will help support the exhaust system so that you can
align the setup properly.
Alignment
6. Make sure the exhaust is not rubbing any drivetrain components or support
structures.
7. Adjust the front clamps and X-pipe clamps first, then align the exhaust tip location
and work back forward keeping the exhaust tips in check.
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Optional Catback Installation (cont.)
Final Inspection and Startup
8. Once the exhaust is positioned where it fits best you can tighten the Accu-Seal
bolts down fully.
You may need to adjust the exhaust tips one last time after an exhaust heat
cycle.
9. Final torque on the clamps should be around 50lb feet. Guesstimating is usually
sufficient as the specified range is 40lb feet to 60lb feet.
10. Give the entire installation a thorough once-over making sure you tightened all
bolts, and most importantly the steering shaft bolt. (If removed) If you utilized an
off-road type X-pipe you will need to have an LS-tuner disable the check engine
light for the rear O2 sensors. This is also recommended for setups with High-Flow
catalytic converters.
11. Once you are satisfied with the installation, you may re-connect the battery
ground in the trunk and give the engine a heat cycle. With a header installation
by itself you will rarely have issues on the initial startup, be prepared for a louder
exhaust note as your first impression. Secondly, as with all new exhaust
components, be prepared for the hot exhaust to burn off the manufacturers
grease, and your fingerprints from the exhaust system. They can smoke and
smell horrible for 20-30 minutes after startup, so make sure your workplace has
adequate outside ventilation. Do not run the car inside a shop or garage, at a
minimum, the rear half of the car should be outside.
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More Information & Help
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E-mail: [email protected]
Address: Texas Speed & Performance
1621 Aviation Dr., Ste 105
Georgetown, TX 78628