I looked under the car, and I dont think that there is any way in hell that i can put the y pipe in myself. How to you get to the bolts on the bottom of the manifold, and then loosen them. What happens if you break the stud in the manifold. Also, i asked a muffler shop how much they charge to do this and they told me it was illegal to take out the stock pipe because it has precats. What is going on?

 

Universal Joint...

It is illegal to remove your cats...

 

I just had to shop around to find some backwoods muffler shop that did not care.

Yes, with the car on ramp or stands, the y-pipe install looks difficult. I did not even attempt it after all the trouble I had getting the Greddy Catback on. All the bolts were frozen on.
Good Luck.

C

 

yes it is illegal, but if your state does not check or know what should be there, they would never know. In Calif., I'd be careful, cause all the cops know what to look for.

I just installed a warpspeed y-pipe yesterday and it took me 2 hrs. Not difficult as long as you have a few u-joints and extensions for your sockets. Use lots of penetrating oil in the nuts. The studs are pretty durable, but like anything, if it's rusted enough, it may break. The fit and workmanship is top notch and fit like a glove. There is only 8 bolts holding it in place.

I think too many guys here don't work enough on their cars. It's not hard to do stuff, but it's alot easier to hand your keys over to someone else, but there is nothing like the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

 

what's wrong with handing your keys to someone else if you dont have faith that you can complete the job.. or it is just easier..

my 5g's in stereo is gonna be professionally done.. i could do it, but it would take up so much time and i dont feel like dealing with it..

but on the other hand i am installing my air bag suspension.. so.. it's all what you have time for or how much things are at the time.. etc etc

i had my ypipe installed, only because i didnt have the time to look for a lift or a place to put my car on jackstands and because it took them an hour and would have taken me much longer..

and yes it is illegal to remove the cats, but unless you have to go through an emissions inspection (which a ypipe will pass) you dont need to worry.

 

Read the write ups and you won't have these questions. If you break a stud, its not a do it yourself job anymore.

Go to a different shop. If thats what they told you they don't deserve your business. Dont pay over $100.

 

The Y-pipe is one mod I would definitely recommend people get done by a muffler shop. Had mine done by Meineke after the dealer turned me down. Ask around. You'll find someone. Exhaust bolts can be extremely difficult to remove. Very awkward to get good leverage if you do it at home on jackstands. Some people around here have access to a lift and have good tools--definitely would make it easier.

Most mods I would do. Y-pipe I didn't and am glad. Not worth the $50-100 you will spend. And if you are like me and the pipe has fitment issues (all makes can have this), the muffler shop can easily take care of it.

 

I swear you guys, are fricken pussies. I'm sorry, but the Y-pipe has to be one of the easiest things to change besides a CAI, A b-pipe, a cat, and a muffler, mods dont get any simpler, and if your company built the Y-pipe right you would have problems...GOD, take some chances....

 

could you give me a couple of pointers on the install to help make it a little easier. I'm installing mine tomorrow. If you know of anything that would help make the bolts loosen and any hints on fitment issues that would be great. Thanks!

 

first.. get your car as high off the ground as you can. the more room you give youreself the easier it is.. second.. goto maximadriver.com, look under the how2 section and click on the y-pie install.. it will give you detailed instructions on what to do.. the 6 y-pipe bolts will be tight, but they WILL come off. you just gotta muscle it. its really not to hard. just be patient. and dont listen to the people that tell you its too hard to do yourself cause they all got theirs done at a shop.. they have no clue whats invloved in it..

 

1) It is NOT illegal to remove your pre-cats unless you have to pass a federal emissions test. That means that if you do not have to do a cold start emissions test it wont matter. It is Federal emissions illegal to remove them.

2) The aftermarket Y will pass a warm start emissions test becaus of your main cat. The 2 precats on the stock Y are only there for cold start emissions, after that they are just restrictions on the flow of your exhaust.

It all depends on what your local laws state. I can run headers, test pipe and straight pipe out the back of my car where I am registered. There are NO emissions restrictions/tests here. Check your laws first, but I would not worry about the illegality of the Y.

Kirk

 

 

I don't think the y-pipe was that difficult. Taking the old one was a challange, but once you get it done, you have the satisfaction of doing it. It was easy! I think if you put your mind to it, you can do what every you want.

 

the hardest part is taking the bolts and O2 sensors off. I'd be very careful not to break a bolt when you're removing it...other than that...the install is not too hard...

 

I should be recieving mine soon but i doubt i'm going to do it myself because my exhaust is all rusted.... i was putting on my smc shifter yesterday and i think it was between the cat and the resonator there was a joint with 2 bolts. I got one of the bolts out but the other one snapped. i'd rather just pay to have it put on so i won't have to deal with problems like that....

 

The hard part is removing the stock Y-pipe, cause usually the bolts are rusted and the large precats make it hard to get to the bolts.
If you want to try it, go for it. But I'd recommend getting it done.

I've done the install a few times and it's still hard. But once the stock pipe is off, your golden... as long as everything fits.

Tips:
- soak all bolts in liquid wrench
- get long extensions
- get swivel head attachments
- heave like a **** to get the stock bolts off
- don't unclip the O2 sensor, instead just unscrew it and leave the wire spun up, and then when you install into the new Y-pipe it'll unspin itself
- use anti-seize when you put the O2 sensor back in.
- make sure the gaskets are sealed right

 

you couldn't of said it any better...check out this website for installation instructions...

www.maximadriver.com

 

Just a piece of advice you might consider. Start this like two days ahead of time - spray down the bolts with wd-40 a few times. It will only take a minute but start eating away the rust or what not. By the time you go to take them off it will be that much easier.

