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SRT exhaust manifold install today!

21K views 88 replies 11 participants last post by  ohfugit 
#1 ·
Auto part Pipe Engine


Jeep is on the lift, mid pipes and stock manifolds being ripped off now. I cleaned up the inside welds on the SRT manifolds a bit with the dremel (should have worn gloves, got steel sparkle dust everywhere, very painful). Didn't go too crazy as I didn't want to weaken the welds too much. Didn't need to make the EGR port as I've got a 2010 hemi with VVT. So excited, I've been wanting to get this done for months. More pics to follow, any and all advice or input greatly appreciated!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Good to see you went ahead with this. You won't be sorry. It'll be a noticeable difference in performance, especially if have a low restriction, straight through muffled cat. back built to go along with them. Can't wait to see you first impressions.

Also, if you can, post up some pix of the stock 2010 manifolds vs. the SRT's you're using.
 
#3 ·
I have the Gibson stainless cat back on there now. The plan is to chop the stock cats out of the y pipe and weld them into fabricated mid pipes. I believe that will make the ~2.5" stock cats the new most restrictive part of the system but didn't want to risk throwing codes with aftermarket cats. Thanks for the encouragement!
 
#4 ·
I should get a call from the shop within the next hour, I'll snap some comparison pics of both manifolds side by side
 
#5 ·
Heading over to the shop now, he said the steering shaft was going to be "very close" to the header on the drivers side. Has me a little worried... Any thoughts?
 
#6 ·
VVT still has EGR port! @#$%!!! Going to grind a port in the manifold...
 
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#8 ·
Day one is complete. The SRT manifolds are bolted in. My local shop let me hang around a lot and it was very clear that this isn't a "do it in the driveway over the weekend" job. Things to note: 1) 5.7 VVT Hemi (09 and up) still need the EGR port ground into the manifold. You'll notice in the pic above that my mechanic welded a small strip on the outside of the header where he ground out the EGR channel to add support (also kind of ground a small hole straight through and wanted to patch it. Whoops!). 2) had to remove the steering column for ease of installation for driver side header. It's back together and has plenty of clearance. 3) I purchased SRT exhaust manifold head bolts and I'm glad I did. You can see in the pictures how the stock bolts are longer and stock manifold is thicker, using the SRT bolts will provide the same net bolt length and will prevent bottoming out.

Tomorrow is the down pipes. I picked up o2 sensors at the dealership that had longer wires than normal (18" vice 12") they are electrically the same but have one of the 3 plastic guide rails on the inside of the electrical connector (female end) offset from the stock ones. We are going to shave that offset guiderail off of the male end if we find we need longer wires but we'll try and fit the stock ones first.

Thanks for following! Hope this helps someone somewhere! More to follow tomorrow.
 
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Forgot to post these [emoji5] Auto part
Auto part
Auto part Metal Steel
 
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Repost of last three pics Exhaust manifold Automotive exhaust Auto part Exhaust system
Auto part Pipe
Auto part Metal Steel
 
#12 ·
When I had my custom headers built the guy had the same problem with the steering. He was able to move something slightly with the steering shaft and it now clears without issue. I've had my headers on for a little over 3 years now, and the only trouble I've had was not retorquing the bolts and ended up blowing the No. 1 cylinder flange gasket. Had to pull both headers and re-gasket......a real PITA. What size is the collectors on your stock and SRT units? The early stock ones are 1 7/8 in. and my header collector is now 3 in. As you can see, you'll see a huge difference in performance with your new setup.
 
#13 ·
Stock are 1 7/8" and SRT are just shy of 3" measured inside of the pipe. Picked up long cable o2 sensors from the dealership and a guy at the shop showed me how to swap the housings, much better than grinding the plastic tabs on the male ends! Pics to follow...
 
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#16 ·
Well, the owner of the shop just realized I've been hanging out in the bay for the last three hours and I've been banished to the waiting room. All I can do now is wait...
 
