So for anyone else looking for a colder plug, look no further than an NGK 4177 TR6. I finally got wise and went to my local dyno shop since they boost stuff day in and day out and he knew right off hand what I was after. So I got those and the manifolds in and while they don't pop in the engine bay, they certainly don't drag it down like before. I was very careful about not scratching the paint during install, note the welding gloves on the frame.
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That extra clear is looking good, I just wonder if heat will flatten it again as the shop that cleaned them did clear them prior to baking. I was gonna get new nuts but they were making people wait outside at Ace so I said **** that and just left.
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You can see the one small high spot that I shaved with a razor blade at the edge of the stud hole. The rest looked pretty good so I put the manifolds on to include the old EGR pipe. It didn't run like I thought it would, hopefully no leaks here.
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Wrench access here was my biggest concern, but with no downpipe in the way it was cake. Next was a downpipe repair I could only do off the truck.
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I managed this while trying to 360 weld the thing from underneath. Since I neglected to take an after shot, you'll just have to assume I'm a master welder. The hole is plugged I can promise that.
I got the downpipe even cleaner, neglected to take a pic, then proceeded to get my ass kicked hooking up the cat flange. Whatever I did with my muffler put a bunch of torsional tension on the whole system and made it a royal asspain to get all mated back together. What's strange about it is that I had that flange separated in my driveway and had zero trouble getting it back together. On the lift with all the tools in the world was a whole 'nuther story.