bleung

I must be really slow because I spent 7 hours on monday and only got the downpipe on but not secured yet. The lower rear stud came out with the nut and the other 3 studs stayed in place when I removed the nuts. I then removed the lower front stud to fit the dp on. Now the dp is fitted over the upper two studs. I then proceeded to screw in the lower front stud and use the short allen head bolt supplied by pettit for the lower rear stud. The problem I am having is that both of these screw in only a few turns before it becomes very very tight to continue. In fact, I literally can't turn it anymore without a breaker bar. Does this mean the holes on the bottom of the downpipe are not aligned with those on the turbo manifold? I figured it would be aligned just fine since I tightened 2 out of the 4 studs already. Has anyone else experienced stock studs not screwing back in? In any case, this is the first mod I've ever done so maybe someone can point out something that I should check for even if its very obvious or simple? Thanks.

Brian

Androidmj

take the dp off....it will give you a lot more room to work with....then get two large nuts and thread them onto the studs...then tighten them against eachother in opposite directions. Make sure your threading the stud into the turbo correctly...tighten it until it stops going in any further or you feel it will break....THEN put the dp back on, it will fit fairly easily once you take the cover to the transmission off, it takes a little maneuvering, but it will get over the studs if you screwed them in correctly

Androidmj

also, i never experienced any difficulty when i was tightening the stud back in, i can't remember if i sprayed some pb blaster into the stud hole (probably did), but with the dp off it should be easier, your dp probably wasn't lined up perfectly, because that is hard to do with the studs off

One more thing...you should be using a Torque Wrench to torque the bolt correctly (if you are using bolts instead of a stud and nut, in which case just use it for the nut)

speeddemon7

how much torque should be applied to the studs anyways?

bleung

I'll try to screw the lower front stud in first this weekend when I can spend more time at it. The lower rear I need to use the allen bolt provided by pettit so that one will go in last right? About the torque wrench, is it possible to get it in to reach all of the studs? In order to reach the upper rear stud I had to use a swivel ratchet and the head of my torque wrench from what I remember looks as if it wouldn't fit in that tight space. I could be wrong but I'll take a look this weekend (car stored in parents house).

Also does anyone know what kind of stores will carry the downpipe to cat converter gasket? It appears that the local autozone, pepboys, and rs strauss don't have it. rx7store charges $7 shipping for the $7 gasket so that's not worth it in my opinion and I'd rather get it locally.

Androidmj

i just bought my gasket at the rx7store.net

ya i would get the stud in and then put the dp back on and put the last bolt in AFTER you tighten some of the nuts, because the dp will move and align better as you tighten the others, then fit the bolt in. I had some trouble, but i was able to use my torque wrench on all the nuts, without using a swivel head. I only had a few inches to turn it, but enough to get the proper torque on the nuts.

As to how much torqe they need, I'm not sure, I don't have my manual on me right now...it was alot, i don't even want to make a guess though

Rated R1

FWIW, the allen bolt that Pettit sent me with my DP was just a bit too long. I had to cut about 1/4" off to make it work.

revsteve

iTrader: (6)

Having just put in my Pettit DP this weekend I can say I had the same problem with the lower left stud.

Heres how we solved it: The problem lies in the fact that the holes on the DP flange are 1-2 mm larger than the holes on the turbo manifold. As a result, once you set 3/4 studs w/ the DP on, you are left w/ a hole on the flange that may not line up exactly to the hole on the turbo.

Try this - this is how I got it to work: If you have not secured the back of the DP to the main cat, do so. Then put the bolts on (so the pipes dont disconnect when you are wiggling the pipe around). Make sure they are loose enough to give you some play. Do the same w/ the bolts on the top end of the DP.

Use something (we used a hydraulic jack) to lift and lower the part of the pipe where the DP meets the Main Cat until you can get the stud in BY HAND! If you are only going 1/4 or 1/2 a turn before it gets too tight to torque it by hand then it is threaded incorrectly - take it off and try again.

The trick is to keep moving the pipe a little at a time (using the jack to lift it up and down, and your hands to torque it side to side if need be) until you can get at least 2-3 turns out of it by hand. Once you do that, use the allen wrench to tighten it down.

Lastly, when tightening the bolts at the manifold, do so evenly - meaning do each a little at a time to make sure the gasket collapses and the flange is aligned w/ the manifold correctly.

Oh yeah - use PB blaster/liquid wrench on everything - and this whole process took me about 12 hours total (i also put in an intake in that period).

Major PITA, but those turbos sound SOOO good.

PM me if you need more info, PM me.

spurvo

You can also try purchasing part number N391-13-456 from Mazda, which is a stud that is shorter than the stock DP studs. It will allow you to get the DP over the studs, and is short enough to allow clearance around the short side of the Pettit DP bend (i.e. lower left). I used nuts with lock washers to clamp all four studs, no leaks. Make sense?

revsteve

iTrader: (6)

BRILLIANT! where were you last weekend.......

bleung

After 3 saturdays I finally finished installing the dp. Love the sound!! Taking off the transmission cover was all I needed to do to give enough room to position the dp on over 3 studs. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!