drew32

Im trying to remove the stock downpipe and have gotten all but one bolt off. The bolt at the top left is wedged behind the Y-pipe. My car has the 99 Y-pipe not the rubber and plastic one and i cant seem to reach that bolt. To make matters worse whoever installed the downpipe last used Hex style bolts so its a lot harder to try and blindly stick the ratchet on the bolt. Any help would be appreciated ive been working at this downpipe for two days now!

skotx

So remove the y-pipe.

drew32

Im going to try that but i dont see a way of getting to the bolts for the one side of the y-pipe. I removed the top bolts but the ones behind the downpipe dont seem too easy, im going to try it today and see what i get. I was just wondering if anyone knew any tricks.

mrb63083

iTrader: (4)

Try using a swivel socket, that's what I used to get mine off.

Robbierx7

iTrader: (1)

It's a fiddly job and is much easier if you can get under the car. Makes the job 10 times easier

drew32

I can get under the car, i see the two bolts attaching the back piece of the Y-pipe to the rear turbo, but i cant reach them with the huge stock downpipe in the way. Also, how does the front part of the Y-pipe attach to the rear i tried pulling them apart but i cant seem to get it. It seems if i got the front part of the y-pipe out of the way i could get to that last damn bolt easy.

HKNY

iTrader: (2)

Wrestling with the stock downpipe seems to be an FD right of passage.Add some PB blaster to the mix.

drew32

ad PB blaster to what? the two parts of the y-pipe?

crcleofdst

ahh, memories....


I think I invented some curse words when I installed my DP!

Just be patient, use a shitload of PB blaster, and hope the new DP goes on easier than this one comes off!!



Good Luck


*edit*- Use the PB blaster on the bolts...

Robbierx7

iTrader: (1)

your not gonna seperate the y pipe with it bolted down to the secondary turbo. The way i did it was to use a 10mm ring spanner from underneath the car and undo the 2 10mm nuts. Get a mate working above and you both will work it out between you. Believe it ot not, i found this part one of the most frustrating parts of my engine rebuild.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

1/4 drive ratchet, diff length extensions, and a u-joint will do the trick for the y-pipe. The rear nuts you need to be underneath the car to get at them.

Monkman33

iTrader: (28)

PB blaster.. let it soak overnight, and some monkeying around with different tools.

hansaysso

ahhh the downpipe...wow i swore a lot while taking it off. swivel socket and PB blaster overnight is the way to go. don't put downpressure while taking off the pre-cat cuz if u snap the bolts....good luck with taking off the turbo's.

drew32

Well im taking the turbo's out anyway but not too worried about snapping bolts, they are all new from the last time the turbo's were replaced like 5000 miles ago i think.

rc51king

you gotta take the pipe off to the rear turbo first. extensions and swivel help from underneath the car. snapping bolts off suck . i spent alot of time drilling a tapping the ones that broke off,and yes alot of cursing

Monkman33

iTrader: (28)

For some reason... PB blaster and cursing go hand in hand.

Yeah, instead of stopping and going to the store for some PB and taking my time, I got frustrated and just cranked every bolt of to take my turbos off....

Now I have a set turbos with more broken studs than a State Prison.

Lesson: take your time.

drew32

Lol well today i FINALLY got the downpipe off. A friend came over and worked at it for 30 mins and luckily got the ratchet on the bolt! Then it started to rain so i had to call it a quits. Turbos should be out by this weekend though! yay!

drew32

Quick thing,



the bolt circled in black i snapped the thread on it and need to get that fixed. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Someone recommended a Heli Coil? Apparantly it creates a thread inside where you drilled out. Ive never heard of it before.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Yeah you do need to fix it.

You'll want a helicoil kit, M6 IIRC. You can find these at most auto parts stores in the hand tools section. Helicoils (aka helical inserts) are used often in aerospace and on engine blocks. You drill out the tapped hole (don't overdrill or let your bit wander!!), use a special sized tap to re-tap for the helical insert, then thread in the helical insert. The helical insert is sized so that the inside of the insert exactly matches the original thread size.

Dave

drew32

Awesome, i dont have to pull the turbos. Another thing, I bought some silicone hose to replace the old hoses around the turbos(hopefully fix my boost leak issue) I noticed some of the bigger hoses are hard as a rock, especially one comming off of the Y-pipe. Where do i get replacement hoses that big and the one with angles, do i have to get them from Mazda?

drew32

anyone?

charlies7

iTrader: (4)

Mazda would be a good choice..Call Malloy mazda

drew32

Malloy Mazda?

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Ray Crowe is the man to talk to, he runs their parts dept. 888 533 3400, best time to reach him is 8:30 or 9am mon-fri

drew32

Where are they located?