I'm sure there are already several threads covering headers, but I think the way I did it was the easiest way possible (still a complete whore).
My car is an M6 but you will be able to do the exact same on an A8
Below I will list step by step what I did, You will need access to a lift
1. unhook the battery and and lay the trunk back down on the latch
2. rack the car and get it in the air
3. remove both underbelly pans, everything on this install is done from underneath, 0 access from up top (behind splitter and under oil pan)
4. remove cat back exhaust completely
5. remove the starter completely and tuck the wires up on top of the trans so they are out of the way, I used a zip tie to make sure they stayed put.
6. unbolt the steering shaft
7. unbolt the trans mount completely and put a pole jack underneath the trans mount
8. unbolt the 2 rear subframe bolts completely and put a jack underneath the subframe supporting each side ( I have access to a giant pneumatic transmission jack, but 2 pole jacks or regular trans jack should work fine)
9. loosen the 2 front subframe bolts 3/4 of the way. Now you will be able to lower the front subframe accordingly with the jacks to give you more room to work ( still a super tight job)
Now for the tough part
10. remove all of the manifold bolts 8 on each side, again this is a super tight and awkward area and sometimes you can only turn the bolts 1/8 of a turn so I will tell you below all the tools I used and some tricks that I used.
10mm gearset ratcheting wrench
10mm stubby low profile wrench
1/4" 10mm swivel socket 2 extensions with a swivel attachment
Dum Dum strip caulk for the inside of the socket, some bolts you will need to stick the socket to the head of the bolt and then connect the socket to the extension.
you will use these same tools for the reinstall, but I didn't rag on the ratchet concoction once they were snug because I was worried about the angle on some of the bolt and didn't want them to bind up, so I finished them with the stubby 10mm.
11. install LTH's, thread all of the bottom bolts so you can hang the headers in, the second bolt closest to the front on both sides is right next the motor mounts so I tightened these as much as I could while still being able to slide the header over them because you can barely fit a wrench in once the manifold is on.
12. now that you have tightened all the header bolts with no problems or heartache, I went ahead and triple checked all of the bolts because if it leaked after all of my hard work I would have been severely depressed.
13. tighten all the bolts that you loosened and reinstall everything you took off.
I know some of the points are vague, I didn't take any pictures unfortunately, but ask away while my memory is still fresh. took about 6 hours total
now that they are installed with the ARH race catback I am super happy with it, definitely worth the pain, If you guys want me to post an exhaust vid I will, not a lot of vids out there of the full SRT race system, sounds like a muscle car.
My car is an M6 but you will be able to do the exact same on an A8
Below I will list step by step what I did, You will need access to a lift
1. unhook the battery and and lay the trunk back down on the latch
2. rack the car and get it in the air
3. remove both underbelly pans, everything on this install is done from underneath, 0 access from up top (behind splitter and under oil pan)
4. remove cat back exhaust completely
5. remove the starter completely and tuck the wires up on top of the trans so they are out of the way, I used a zip tie to make sure they stayed put.
6. unbolt the steering shaft
7. unbolt the trans mount completely and put a pole jack underneath the trans mount
8. unbolt the 2 rear subframe bolts completely and put a jack underneath the subframe supporting each side ( I have access to a giant pneumatic transmission jack, but 2 pole jacks or regular trans jack should work fine)
9. loosen the 2 front subframe bolts 3/4 of the way. Now you will be able to lower the front subframe accordingly with the jacks to give you more room to work ( still a super tight job)
Now for the tough part
10. remove all of the manifold bolts 8 on each side, again this is a super tight and awkward area and sometimes you can only turn the bolts 1/8 of a turn so I will tell you below all the tools I used and some tricks that I used.
10mm gearset ratcheting wrench
10mm stubby low profile wrench
1/4" 10mm swivel socket 2 extensions with a swivel attachment
Dum Dum strip caulk for the inside of the socket, some bolts you will need to stick the socket to the head of the bolt and then connect the socket to the extension.
you will use these same tools for the reinstall, but I didn't rag on the ratchet concoction once they were snug because I was worried about the angle on some of the bolt and didn't want them to bind up, so I finished them with the stubby 10mm.
11. install LTH's, thread all of the bottom bolts so you can hang the headers in, the second bolt closest to the front on both sides is right next the motor mounts so I tightened these as much as I could while still being able to slide the header over them because you can barely fit a wrench in once the manifold is on.
12. now that you have tightened all the header bolts with no problems or heartache, I went ahead and triple checked all of the bolts because if it leaked after all of my hard work I would have been severely depressed.
13. tighten all the bolts that you loosened and reinstall everything you took off.
I know some of the points are vague, I didn't take any pictures unfortunately, but ask away while my memory is still fresh. took about 6 hours total
now that they are installed with the ARH race catback I am super happy with it, definitely worth the pain, If you guys want me to post an exhaust vid I will, not a lot of vids out there of the full SRT race system, sounds like a muscle car.
