[Geoffrey70]

So I just finished up my install of the JBA long tube headers and Cajun resonated b-pipes. I just wanted to share a few tips with those looking to do this in the future. My install was on a 2005 2wd with 98k miles. The truck has been located in south Georgia, so excessive rust was not really an issue. Install took me about 8-9 hours working alone.

A week prior I went ahead and pulled out my fender liners and and heat shields then soaked all my bolts in PB Blaster. The heat shields are easy to unbolt, but I fount them nearly impossible to remove, so I took straight cut tin snips and cut the crap out of them until they came out.

I rented a Oxygen Sensor socket set from Oreilly's and it came in very handy. I had zero issues removing all four of the sensors. Evertough PN: 67060

I put the jack under the motor and supported its weight. I loosened the bolts holding the two motor mount brackets to the block. Dont remove these bolts completely, just leave a few threads in the block. Go ahead and jack the motor up as far as it will allow after. *There was absolutely no need to loosen the motor mounts themselves.*

Passenger side was a breeze. Plenty of room to work from the fender well and the header slides in and out no problem. I did end up removing the heat shield closest to the header, but it may have not been necessary to remove. I loosened all bolts and torqued all bolts right from the fender well as well, no need to get any from underneath. Only problem I had was with the dipstick. Ended up having to take a break and searching how to remove it. Ended up using a 90 degree pick and scraped all the dirt out of the socket then squirted some pb blaster in there and it came right out.

Driver side was more of a pain. I'm 6'5 350lbs, so I dont have the smallest of arms and hands. Squeezing my hand through the brake lines was a chore when needed. The very front bolt is located by the AC compressor and the AC line actually blocks you from using a deep socket on a ratchet. Luckily I had a Stanley deep socket that wasn't very deep, and it barely worked. I should have ground off about 1/2" and it would've worked much nicer. I used a standard deep well socket to break loose all of the other bolts from the fender well. When installing the header I had to swap between all three sockets in the picture. One of the lower bolts required me to use a flex head gear wrench socket to tighten and torque down. I was not able to get a socket on the nut at all. Had two studs come out with the nuts on this side, but luckily I purchased two new studs and eight new nuts before attempting this.

When I finished up the driver side I tightened back up the motor mount brackets and lowered the engine all the way down. The clearance was good all over except on the driver's side motor mount bracket. The header ran right over top of it and maybe had 1/8" clearance. I had to take off the driver's side motor mount bracket and notch it out where the header pipe ran over top of it. I took off maybe 1/2" to be safe.

Tools I used:
3/8 Flexhead long handle ratchet. HarborFreight P/N:62333 (Buy it, it made everything a BREEZE. Broke every
bolt and tightened all bolts but one with it.) Use a 20% coupon and its worth its weight in gold.
14mm Flex head ratchet. Buy a 6 point. Dont try any of this with 12 point. You'll regret it later. Locked on another
wrench to get enough leverage to torque the nut with it. Only used on one nut.
14mm sockets. I used 3 different lengths. Again, 6 point.
10mm socket. Shallow (dipstick)
3/8 Extensions, several different sizes.
Impact universal joints
90 degree pick to clean out dipstick tube socket before I was able to remove it.
E10 Torx socket to install new studs
I used 1/2 breaker bar with 1/2 14mm to break loose the manifold to bpipe bolts.
Oxygen sensor wrench kit
Tin snips

Also, buy OEM gaskets. Those gaskets that come with the JBA's really are crap. I would hate to do this much work to compromise it with those things.

I may be forgetting a few things, but this should be a good supplement for someone researching this job.

 

[danman]

Great points and tips man, I know its not that fun of a chore and I always recommend to toss the supplied gaskets as soon as you open the package! I would also recommend 14mm ratcheting wrenches, the flex head type and regular type. I'm not sure ratcheting wrenches are made in 6 point, but I'd use them to remove the nuts after they are already broken loose. Great write up!

