Install Your Own Exhaust?
 

How many fd owners install their own exhaust? I ordered my dp, mp and catback but I don't know whether to put it on myself, or send it someplace for installation, my bes friend has a lift, do you think its better? Thanks

Of course a lift will help, unless your exhaust sits on your roof.

It is very easy to install it yourself, especially with a lift. I did mine on my back under jack stands, yikes!
Be gentle with the factory DP studs, they can break off.
It is about a 1.5 hour job I'm guessing based on your experience. Have fun!

Raj

Thanks Raj, I can't wait until they get here.

Also before anyone else mentions it, you;ll need to get an ECU with al of those mods.

mp evil! mp evil!

Power FC on the way

Awesome... exhaust shouldn't be much of a problem just have someone look at it from the side to make sure its straight.

Thanks for replying everyone, what sre yoiur exhaust combos?

i've done both

I personally prefer to let a shop do it. 30 bucks for an hour or more of not fun shit is worth it for me. Plus alot of times the pipes need to be relaxed a bit and made to fit properly.

I'm putting md/dp on mine now and have run into the "unholy bolt of defiance". Impact didn't touch it so i'm gonna heat/impact. Just seems like a lot of work for no brain shit that it hard to screw up.

i say pay 30-40 bucks and be done with it and not even get dirty.

A couple of additional words of advice:

The night before you begin installation of the DP, soak the DP nuts/studs in a good solvent like Liquid Wrench or anything of that sort. And spray them again just before removing them (be sure to wipe off any drippage before you begin work under the car, so that you don't get any in your eyes).

Have the right tools handy. A "u-joint" extension with a deep socket is a good idea, as it's pretty tight working quarters.

Be very careful when removing the nuts/studs. Chances are 50/50 that some or all of the studs will basically come out along with the nuts during removal. If you feel some heavy resistance, don't force it; try going backward a bit, then forward (counterclockwise) again. Otherwise, if you just try to manhandle it off, you'll probably break the stud off in the exhaust manifold, and you may be FUBAR. Also good insurance to get a couple of new exhaust manifold DP studs and nuts, that way they probably won't break because you have new ones on hand. :)

You'll also need to remove the surrounding heat shields, including the ABS shield, for easier access.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

You can search for that thread subject, it's been covered umpteen times...

agreed, but just for shits and giggles. :D

Pettit DP, Pettit HiFlo, PFS CatBack.

It is very simple to install. I enjoy doing my own work. about 1.5-2hours like some else mentioned.

with a MP you get Boost Creep which is why people are mentioning the aftermarket ECU. Also, if I remember right porting your wastegate helps.

yeah, I know Its been posted alot of times, I was just wodering what the combos of the invidividual people that were posting here were.

The downpipe is not an easy job. Don't plan on getting everything done in a couple of hours. That won't happen.

If you are going to pay a mechanic to install all that, make sure they know what they are doing. If they know what they are doing, expect to pay around $300. :(

I have a M2 DP & RB catback with stock cat.

Some wd40 for the hangers and rubber holders. Makes pulling out and pushing in the hangers alot easier!!!

Very true. My dp took me about 6 hours to install, including a trip to Meineke to have them heat a broken stud on the cat and remove it once we snapped it off trying to remove the nut. The dp is such a bitch because everything has been on there for 10 years of heat cycling and road crap, and does NOT want to come off.

That being said, I liked the experience of doing it. If you have the time then it's worth it to do it yourself. If you don't like getting your hands dirty, or just don't have the time to mess around with it, have a shop do it.

As others have said, the whole trick to the downpipe install is liberal use of a good penetrating oil like PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench the night before and again prior to start of removal of the pre-cat.
It took me about 5 hours to do the dp, I think I could do another one in about 2 hours pretty easy, as long as there weren't any unforeseen problems like stubborn nuts or broken studs. All in all, I would MUCH rather do a downpipe than say....change the fuel filter! :(

The rest of the exhaust is a breeze. You should be able to put the mid-pipe and cat back on in 3 or 4 hours total.
I did mine with the car up on jackstands, give yourself PLENTY of room under there.

DP is a biatch to get off. Cat-back is extremely simple, should account for about 10 minutes of the job. MP should be in the neighborhood of an hour depending on how runsted on the 10 year old bolts are. The down-pipe will take at least 2 hours if you are good and everything goes flawlessly, no stuck bolts, studs etc.

dp was easy for me

getting that damn bolt off the RB cat back and the cat is insane.

300 dollars to install.......damn......

maybe u should do it urself. I just remember them welding my presilencer to my dp and installing for less than 100 bucks on my FC.

as far as what i'm running exhaust wise i've got a 3" SS high flow cat from clean and fast, a catco high flow cat welded into a midpipe, and a greddy SP catback. Very nice deep sound while not loud unless you are really on the throttle. catback install was easy, but i can't comment on the d/p and high flow

the stock hangers are absolutely a bitch to get out of the rubber hangers. dremel dremel dremel. the stock exhaust is tack welded together too. get a breaker bar, a dremel and a sixer cuz this is an all day job minus a lift

If you do the work yourself, refresh or replace the exhaust ground strap while you're under there.

Now I am all anxious for my exhaust to get here. I track it like every 2 hours. lol, I hate it when that happens. Thanks for all the tips everyone.

it took me about 1 1/2 hrs to do my full exhaust. jus put some penitration oil on the studs over night. and squirt some in the rubber hangers...

I came up with a nice little trick for removing the rubber hangers easily. Put a little grease on the outside edge of the metal post. Take a large channel lock and place one end on the post place the other end on the far side of the rubber hanger. Squeeze the channel locks so that the post pushes into the rubber. Try to squeeze the post at least 1/2 inch into the hanger. Once you get it this far, it is easy to remove the rest of the way. :)