SuDZ

 

the problem is that I have a 95 with 100,000 miles and everything, including the bolts are rusted. I dont want to break the stud off.
And I cant reach the rear pipe because the axle is in the way, how do you get leverage.

 

i got 95 and i just did mine a few months ago

 

You don't need to touch anything that far back. I've done 4 y-pipe installs, all of them went smoothly. All you need to do is 3 bolts from each manifold, 6 total, and 2 bolts holding the cat to the y-pipe. The cat is not anywhere close to the rear axle, so I don't know what you're talking about.

I installed all my own exhaust...it's easy. Now, I have impact wrenches and next spring my friend is building a shop with a 9 foot car lift...I will be able to do anything

 

Thank you, some one that dos there own mods...im not the only one out there!!!!!!!!

 

I put in my clear corners!

 

Its a start

 

It's true practically anyone can fit a Y-pipe if given the tools, time and a suitable surface to jack the car up on but facts are some people don't have these things available readily. So when they get them installed for a reasonable cost at a shop, its no big deal.

Its not until things like SC installs, clutch/Quaife installs or pull down engine work are done DIY that it really impresses me anyway.

Although I'll agree that the satisfaction of DIY anything is great, theres no guilt in having a decent workshop fit a Y-pipe/exhaust for a small fee either. Just my .02c.

 

what mods did you do?

 

-Place Racing Cold Air Intake
-17" rims
-Warpspeed Y-pipe
-White face gauges
-gauge pods W/oil temp/oil pressure
-rear sway bar
-cattman front strut tower brace
-power slot slotted rotors
-repco metalmasters semi metallic pads
-lowered 1 1/2 W/Arospeed springs

hhmmm, and i got a few more coming...

 

Ok, im hearing a lot of this well if a shop does it a reasonable price thingy. Its not the fact that you can get a shop to do it, its the pride you get outta doing your own mods and feeling that you made your own HP.

 

intake, ypipe, cat, bpipe/muffler, struts, coilovers, fstb, rsb, shift light, stereo, short throw shifter...when I get my bodykit, I will put that on myself also

I had the shop do my o2 sensor, wheels/tires (I don't think I can mount/balance them myself) and window tint.

 

For me, it's not even that. I don't feel like paying someone else to do stuff that I can do for free. Why should I pay someone $140 to install my y-pipe and stillen exhaust? It took me roughly 2 hours to do it. (took about 4-5 the first time I did it though) I didn't even bother getting quotes on anything else, because I don't want to hear it. Shop fee's are way too high for me to pay

I love saving that money, be it $20 for an intake or $140 for exhaust. It's really not that hard once you dig in and start learning the finer parts of your ride.

 

Hey, i figured i'd ask you since you have a cattman y-pipe. My cattman should be in soon but does that replace the piping all the way to where the shifter is.. (i just put on my SMC shifter and snapped a bolt where the pipe joins there...) i think it may be between the cat. and the resonator?? Thanks

 

Fair enough, if you only have access to shops that charge that way then I'd turn a few bolts too. $140US, thats crazy. Never paid half that here.

 

Apart from the white faced gauges and Y-pipe everything on your list I also did myself on my 3rd Gen plus FSB, radiator replacement, brake master cylinder replacement, trans temp gauge, intake manifolds pull down/clean, countless times pulling apart the dash and all maintenence except T-belt. Relatively simple procedures.

Had the headers and exhaust fitted by a shop and paid happily for the peace of mind it would be done right first shot with a minimum of downtime. Will be having an exhaust made and fitted on my 4th Gen by the same shop soon.

And without wanting to flame I wouldn't call bolting a set of rims onto a car a true DIY mod either, unless you fitted the tyre. If an able bodied person can't change a wheel on their car, they shouldn't even have a car.

 

The shifter is right above the cat. The Y-pipe only replaces the stock pipe that is before the cat. If you broke a bolt downstream of the cat, then you should get it replace. All the more reason to go to a muffler shop where they shouldn't even charge you cause it should take them almost no time.

 

I've done all my own installs, but some other people are just not that mechanically inclined. So to those people that have issues with replacing something like brake pads, I'd recommend against doing the Y-pipe.

But for everyone with some mechanical knowledge and the proper tools, should be able to do it. There is only one bolt that is a major Pain in the A$$, everything else with liquid wrench and some strength isn't bad. Or if your like me you have access to a torch and air tools.

 

guys....just did a y-pipe on Nealoc187's car this morning...and his car has 112,000 miles on it....the stock manifold bolts are not hard to break loose at all...especially after soaking them in WD-40. His install only took about 2 hours. The key to it was I told him to go to a muffler shop the day before and get the bolts that bolt the cat to the y-pipe replaced as they were rusted to the point of almost being unrecogonizable. That made the install a breeze y-pipe is definitely doable by an amatuer. I did my y-pipe by myself and it was the first exhaust work that I had ever done.

 

I paid $20 to have the Y and cat put on. Paid $200 to have a custom dual cat-back made(bent from straight pipes) and put on the car, took them 5 hours at the shop. The muffler was $89, each tip was $35, and the rest were materials---->yes that does mean I dont pay for labor unless they dont need parts and if that happens I pay $10 per hour

Kirk

If you had that kind of access I am sure you would consider having it done. Im just too damn lazy to do it myself when it only cost me $20!

 

I just finished up a y-pipe install, it was alot easier than I thought. The thing that helped the most was letting those bolts and nust soak in wd-40 or whatever you like to use.

Also, if you are doing this on your own with no help, use a dinky hydraulic jack and a block of wood to help hold up the stock pipe and slowly lower it since its somewhat heavy. Plus that means you can lower it a little bit to make it easier to get the front O2 sensor off. Well, there is my quick tip for the day, enjoy

 

congrats to all you guys who just installed your Y-pipes!!! As long as you don't break any bolts...you're golden!!!