 

[Geoffrey70]

I got a Tekton flex head ratchet in 6 point off of amazon for around $11. Already had 12 point, but figured I?d snag a 6 point for this job.

 

[danman]

I got a Tekton flex head ratchet in 6 point off of amazon for around $11. Already had 12 point, but figured I?d snag a 6 point for this job.

Nice, thanks for the info!

 

[Geoffrey70]

Just had a ultra quiet resonator welded in by the spare. I must say it’s 100% worth the money. I had some drone around 1600-1900rpms which is quite often just cruising around. The resonator cut all that out and the truck has a real nice deep rumble now.

 

[Mermans]

Good tips man. Kinda wish I read this before I did mine on the weekend. I also wondered about the 1/8 inch clearance on the drivers side , I left it and it seems fine.

 

[Geoffrey70]

Good tips man. Kinda wish I read this before I did mine on the weekend. I also wondered about the 1/8 inch clearance on the drivers side , I left it and it seems fine.

Thank you. I read all the diy’s before I did mine, just tried to touch up a few things some other people missed.
It most likely won’t cause an issue. I kinda feel it was overkill now, but it’s one less thing to worry about.

 

[LaxDfns15]

I had to notch my driver motor mount to get the header to fit properly.

 

[nightowl]

Thank you. I read all the diy’s before I did mine, just tried to touch up a few things some other people missed.
It most likely won’t cause an issue. I kinda feel it was overkill now, but it’s one less thing to worry about.

Driverside motor mount has some “sagg” in it which causes the driver side to sit lower. If you can slide a credit card under the header you will be ok. That rubber isolator has worn or dry rotted causeing this.

 

[Geoffrey70]

Driverside motor mount has some “sagg” in it which causes the driver side to sit lower. If you can slide a credit card under the header you will be ok. That rubber isolator has worn or dry rotted causeing this.

That's probably about the clearance I had. I wasn't sure if the headers would expand or move when they heated up, so I went ahead and notched it a little.

 

[cjcrashesalot]

I'd like to add my 2 cents here to hopefully help anyone in the future. I have a 4wd, which makes things a little trickier for accessing the motor mounts.

On the driver side, dropping the front driveshaft allowed much easier access to the 2 rear motor mount bolts. The 2 front motor mount bolts are best accessed through the wheel well, with a combination of extensions and u-joints.

On the passenger side, 3 of my 4 motor mount bolts were basically seized in the block. My 600ft-lb impact wrench couldn't break them loose, nor could a breaker bar with all my weight on it. One of the bolt heads actually started deforming (not stripping) and still wouldn't break loose. I ended up removing the manifold studs on this side in order to drop the old manifold and install the new header. Despite reading several recommendations on here to not mess with the studs, I had no choice. Luckily, all of mine were a breeze to remove- no stripping, no breaking.

However, reinstalling them after the header was in place was a bit trickier. There are one or two studs that won't allow direct access to the E10 torx socket, so you have to use a box wrench/ratcheting wrench. They probably make an E10 torx box wrench, but I didn't have one on hand. As it turns out, an 8mm ratcheting wrench also fits well enough to get the studs snug in the block.

 

[SE Off Road1]

Driverside motor mount has some “sagg” in it which causes the driver side to sit lower. If you can slide a credit card under the header you will be ok. That rubber isolator has worn or dry rotted causeing this.

The portion of the motor mount that needs to be modified for clearance is not a result of worn or sagging isolators on the mounts. The mount and headers are both fixed points bolted to the engine and the isolator being worn or sagging does not affect the clearance between the pipes and mount. A worn isolator will certainly cause the engine to lean or pitch to one side but has nothing to do with the clearance between the header pipes and the top of the mount. The header and motor mount move in unison while under torque. Why some people need to remove material and some do not is either in the headers and variances in jigs or variances in the mount Nissan sources. My buddy did not have to take any material off his Titan and I did on my Armada. The mounts when looking close were slightly different. One had full length welds on the top plate like on my Armada and the Titan did not. Both looked basically identical and this is the only difference we could see. Anyone’s guess if the difference is in the mount or headers.

