Gen V Belanger Header install photo intensive

[ViperPete]

This is a "how to" on a full Belanger exhaust for 2013+ Vipers. This is the catted setup. I would assume that the instructions below would work for American Racing, M&M, and other brands. I am not a technician but have some experience turning a wrench and the confidence to work on my Viper. My best advice is to take your time and make plenty of mental notes! This is not a fast swap. It is simple and it is easy but it is not quick. I completed this over 4 days around 2-3 hours per day.

Tool/parts/item List:
Dodge Viper (duh)
Jack stands and floor jack- or a lift.
1/2" drive ratchet
1/4" driver ratchet
8mm,10mm, 13mm, 16mm, 17mm, 5/8" socket
13mm open ended wrench
Phillips screw driver
Torx number #20 and #27
1" hose clamps (depends how many you want to replace)
Permatex Copper high-temp sensor safe silicone

1. Jack up your Viper with jack stands and remove rear wheels



2. Remove X brace- 13mm socket



3. Remove Valve Cover Covers- just pull upward. There are 4 Rubber grommets that hold the covers in place. The drivers side needs to have the Oil cap removed also.



4. Remove wiper blade arms. Be gentle with the rubber bolt covers. I used a little screw driver to remove the grommets and then side to side upward pressure on the wiper arm to get them loose. 13mm socket

















5. Remove wiper cowl. Some of the torx bolts are hard to see. When you remove the cowl be extremely careful of the rubber gasket that goes under the hood. Its held in place by a bunch of these oval plastic clips and if you aren't careful they will break the rubber gasket. (ask me how i know). There is also an 8mm bolt inside the door jamb on each side of the car. Torx #20 and 8mm socket

6. Remove HVAC box. 8mm socket and Torx #20



7. Remove passenger side valve cover. You could remove the coils if you want but i think that is unnecessary. Just unclip the coil plug, pull the spark plug wire from the spark plug, remove the bolts, there are 3 plastic clips that are pressed into the cover, you have to pry these off the valve cover before you remove the valve cover. Don't break them! Then lift the valve cover away from the head. Take note the the oil dipstick tube uses one of the valve cover bolts. Put the valve cover in a clean dry place. 10mm socket











8. Remove passenger side spark plugs. 5/8" socket

9. This next step is probably not 100% necessary but i was advised to do it as a precaution. Remove coolant overflow tank. I had a hell of a time draining the tank and lines without getting coolant everywhere....I used a Gatorade bottle and just filled it up a bunch of times and put the coolant in a larger container. Instead of wrapping the coolant lines with that DEI heat reflective tape, I bought some DEI Titanium heat sleeves for the coolant lines. I like the look better and i am hoping that they perform as well as advertised. I also replaced the hose clamps that had the sleeve with regular adjustable clamps as it was impossible to slide the OEM clamps over the sleeve and the hose. You have to drain every line individually. I also found it a lot easier to put the sleeves on the lines with them completely off the car and dry. This step was the most annoying part of the whole swap. As I mentioned you could be fine with just wrapping the coolant lines and not removing anything. While I was at it I wrapped the wiring for the windshield washer fluid pump with DEI heat tape as it is very near the header.



10. Remove drivers side valve cover. Same process as the passenger except that you do not need to remove the spark plugs (the manifold will come right out- there is more room between the frame and engine on the drivers side). Take note that there is a ground strap on the front of the valve cover that has a nut and bolt. Un-clip coils and set the valve cover in a dry safe place.

11. With the rockers, push-rods and springs exposed to the environment, I covered the whole engine with a towel to prevent debris or junk from falling into the engine. The rockers are a really neat design.

12. Remove passenger side sill. There are a lot of bolts to remove for the sills. I recommend removing the 10mm screws from the underside of the sill first. There are a bunch of them. Maybe 10 screws. Two at the very rear of the sill and then 1 screw every 8 inches or so until you reach the front of the sill.

There are 3 torx #27 bolts in the front wheel well that need to be removed.




In the rear wheel well there are quite a few Torx #27 bit bolts. Remove all the bolts on the rear of the side sill and the wheel well cover. That will include the bolts on the wheel well cover that are bolted to the rear bumper.

Gently pry away the wheel well cover to expose the insides of the cover from the rear. There is a metal bracket inside that has two 10mm nuts that need to be removed. There isn't a lot of room to work and the wheel well cover has sharp edges.



Next remove the 3 screws that hold the Aluminum sill plates.



There is a Phillips head screw on top of the sill that needs to be removed in the door jamb.

Next remove the three 8mm bolts near the washer fluid container. There is also a rubber hood bump stop that needs to be removed and has a #27 Torx bit. Gently pull the side sill off the car being extremely careful not to drop it. You cannot remove it with the door closed and this poses a need for dexterity/agility to remove the sill and not scratch the door or drop the sill. Place the sill in an out of the way place where you wont trip over it or drop anything on it.