85 mustang 351w swap, Headers rubbing steering shaft.

[Joebrigs]

Hi all. New to Four eyed Pride. I'm hoping someone can help.

I have an 85 mustang with a 351 swap. UPR crossmember, BBK 351 swap long tube headers, and neoprene motor mounts.
The 8th cylinder tube comes out and curves back towards the engine. But not soon enough. the bottom of the curve is rubbing the
steering shaft. If i lift the motor up a little it clears. So my question is:

Can i shim the motor mounts where they bolt to the engine so headers clear the steering shaft without any safety issues.?

Thanks. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Joe

[bwguardian]

Put a ding in the header tube or shim the motor mounts...might even think about getting rid of those neoprene motor mounts and just put in some convertible units.

[Joebrigs]

Thanks for the reply. The one option is out. I think i need the neoprene mounts because this is a stroker motor. This is a 500hp + motor.
I wrapped the headers so I'm siding with shims as long as it is safe.

[gmatt]

Putting a ding in a perfectly good header rubs me the wrong way, but ........https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azPKIjxmmdU

[mmb617]

What steering shaft do you have? On my '85 with 351 stroker and BBK swap headers I'm using the Flaming River shaft and it just clears. I still have a stock K member and run solid motor mounts.

[Joebrigs]

You know whats funny? I just got done with watching that video. LOL! Thanks

[Joebrigs]

Stock steering shaft. I even rounded the edges on the knuckle. Still rubbed. But anyway I just watched a video on youtube done by MotorTrend that showed
dinging the header has little to no effect on performance. Soooo Hammer Time!

[Dr. Matt]

Yep, before watching that video I never would have believed "clearancing" a header would not affect it. Now, I guess It's A-OK. I plan to have a similar setup with a UPR K-member BBK swap headers and a 351, at least until I add some turbos. I don't want to hijack this thread, but are any of you guys running those headers with an AOD? BBK says they only work with a manual.

[gmatt]

Stock steering shaft. I even rounded the edges on the knuckle. Still rubbed. But anyway I just watched a video on youtube done by MotorTrend that showed
dinging the header has little to no effect on performance. Soooo Hammer Time!

They made another video to respond to those thought that the headers must have been too big in the first place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTlHEOE2Zp4

[gmatt]

Interesting subject. I think it has been shown that a 'D' shaped tube flows better than a round tube. But I'm not educated well enough to argue about it, lol.

[ddx77]

Not sure if these pics help or not.


Motorsport Headers




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[Joebrigs]

No I have a T-5

[Joebrigs]

How do you run a stroker motor with a T-5 and not break it?

[Ourobos]

Don't launch it at 5k RPM?

[ddx77]

No I have a T-5

Sorry My bad, although I wish I had a t-5.


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[Mustang-junky]

Depending on how much clearance you need, you can loosen the steering column under the dash and shift it over a bit. I'd try that before pulling the headers off and dimpling them.

Jess

[xctasy]

Word up, Jess. The whole Fox chassis lineup has 1/2" of steering column and shaft slew or movement, maybee more, according to mike1157 in the GM build-up.

[mmb617]

How do you run a stroker motor with a T-5 and not break it?

I raced my car with stroker and T5 almost weekly for 7 years, a total of 691 passes at the track. I can't say I never broke the transmission, but not as often as you might think. I broke an input once and third gear twice. I replaced synchros a couple times and a slider once. Not that bad for the number of passes I don't think. I can't see any reason the T5 wouldn't hold up indefinitely behind a stroker in street use.

In my opinion some of the keys to making a T5 live in harmony with a stroker are:

Use good parts - I always made sure I bought genuine Tremec parts. They cost more but are worth it. I also always used an aftermarket cluster support plate instead of the stamped steel stocker.

Shim them tight - You want pretty much zero end play.

Don't power shift them, especially 2-3! - I think this is the #1 key. Third gear simply won't stand up to powershifts with stroker torque.

Don't launch it at 5k RPM?

Agreed, but not necessary with the torque at hand either. I never launched at more than 3300 and was able to work the 60' times down to 1.5x's once I had decent tires on the car. The one time I broke an input I was running drag radials but then switched to bias ply tires, first ET streets then later ET drags. The bias ply tires soften the initial hit some which really helps the entire drive line to live.

I always kept a spare transmission ready so I wouldn't miss races if I broke one, but after the initial learning curve I usually got 150 passes or so between tear downs. I think the T5 is a lot stronger than most people give it credit for.

[badnightrain]

I have a team-Z k-member mm steering shaft and a 351w. I also had clearance issues. I marked the header with a sharpie and put tape over the area then laid a pipe over it and hamered away. problem fixed.