 

[nightowl]

Driverside motor mount has some “sagg” in it which causes the driver side to sit lower. If you can slide a credit card under the header you will be ok. That rubber isolator has worn or dry rotted causeing this.

The portion of the motor mount that needs to be modified for clearance is not a result of worn or sagging isolators on the mounts. The mount and headers are both fixed points bolted to the engine and the isolator being worn or sagging does not affect the clearance between the pipes and mount. A worn isolator will certainly cause the engine to lean or pitch to one side but has nothing to do with the clearance between the header pipes and the top of the mount. The header and motor mount move in unison while under torque. Why some people need to remove material and some do not is either in the headers and variances in jigs or variances in the mount Nissan sources. My buddy did not have to take any material off his Titan and I did on my Armada. The mounts when looking close were slightly different. One had full length welds on the top plate like on my Armada and the Titan did not. Both looked basically identical and this is the only difference we could see. Anyone’s guess if the difference is in the mount or headers.

Motor mounts are the cause is what I’m told by JBA. They only have one set of header jigs for the Titan so variances of jigs is not the issue. We have had guys post pictures of dry rotted isolators and once the mounts were replaced problem was solved. Just an important thing to look for during install to prevent major issues down the road

 

[SE Off Road1]

Motor mounts are the cause is what I’m told by JBA. They only have one set of header jigs for the Titan so variances of jigs is not the issue. We have had guys post pictures of dry rotted isolators and once the mounts were replaced problem was solved. Just an important thing to look for during install to prevent major issues down the road

Hi Nightowl. Must be in the mounts since there are not different Jigs used. Either way it has nothing to do with Isolators and JBA needs to look closer how the mount is engineered and where it might make contact. Where the rubbing takes place is a solid steel plane bolted directly to the block that allows for Zero movement in any direction except with the engine block. The headers are also a fixed unit just above a solid plane (mount) allowing for no movement. As the Isolators flex under torque the headers and mounts can only move in unison with the engine block. They all move/torque as one unit….block, headers and mounts. Changing just an Isolator and then the gap between the mount and header widened can’t happen. In your example what likely happened is the mount they installed was spec’d/manufactured slightly different than the one removed allowing for the needed clearance. Some seem to be fine with no modification while some are not.

Hope all is well. Love my headers and truck runs and tows fantastic. Thanks again for all the insight last year you and Joe provided.

 

[LUBECAKES]

I had better luck loosening one mount at a time. That allowed the engine to tilt, making it easier to put the new headers in.

 

[MuskieHunter]

Motor mounts will be on the expensive side. You will definitely want to order them online to save some money. Mine were $212 a side from Courtesy Nissan Parts.

 

[JMM13]

Motor mounts will be on the expensive side. You will definitely want to order them online to save some money. Mine were $212 a side from Courtesy Nissan Parts.

Go with these. Cheaper and better.

http://www.prgproducts.com/shop/product/titan-motor-mount/

 

[805Dude]

So I just finished up my install of the JBA long tube headers and Cajun resonated b-pipes. I just wanted to share a few tips with those looking to do this in the future. My install was on a 2005 2wd with 98k miles. The truck has been located in south Georgia, so excessive rust was not really an issue. Install took me about 8-9 hours working alone.

A week prior I went ahead and pulled out my fender liners and and heat shields then soaked all my bolts in PB Blaster. The heat shields are easy to unbolt, but I fount them nearly impossible to remove, so I took straight cut tin snips and cut the crap out of them until they came out.

I rented a Oxygen Sensor socket set from Oreilly's and it came in very handy. I had zero issues removing all four of the sensors. Evertough PN: 67060

I put the jack under the motor and supported its weight. I loosened the bolts holding the two motor mount brackets to the block. Dont remove these bolts completely, just leave a few threads in the block. Go ahead and jack the motor up as far as it will allow after. There was absolutely no need to loosen the motor mounts themselves.

