we pulled the jeep into the barn at 8:00 pm last night and i fired it up at 9:15...it only took me and a buddy 1 hour and 15 minutes to removed the cracked factory header and install the new Banks Torque Tube header.

this was my 4th header installation and i'm getting pretty good at it. i'll outline the steps i took and some of the little tricks i've figured out:

edit: i wrote this whole thing and then remembered you need to disconnet the neg. battery cable from the battery before starting.

1) loosen idler pulley below PS pump to take tension off the serpentine belt. to do this, loosen the bolt in the center of the pulley about 1 full turn and then loosen the adjuster bolt until you can get the belt off.
2) unbolt the PS pump from the intake manifold and lay it off to the side. you don't need to disconect the PS hoses.
3) while my helper was working on the PS pump, i took a 5/16" socket in a 1/4" drive ratchet and un-bolted the front driveshaft from the front axle pinion yoke. i wrapped the u-joint caps with a little duct tape to keep them from falling off and swung it off to the passenger side of the Jeep.
4)i then took a die-grinder with a cut-off wheel under the jeep and cut the 2 bolts that bolt the header to the exhaust pipe. i used a 3" cut-off wheel and was able to cut all the way thru the lower/rear bolt and only about halfway thru the front/upper bolt. an extension on a 1/2" drive ratchet and i just broke off the the front/upper bolt.
5)the next step is to disconnect all the electrical connectors, vacuum lines, and fuel lines from the top of the manifold. first we un-clamped the intake tube from the TB and swung it out of the way. next, we went thru and unplugged all of the injector electrical connectors, all of the electrical connectors on the TB, the 02 sensor and CPS sensor connectors, and all of the vacuum lines going to the intake manifold. i didn't botther marking anything. the wiring harness is such that the lengths, bends, and connector types make it really easy to tell where they go.
5) now, unbolt the little bracket holding the o2 sensor connector plug to the intake. this is at the rear of the intake and requires a 10mm socket. while you have it, remove the 2 10mm bolts that hold the fuel line bracket to the intake manifold. this is centered on the intake towards the outside of the vehicle.
6) you'll NEED a special tool for this: before starting, go to the autoparts store and get a fuel line disconnect tool. i'll try to find a link to a pic and post it. i think you need to use the 5/16" end. remove the safety clip from the fuel line to fuel rail fitting. stick the little tool in there, push the fuel line towards the fuel rail and then try to slide the tool into the fuel line. now, try to slide the fuel line back off the fuel rail connector. it takes a little effort, but be careful not to break anything.
7)now, i got under the jeep and my helper was on top and we both started removeing the mainfold to head bolts. you'll need a 9/16" wrench, various sockets (short and deep well) extentions, etc. one of my most usefully tools for this is a 6" long "Wobble" extention i have. it comes in very handy for a couple of bolts!
8) with all the bolts out, you should be able to lift the intake manifold out, followed by the exhaust manifold.
9) stop for a second and admire your handy-work.
10) remove the old gasket and use a scraper to get the head cleaned off. also, scrape off the intake manifold sealing surface. i then used a shop-vac to suck up all the chunks of gasket and to suck out the intake and exhaust valve holes in the head. i also tried to suck up anything else that might try to jump into my eyes while tightening up the lower bolts
11) stick the new gasket on the head. DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF SEALER. the new gasket is stamped "torque tube side", so make sure you put it on correctly.
12) stick the new donut gasket on the new BANKS TORQUE TUBE MANIFOLD and stick it down in the engine bay. make sure the donut doesn't fall off and is up flush against the bolt flange.
13) THIS IS A HELPFUL TRICK: install all of the lower bolts into the head LOOSELY. i think i put them in so that the threads engaged about 1-1.5 turns. any more and you can't get the intake in, any less and they'll fall out. pull the clamping washers out against the head of the bolts.
14) take the intake manifold and start setting it in. feed the wiring harness under the fuel rail before getting the manifold bolted up. make sure the lower lip is on the inside of the clamping washers of the lower bolts. when it feels like its all the way down, pull out a little until you feel it pop over the alignment pins in the head. finger tighten the top manifold bolts.
15) get out your torque wrench and you handy Haynes Manual (go to section 2B, page 2B-5 i think). most of the bolts get torqued to 23 ft-lbs. 2 of them get torqued to 17 ft-lbs. with your helper on the topside running the torque wrench, start torqueing using the sequence outlined in the manual. you lay under the jeep and line up the socket on the lower bolts that he can't see. bolt #2 cannot be accessed by a socket since the tube is in the way. after torqueing bolt #3, i put a wrench on it to feel how tight it was...it was TIGHT! so, i tightened #2 as tight as i could with a wrench. the rest of the bolts aren't too bad to get to.
16) after the manifold is torqued down, and you are still under the jeep, bolt the header to the exhaust pipe using the new 3/8" bolts and antisieze provided in the kit.
17) plug all the electrical connectors back in, bolt the o2 bracket to the fuel rail, bolt the fuel line bracket to the intake manifold, hook up the vacuum lines, bolt the PS pump back on (now would be a VERY good time to replace your serpentine belt), tension up the belt, clamp down the intake tube, and double check everything.
18) FIRE IT UP! notice how nice and quiet it is compared to the old cracked leaky header that was on before...you'll notice some smokeing coming from the rear of the header. Banks puts a little sticker on there and it will burn off. i tried peeling one off and the glue stayed on, so i just let them burn off now.
19) while the engine is warming up, go ahead and stick that fancy BANKS POWER sticker on. i like to put them low on the rear of the passenger side corner...it usually takes the owners a couple months to notice it...
20) DRIVE IT! since none of these vehicles are mine, i don't notice much of a difference. i have been told that it feels like there is generally more power across the entire power band, but nothing astonishing. i've also heard fuel mileage is up about 1 mpg.


after installing 4 of these, every single one of the owners was nothing but extremely happy. if you live in INDY or close and are thinking about one of these headers, let me know and i may be able to help you out...

feel free to ask any questions while the install is still fresh in my head!

Matt