#17 ·
Looks and sounds like you have a pretty good exhaust guy. I did, and it makes a world of difference with the end product you'll receive. Plus, it's always good to work with someone that knows the answers and what they're doing.
 
#18 ·
He stayed about an hour wait on a Friday to get the project finished up, I am currently road testing via a two hour drive south to see family. I will post off of the Frankenstein y pipe we put together tomorrow
 
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#20 ·
We split the pipe going to the passenger side cat, took out the inner wall, welded the pipe back together and tacked it on to the fabricated flange. Drilled holes and welded in o2 bungs as high up as we could. The final price for labor was 1400. My mechanic spent two full days on the project. Final cost all parts and labor with SRT manifolds, bolts, gaskets, two new o2 sensors comes to about 2100. Was it worth it? YES. The power gain is STUPID, averaged 19 MPG highway at 80 MPH, still need to see what city MPG is like. I immediately hopped on the highway for a 2 hour drive and haven't thrown a single code. This mod is HIGHLY recommend but only if you have a shop willing to let you work hand in hand with them, a place that will do it right. So, that makes the mod list: K&N CAI, modern muscle "85" mm ported throttle body, SRT manifolds, Gibson 3" cat back, diablosport intune with Hemifever 93 octane CMR tune, diablosport catch can. It's a lot of stuff and all told it has been about $4K. Worth every @#$%&+! penny IMO. Feel free to ask any questions! Again, I hope this helps someone somewhere thinking about doing the same thing. It's pretty cool to finally have something to contribute to this forum!
 
#21 ·
So, what's happening with the change over, Lucas?? Did they finish it??
 
#22 ·
Yes, and the best part is I was able to get Sean at Hemifever to send me a new tune to factor in my Modern Muscle throttle body and the SRT manifolds. I got the files last night and have been playing around with it. It took all of the lag out of the 1500-3000 RPM range. It use to be a gamble whether or not I would chirp tires from a dead stop, now they chirp every time I stomp on it without fail. Unfortunately for me, there was some confusion on my end about getting my MDS to turn on, I had him send me an additional tune unnecessarily and he informed me I was out of free updates. To be fair, I was kinda being a pain in the ass. Good thing I don't plan on doing any more mods!
 
#23 ·
What are your first impressions of the new exhaust? How much more power do you think you've gained?
 
#24 ·
After the initial install there was a very specific power band between about 3000 to 5000 RPM. Now that the tune is updated there is significantly more throttle response and the lag is completely gone. Its hard to say without putting it on a dyno or having before and after official drag strip times but there is a significant difference in power. Next stop is to find a drag strip in the area that will let me run a few times to get a good idea of my 1/4 mile time. I had planned on getting some street tires but a tree jumped out at me while I was camping last weekend and its going to be a while until I can save up to get the body work done. Overall I am very happy that I went ahead and did this mod even with the slightly higher than expected bill I had to foot.
 
#25 ·
Had a small cricket squeak and a VERY bad sounding exhaust leak when pushing it hard into right turns. Turns out the driver side flange was a little lose, tightened some bolts and good to go. Banged on one of the cat back hangers and the cricket squeak disappeared. Easy day. Took he two guys that did the work out on a ride while we were diagnosing the noises and they were shocked at the power of what we put together. Again, I want to stress the fact while the manifolds provided a significant difference in power, it was magnified once I got my CMR tune files updated to account for and take full advantage of the new manifolds.
 
#26 ·
So I keep having to re tighten the flange bolts (at the manifold to mid pipe connection) about every other day. I'm just using a bolt and washer combo from the shop, maybe I'll try a lock washer in there too. I don't want to torque them too bad as stripping the threads on the manifolds would be a VERY painful fix. I think I read somewhere on another thread that the SRTs have some sort of special bolts with springs on them, anyone have any more insight on that? I'll swing by the dealership tomorrow and try and get a part number
 
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