ct header hitting a/c compressor

[venomous42]

my front header is hitting the a/c compressor and i cant bolt the compressor up. it has a heat shield on the back of the compressor thats bolted on, i took the one bolt out that it was touching first hoping it would clear then, but its still hitting the shield and i cant get the bolt holes to line up for the compressor. i can get the bottom 2 bolts in, but the header is keeping me from getting the upper 2 bolts in. it wont allow it to line up right. even if i was able to do this, wouldnt the heat from the header ruin my compressor from being too close or almost touching it? anyone else run into this? they are used ct headers that i bought from shaylord. sos took them off his car and sent them to me. not sure how to proceed from here. this has been a pain in the ass from the start.

 

[Rope]

Didn't you ceramic coat them? I don't think heat would be too much of a concern if they were coated. As for the bolt up process, cant help you there, I had mine installed for me.

 

[shawn110975]

did you cut the lower support to fit the headers? you need to cut the lower subframe thats painted grey 2 studs and a nut on each side
remove it and cut where the headers are touching about 8 inches long and go about 3 inches deep.

the headers should not touch the a/c compressor. something isnt right here. take a pic we can help bro we are the masters of all things NSX

done so many I stopped counting

 

[venomous42]

did you cut the lower support to fit the headers? you need to cut the lower subframe thats painted grey 2 studs and a nut on each side
remove it and cut where the headers are touching about 8 inches long and go about 3 inches deep.

the headers should not touch the a/c compressor. something isnt right here. take a pic we can help bro we are the masters of all things NSX

done so many I stopped counting

no i didnt know anything about cutting the front support. but i havent got that far, still trying to get my compressor on. it is hitting it enough that i cant get the top 2 bolts to line up. ill climb under there and take a pic tomorrow. ive went through all the ct header post on here and no one else had a problem. one person thought that the header being too close to the compressor got it hot and ruined it, but nothing else. im pretty sure shaylords car is a 92 like mine, and they came off his and straight to me. i guess i can email sos on monday and ask them if they had the same issue on his car. im at a loss. and im not doing w/o a/c.
and thanks for the reply and offer to help.

 

[venomous42]

here some pics, and before you ask, i havent gotten them coated yet, i have a 3 week wait. so ill take them off in 2 weeks and send them to the coater. its hitting at the top of the compressor. i might have enough room to get the bolts to line up top, if i take the shield off the back of the compressor. but i dont think that would be a wise move with the heat and all. plus it would possibly still rub a hole in one of the 2 parts.

 

[Cody@LoveFab]

Thats a first I've heard of this. Is the AC compressor original with the car or was it replaced at some point?

 

[venomous42]

Thats a first I've heard of this. Is the AC compressor original with the car or was it replaced at some point?

that, i have no idea about. could be different i guess. ill check into it more then, and see if its the compressor. everything else fits like a glove.

 

[shawn110975]

it almost looks like the compressor isn't lined up correctly its not suppose to bolt up like that.and I doubt the headers would touch like that. yikes

let the compressor hang down low and use the pulley to eyeball where the alt pulley is line of sight, your over to much. trust me it seems like it should be down lower and more to the left.

 

[venomous42]

unfortunately it will only bolt up 1 way.

 

[NSX-Files]

You should NOT have to cut anything from the crossbeam for CT headers. I've not seen that heat shield on any of the three compressors I've installed on either of my two NSXs (a '91 and a '94). That bolt that's currently sticking out - you need to put it into the compressor bolt hole BEFORE you put the compressor in place. Otherwise the shield up against the gas tank keeps you from putting the bolt into the compressor hole. The other three bolts can be inserted after, but not that one. Also, if it's a replacement compressor, there is a cast-in "nub" on the end of the compressor housing that has to be grinded down to clear the header. Not needed with stock manifold but it will hit the Comptech header. The nub doesn't do anything and grinding it down slightly won't hurt it. I had to do that with a rebuilt compressor I installed. If you are able to remove the compressor, you will probably see the rub marks where the header is hitting it. You can see the various nubs I'm talking about. It may be one that your heat shield bolts into.

 

[venomous42]

ok, that sounds simple enough. ill unbolt the heat shield then grind the bolt mount down flush. i circled the bolt mount its hitting.one last question, since the header is going to be 1/4 inch from the compressor, will there be any damage from the heat? i know headers produce less heat than a stock manifold. but the stock manifold doesn't sit 1/4 inch from the compressor either. and 1 cant thank you enough for the help. you saved my day.THANKS

oh 1 more question. i don't want to make a new thread for this. i put on new valve cover gaskets, but i didn't use any sealant where the gasket fits on the cam end caps. is it going to leak from that area above the cam plugs? i only used gasket sealer to hold the gasket from falling out while installing it, just like it says in the service manual.

- - - Updated - - -

worked like a charm. thanks nsx-files
and for what its worth, my compressor with that heat shield off the back of it, looks just like the pic here.

 

[NSX-Files]

oh 1 more question. i don't want to make a new thread for this. i put on new valve cover gaskets, but i didn't use any sealant where the gasket fits on the cam end caps. is it going to leak from that area above the cam plugs? i only used gasket sealer to hold the gasket from falling out while installing it, just like it says in the service manual.

I doubt the heat from the header will cause any problems on the A/C compressor. I figure Comptech knew there was an A/C compressor there when they designed and developed the header. I never have noticed any issues with my NSXs' A/C with CT headers installed. If you were worried about it, I bet you could still install the heat shield using 2 of the 4 bolts (the heat shield would probably need to be bent down or trimmed a bit where that bolt hole was that you grinded away).

I think most people recommend installing the rubber valve cover gasket dry without sealant, just as you did, so you'll probably be fine.

 

[Honcho]

You're going to have a leak. While most of the gasket is indeed installed dry, the service manual requires hondabond at the "4 corners" surrounding the cam plugs. It's really just a dot of sealant at each corner, but it will prevent oil leaks.

oh 1 more question. i don't want to make a new thread for this. i put on new valve cover gaskets, but i didn't use any sealant where the gasket fits on the cam end caps. is it going to leak from that area above the cam plugs? i only used gasket sealer to hold the gasket from falling out while installing it, just like it says in the service manual.

 

[venomous42]

You're going to have a leak. While most of the gasket is indeed installed dry, the service manual requires hondabond at the "4 corners" surrounding the cam plugs. It's really just a dot of sealant at each corner, but it will prevent oil leaks.

wow, i couldnt find that, and i went through the service manual again this morning.

 

[rj45]

maybe that's why my AC starts to blow hot after a few hours of driving?

 

[shawn110975]

any aftermarket headers ALWAY get them coated for heat.

Yippppppeeeee its chrome when you install it..... start car drive for 5 minutes and its black. so before you install them get them treated.

and later on down the road all your wires in the engien bay will not crack when you touch them. as that heat destroys plastic

 

[Honcho]

My Pride headers are still shiny, they just have a golden hue from the VTEC heat now. There should be no cutting at all with CT headers- they are perfect fitment.