Passenger side was a breeze. Plenty of room to work from the fender well and the header slides in and out no problem. I did end up removing the heat shield closest to the header, but it may have not been necessary to remove. I loosened all bolts and torqued all bolts right from the fender well as well, no need to get any from underneath. Only problem I had was with the dipstick. Ended up having to take a break and searching how to remove it. Ended up using a 90 degree pick and scraped all the dirt out of the socket then squirted some pb blaster in there and it came right out.

Driver side was more of a pain. I'm 6'5 350lbs, so I dont have the smallest of arms and hands. Squeezing my hand through the brake lines was a chore when needed. The very front bolt is located by the AC compressor and the AC line actually blocks you from using a deep socket on a ratchet. Luckily I had a Stanley deep socket that wasn't very deep, and it barely worked. I should have ground off about 1/2" and it would've worked much nicer. I used a standard deep well socket to break loose all of the other bolts from the fender well. When installing the header I had to swap between all three sockets in the picture. One of the lower bolts required me to use a flex head gear wrench socket to tighten and torque down. I was not able to get a socket on the nut at all. Had two studs come out with the nuts on this side, but luckily I purchased two new studs and eight new nuts before attempting this.

When I finished up the driver side I tightened back up the motor mount brackets and lowered the engine all the way down. The clearance was good all over except on the driver's side motor mount bracket. The header ran right over top of it and maybe had 1/8" clearance. I had to take off the driver's side motor mount bracket and notch it out where the header pipe ran over top of it. I took off maybe 1/2" to be safe.

Tools I used:
3/8 Flexhead long handle ratchet. HarborFreight P/N:62333 (Buy it, it made everything a BREEZE. Broke every
bolt and tightened all bolts but one with it.) Use a 20% coupon and its worth its weight in gold.
14mm Flex head ratchet. Buy a 6 point. Dont try any of this with 12 point. You'll regret it later. Locked on another
wrench to get enough leverage to torque the nut with it. Only used on one nut.
14mm sockets. I used 3 different lengths. Again, 6 point.
10mm socket. Shallow (dipstick)
3/8 Extensions, several different sizes.
Impact universal joints
90 degree pick to clean out dipstick tube socket before I was able to remove it.
E10 Torx socket to install new studs
I used 1/2 breaker bar with 1/2 14mm to break loose the manifold to bpipe bolts.
Oxygen sensor wrench kit
Tin snips

Also, buy OEM gaskets. Those gaskets that come with the JBA's really are crap. I would hate to do this much work to compromise it with those things.

I may be forgetting a few things, but this should be a good supplement for someone researching this job.

Once I finished up and lowered the engine I realized the header covers up the engine mounting bolt. I have 4x4 so that front diff really gets in the way. I said screw it and left one bolt each out of the mount. Anyone have any tips or tricks?

 

[IanT]

It you are talking about the two bolts that attach the engine mount to the frame, the rear bolt was very difficult on my install, too. The JBA headers covered it up and didn't allow access from the top, as the stock manifold did.
By the time I realized the problem, I had to undo some things to solve the problem

I recall I had to remove the four bolts that attach the motor mount to the block and jack the motor back up to get a bit of clearance under the header tube to fit an open end wrench in there to tighten it up. It sucked to have to backtrack at that point of the marathon day, but I've learned over the years that you just have to do that sometimes or you'll pay for it later.

You definitely don't want to run with only one of those bolts in.

 

[SGonce67]

Once I finished up and lowered the engine I realized the header covers up the engine mounting bolt. I have 4x4 so that front diff really gets in the way. I said screw it and left one bolt each out of the mount. Anyone have any tips or tricks?

I just finished up my JBA header and catback install. I encountered the same problem on my 4x4. I was able to access the back bolt by tightening the front bolt(17 mm) and loosening the 4 bolts on the engine. Then jacking up the engine again. That created enough space to get a short 17mm socket on the rear bolt to tighten it. This was a problem on both sides. The header crosses directly over top of the back 17mm bolt. My clearance was fine on both sides once everything was tightened.