I bought Gibson headers for my 2007 4.7L Flex Fuel Dakota. Product number: GP316S. The Gibson site indicates that these will only fit 05-06 4.7L Daks but to clear things up, these will work on a 2007 4.7L. I followed the Gibson install instructions for the most part. Since they cover the Ram and Dakota, some steps weren't necessary. Here's my write-up on the installation (did everything by myself):

Step 1 - Prep:
Dedicate an entire day to do this. Set e-brake and block rear tires. Pop your hood and disconnect the battery. (I initially skipped/forgot this step and nearly shorted out my starter) Loosen your lugs and jack up the front end. I started with the driver side but I recommend starting with the passenger. (The passenger side is more stressful and more involved. I always like to get the most difficult install out of the way first.) Then take off the driver side wheel. I read on this forum that taking off the wheel well was necessary/recommended but I did not need to. I was able to get to everything needed with the well liner still installed. Lastly, spray the hardware connecting the manifold to the exhaust as well as the nuts holding the heat shield over the manifold.

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Step 2 - Remove manifold:

Remove the heat shield over the manifold. (4 nuts)

This is what you should see now:



Now, remove the bolts holding the manifold to the exhaust (the bolts right above the cat). Then, remove the 8 bolts holding the manifold in place. Luckily, mine were fairly easy to get off. Just go slow and be careful not to break any. Also, make sure the wrench/socket is completely over the bolt head. With the tight area you're dealing with, it's easy for the wrench to slip off the head and this may cause issues getting the wrench back on. Be careful with your last bolt. As soon as that one comes free, your manifold will fall loose. Remove the manifold from your engine bay from the top. Lastly, clean the area before attempting to install the headers.



Step 3 - Get excited & Drool

Look at the difference!



Step 4 - Install Headers:

Do a dry fit before anything else. You want to make sure everything looks good before killing yourself trying to get something to fit that doesn't fit. Per the instructions from Gibson: apply high-temp sensor safe gasket sealer to the gasket. I used Permatex copper. It was the highest rated temp the autoparts store had. This stuff is pretty neat and will seal macroscopic gaps between the engine-gasket-header setup. Don't use a lot. This stuff will 'squish' down to complete the seal.



Apply the same high-temp gasket sealer to the header flange. Doing this now will help since once you get the header down on the engine, there isn't much room to get the sealer on. Now, hold up the gasket to the engine and screw in the 4 bottom bolts (just barely thread them in) to hold the gasket in place. Now, drop in the header from the top. The bottom 4 bolt holes on the header will allow you to slide the header onto the engine (this is why you barely thread the bolts on) and make sure your header flange sits into the exhaust. Start to thread one of the middle two bolts to hold up the top as you align the other bolt holes. This can be kinda tricky especially if you don't have help but hand tighten each bolt in there. Then, starting from the middle bolts and working out, torque the bolts. The instructions say to torque to 30-35 ft-lbs but good luck with that. I could barely get a small open ended wrench on most of the bolts, let alone a torque wrench. I had to keep going back to some bolts to re-tighten, so keep going thru each one until they're all tight. Lastly, tighten up the exhaust flange bolts. Be careful of the starter. I accidentally dropped a wrench on mine and sparks flew like the 4th of July (once again, disconnecting your battery will prevent this). Then wrap the heat shield over the rubber boot on the steering shaft. Driver side is done!

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Step 5 - Ditto the passenger side:

Only difference from the driver and passenger side is that you need to remove your airbox. There's one nut to take out (I have a CAI installed so there may be more for you) then pop out the box (it takes a little effort). Also, be careful of the 2 hoses in the way. There's no need to remove them, just be careful. Oh and another difference is you'll use the second heat wrap on those hoses, even though there is plenty of clearance to begin with.



(Unfortunately, I did not snag any pics after this point but I'll try to take some later.)

Also, I found it easier to drop the old manifold out thru the bottom (gravity helps this) but you still need to install the new header from the top.

There's less space to work with on the passenger side and it is a real PITA to get some bolts in by hand but be strong and patient. Once you're finished, RECHECK/RETIGHTEN ALL BOLTS! Then put everything back together.

Step 6 - Test drive:

I did a quick 5 minute test drive down my neighborhood and I was surprised at the difference. For the first time ever, my truck snapped my head back when I punched it. The response of the truck is amazing now. Couldn't be more surprised or happier with the result.

 

Great write up! Just changed my gaskets last night. Though I had a lot more working room!

 

You take the wheel well liners out? I couldn't really figure out the fasteners and decided that by the time I had the liners out I could've had the headers on, lol.

 

My engine is on a stand :-D

 

Question??
What is the difference or benefits of having chrome/ stainless/ or ceramic coated headers? Is Ceramic better?

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3" Leveling kit- Rancho's All around- 265/75R16 BFG Rugged Terrains- Custom Short Ram Intake- Straight piped exhaust w/ custom 3" stacks- Black housing headlights 6k HID- Custom HarleyDavidson Shifter -

 

so how do these things break/leak? The stock manifolds that is..because I have a pretty nice exhaust leak going and everyone say that they're bolt heads snap or something. I need to buy the hardware and replace mine

 

After awhile it's inevitable that your gaskets will fail, or a bolt will rust/break off. Removing your exhaust manifold and installing new gaskets and hardware will usually take care of this. I've found that you can get a complete set of exhaust manifold hardware online for about $25-30...if you are looking to replace the heat shield as well...a new one usually runs about $20-25.

 

From what I've read, Ceramic coated headers usually keep their finish longer and also help (a little bit) in retaining heat, seeing as how most don't use a heat shield. Stainless ones tend to get the "blue" finish after a bit of use and after time lose their finish all together.

They do make high temp paints you can use to give them a bit of color back, but most reports show that with time, the paint can eventually flake off, the best way to prevent this is really to get them powder coated, but that can cost a bit...so if you are ok with them looking better for at least a couple years before they lose their paint, a high temp paint (cured properly) is the most economical way to go.

 

any links to hardware for a 4.7 exhaust manifold guys? I can get the gaskets from Advance Auto but I want to buy the bolts from a legitimate source. Preferably Mopar..$25-30 wouldn't be bad. I think airram.com may have had the hardware for around $75 unless that was the cylinder head kit

 

Most of these websites are pretty decent on finding Mopar OEM parts.

https://www.google.com/search?q=oem+...w=1366&bih=667