Hey fellas. I just got my Dart home last week and I've been doing the small things it needs to hit the road. It has a 440 crammed in it.

My big issue right now is changing header gaskets. No worries on the pass. side. The motor has studs for bolting the headers on. I have almost zero clearance between the header and the power steering box(as you can guess). Which, in turn, means im not gonna be able to slide the gaskets in between the flange and the motor. Question is, should I pull the studs and swap to header bolts to aid in this process?(slide the header out) And can I ditch this leaky steering box for a smaller manual box.....even though I don't have $500 for the compact Flaming River unit! HELLLLLP!!!! yes I'm a newbie btw.hahahhaa. Im guessing the reason why the power steering box is leaky is due to the motor pushing against it under acceleration. I can deal with the leaky unit.....but if im already in there(brake booster off and valve civers off) i want it to have the clearance it needs.

with the tiny bit of header to steering box clearance....i may just go to a manual steering unit anyway. Anybody got one?
Thanks gents!!!!
Matt

 

Nope. I ditched my studs years ago and have never had a problem.

 

I'll be surprised if the headers fit with power steering. The only caveat to bolts instead of studs is that some of the holes go into the water jacket, so use sealer on 'em. Teflon, RTV, etc.