The saga continues:

I sent my downpipe back to pettit and they verified the warping and said that wasn't normal at all and agreed to replace the downpipe. Bad news is I live in Oregon and they're in Florida so my shipping the pipe to them and them shipping a new one back took 2.5 weeks.

I just got finished installing it, i made sure to keep the main cat out of the way while I bolted the DP to the turbo manifold as to get a good tight seal as per my exhaust leak problems above. I torque'd everything down to specs and then when I went to bolt on the main cat I realized that this DP was about an 1.5" further to the passenger side than the other one I had. The DP is actually rubbing against the passenger heat shield in one area and is 1/4" away everywhere else as it makes the bend to the main cat.

If I try to line up the holes in the DP and the main cat I can't. Pushing the main cat as far as I can towards the passenger side of the car doesn't get the main cat over far enough for the holes to line up. At that point (as shown in the pic below) the main cat is also hitting the passenger side of the car and still needs about another 1/2" for the holes to line up.

Pics:





I'm a little frustrated to say the least, especially after Pettit kept telling me they have "the best fitting downpipe there is", and while I'm gracious they replaced my first downpipe that warped I don't have a lot of confidence in their products right now.

So what should I do? Take the DP to a local muffler shop and have them bend it so that it clears the passenger side by more than sheet of paper? or should I just go buy a different brand downpipe? I bought the Pettit originally as I heard some horror stories about people having to dremel out holes, etc. in cheaper brands to get them to fit and I wanted to avoid that... oops.

 

Are your motor mounts shot?

I'm thinking about the parts that affect the final location of the turbo manifold face, and the block, turbos, and exhaust manifold just can't bend or move. But the motor mounts might cause the engine to be sitting out-of-place, and busted mounts could have put the torque on the first downpipe to sufficient to bend it.

Dave

 

Like Dgeesman said you need to check your motor mounts. Also your whole transmission and engine could be shifted. Look in the engine install section of the shop manual there are some dimensions in there that show how your drivetrain should be lined up. Make sure all of those are correct.

 

The thing is the first (warped) downpipe I got from Pettit fit perfect other than the fact that it got warped, and my car hasn't left the jack stands since I took that one off and put this one on. I don't see how anything could have changed between downpipes. The first DP also wasn't bent just a rippled effect at the turbo manifold side, in any case I'll look for those measurements and check to make sure, thanks.

 

sorry to heat that, I'm planning on getting a DP soon too and this is a concern for me as well...

 

Where are these dimensions at? I looked at the install section although didn't see anything, anyone got a page number for this?

In any case I put my pre-cat back on and it fit perfectly. So right now in order I have this:

1) Took off pre-cat - FIT
2) Put on first DP - FIT
3) Took off first DP - FIT
4) Put on 2nd DP - DID NOT FIT
5) Put pre-cat back on - FIT

So considering the fact that the pre-cat in my history of taking it on and off has always fit, and the first DP I had from pettit fit, it seems to be that something is f'd up with this 2nd DP. I'd still like to measure just to be sure, but I don't really see it coming out any other way.

At least my car is driving again with the pre-cat in.

Steve

 

Actually I was mistaken. It is in the manual transmission section.

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/3rdgen/manuals/93%20manual/(J)manual_transmission.pdf

pg J-59

Like you said, I think something is wrong with your 2nd DP.