New Megan 4-2-1 header install- IM STUCK.

[MrBreakdown]

alright, so im rather new, as you can see, so i started finally adding power to the car, ordered a set of megan 4-2-1 headers, stainless steel. now, i unbolted the actual head Fine, but the downpipe had afew nasty bolts giong to the cat, i'll hit tht with a torch and get them off later. thats not what im worried about.

when i went to put the new head in, (with a new Denso o2 sensor) my ac line was in the way of the rightmost bit of piping. is there something i can buy to replace that line so i can fit them, or can i just bend the pipe?

i was thinking of just depressurizing the ac system, cracking it open, bending the pipe and fitting the headers in, or maybe if i could just unbolt it, pop the head on, and put it back? idk.

[Quashish]

for some reason im thinking the megan racing header has the ability to switch between the upstream or down stream o2 sensor location. but im guessing you have an A4 or A1

[Junior Smurff]

To answer your actual questions... You can have someone pull on the ac line and slide the upper part of the header through. My ac line also makes contact with my DME header. When i tugged on the line all the gas or whatever it is escaped the ac. Havent refilled it nor do i care. I havent pulled off the system just bc it'll help the cars case if i ever wanna sell it. GL bud

[Quashish]

just thinking maybe he could utilize the downstream O2 sensor location. it sounds to me like the sensor is the only thing in the way.

[MrBreakdown]

Nope.

The sensor Isn't obstructing it at all- and yes, it does have two-

I'll throw up a pic, soon.

but the thing is, the rightmost part wouldnt go up any further, due to that AC line. idk what the problem is, im thinking about just Ripping it out, but i dont want to get rid of my A/C system- shes a DD for now, and defogging is a bitch whenever it rains, plus i hate winter. idk. im thinking about just pulling the line up long enough to fit it in, and bend it around the header, problem is, wont that screw up your ac system, if your header is touching it?

Could wrapping them solve that issue?

[Quashish]

Oh I see my bad.

Can't go wrong with heat wrap

[Leung]

When I installed the megan header on my A1, i too had to gently move that AC hardline forward a little so i could squeeze in the header. You'll be alright moving it a little but the key is be gentle, as you don't want to crack it.

[deevergote]

You have to bend the line.

Also, to clarify a few things:

You only have one header. You bought a header, not a "set of headers".
The upper portion of a 2 piece header is not called the "head". The head is the part of the engine that it bolts to.

[Junior Smurff]

Not sure how helpfull these might be to the op or to anybody else thats trying to help but i snapped a couple pics as for refrence

[illinois_erik]

Arg youve contaminated your A/C lines now..DOH.. Good luck bending that w/o it cracking. Have you considered a heat shield for the meantime? Get some header wrap and wrap it around the A/C line about 4-6" past where it touches top and bottom, and wrap it so its 3 or 4 layers thick, then get you some sheet metal and make you a little sheath to put around the bundle of fiberglass then clamp it all down with hose clamps. This will suffice till you decide to delete your A/C

[dj_ender]

when i installed mine, I had to bend the line, but just barely. it's MUCH easier to bend it while these line is bolted down. That doesn't look like a MR header. The welds on mine don't look that bad, and its almost 2 years old.

[Junior Smurff]

Arg youve contaminated your A/C lines now..DOH.. Good luck bending that w/o it cracking. Have you considered a heat shield for the meantime? Get some header wrap and wrap it around the A/C line about 4-6" past where it touches top and bottom, and wrap it so its 3 or 4 layers thick, then get you some sheet metal and make you a little sheath to put around the bundle of fiberglass then clamp it all down with hose clamps. This will suffice till you decide to delete your A/C

This isn't my thread, I just posted those so people will know what he's talking about since there seemed to be some confusion

when i installed mine, I had to bend the line, but just barely. it's MUCH easier to bend it while these line is bolted down. That doesn't look like a MR header. The welds on mine don't look that bad, and its almost 2 years old.

That's bc its not a MR header.... Just generic

[MrBreakdown]

The pics definetly Helped.

Thank you all for your input, and I apologize for my misuse of the terms applying to the parts of the exhaust header. Im definetly going to wrap the hell out of my headers and my A/C lines. Thanks!

[C91BLX7]

Just bend the hardline(its aluminum) so its not touching it and you will be fine. Ran both my CBs like that for years with no problems, a/c worked fine.

[deevergote]

Thank you all for your input, and I apologize for my misuse of the terms applying to the parts of the exhaust header. Im definetly going to wrap the hell out of my headers and my A/C lines. Thanks!

No apology necessary... just informing you on the correct terminology so you don't get misunderstood in the future. Replacing your head vs. replacing your header... two very different things!