Going down to start this installation. If anybody in the Seattle area hears any cursing...that's me.

I just went over the Costco and picked up that 3 1/2 ton floor jack they have for $69. However, for any of you who are looking, when I stopped at Shucks for some anti-seize grease I saw a 2 ton lift for $20 on sale. I have no idea regarding the quality of the thing, but just to let everyone know.

If anybody has any last minute advice...I'll give it about 10 minutes here to see.

 

stuff you will need:

jack stands
10" and 6" extensions
breaker bar
swivel joints
14mm deep socket
other metric sockets and ratchet
22mm open wrench or crescent wrench for O2 sensors
anti-sieze
a friend
some time


good luck!

 

Have everything but a friend.

I have lots of time though.

Actually, I don't have a 10" extension, but a seriously deep socket set with the 6" extension......probably reaches about 9"...whatcha think? What bolt(s) should I check immediately to see if I can reach them?

 

The bolts on the rear manifold are a bit of a reach, but I think a 6" extensoin should suffice... A friend would be good since the stock pipe is a bit heavy and takes some force to remove. Also, the Cattman pipe tends to be a tight fit most of the time... needs some pushing to get it to fit... just remember to start from the cat end of the pipe and use the play that exists in the b-pipe to align the pipe to the rear manfiold....

 

Thanks, I have a couple of friends nearby that will stop by if need be. I'm going to start off on my own. Thanks for the advice...later all. I'll post when I'm done and possibly in the middle of the process if I take a break.

 

cool


good luck!

 

I know the y-pipe increases performance but how much louder is it? I was thinking of getting it done prior to putting in a short-throw shifter since you have to drop the exhaust to do that.

 

I have y-pipe with RT cat along with the stock b-pipe/muffler... it's not loud at all. A bit of a deeper, throatier exhaust growl, but it sounds sweet at WOT. Regular cruising is hardly noticeable...

 

Thanks for the info, regular cruising is what I am worried about. I guess the actual muffler makes the difference.

 

you can pretty much swap out everything before the muffler and still have things relatively quiet... once you swap the muffler out though.... it may get loud

 

I put mine in on Thursday night in 2 1/2 hours flat(Cattman_CA). No friend. You don't need one. Quite simple if you have enough room. Just a few tips: Dont put any anit-seize on the o2 sensors, it'll just burn off in 2 minutes anyway. Take off the stock pipe by getting the rear cat section off first, then crank like h*ll on the front section to get that flange out. I used 2 screwdrivers instead of a breaker bar. Once putting the new pipe in, make sure you have ALL your gaskets in place before attaching the Y section of the pipe to hold it up. I attached the rear cat section first then the Y section, then the front section I hammered in. After that it's all gravy. The intial noise of the pipe is going to sound like major "bees in a can", but leave your battery cable off overnight, and the next few days the sound will mellow out. But not at WOT. However I have found the gains good all around the power bandwidth. I Like.

 

Okay, here's some quick feedback.

You know what I say about the driver's side bolt on the stock y-pipe attached to the rear bank?

I say screw the driver's side bolt on the stock y-pipe attached to the rear bank!

That was a serious pain to get off. Other than that...it wasn't bad. I did it by myself. I spent about 3 hours and that included a run to Schucks (in one of the other vehicles) to pick up a 1/2" > 3/8" adapter for my breaker bar (doh!). I enjoyed playing around under there. For all those in Seattle, I have jack stand and a good lift that I will work with you on your underbody work if anybody needs assistance.

I am a little bothered by the location of the O2 sensor by the front pre-cat. It seems pointed a bit too towards the ground. Could have been up a little higher. It seems to be the lowest point of contact for the underbody now?

I have one complaint in another thread, other than that...glad to use some of that engineering degree on something other than a resume.

 

congrats! now go have some fun

 

Yes sir! Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Didn't Cattman previously tack a small plaque on the pipe which said "for off road use only" or was that only Stillen? Anyway...no such message on my pipe.

 

Addition items:
- gloves (this reduces grease that embeds itself into your hands for weeks at a time, also cuts back on cuts and skin being ripped off while working on the car)
- Radio (makes time fly)
- something to drink
- jack stands (duh)
- exhaust gaskets (in case you don't have new ones)
- camera (to take pictures so you can write a tech article since there isn't one with pictures)

Helpful tip:
If you have the Stealin y-pipe, sand down the bracket so it doesn't bang against the car when you rev it or on start-up.

 

Too late...already installed it. But thanks anyway!

Oh, yeah...wish I had put on the gloves. I love the smell of Liquid Wrench...good thing my hands will smell like it for a week.

 

I was dirty from head to toe after replacing mine... dirty floor