Hey guys,

Much to my delight, according to UPS.com my T1R exhaust should be here on Monday. I'm debating right now whether or not I should try to install it myself or if I should just take it to the local exhaust shop, Exhaust Works (where I've gotten all my exhaust stuff done on other cars in the past, so they give me decent deals). They said they would install it for $40 and it would take about a half hour. Does that sound right? Or is it pretty simple to install myself? What tools would I need and how far would I have to jack up the car? My level of mechanic difficulty right now is a hair above being able to change my own oil, sadly.

What do you guys think? From looking under the car it looks like it's just a matter of like 6 bolts and figuring out how to put all the hangers on. *shrug*

Edit: Also, the only jack I have is the spare tire jack, would that be decent enough to jack the car up enough to install the exhaust? Or would I need something better?


[Modified by io_burn, 10:45 AM 3/15/2003]

 

Spray the top of the rubber hanger with liquid wrench. And the rubber hangers will come right off car. Do not try to remove the hanger off the exhaust. Install the T1r with the hangers on it.


[Modified by ITR GURU, 4:53 PM 3/15/2003]

 

be safe-get a new jack & some jackstands at your local walmart or autozone, it's a cheap saftey precaution, don't use the jack that came w/ teh car..........

 

easy as pie...as long as you can get the bolts off. if not then you might wanna have a torch handy

 

Ok, how much does a decent jack and 4 jack stands usually run? Also, (I just went out and looked, couldn't see much) the exhaust connects to the car with hangers that come off the exhaust with little rubber pieces to hangers that are connected to the car, correct? Does the T1R come with the little rubber pieces or do you use whatever the ones look like that came with the car? How high would I need to jack the car up to safely install an exhaust?

 

You need to reuse the stock rubber hangers. It really isn't that hard. Get a new jack and the jackstands first. If you are decently strong, you should have no problem with the bolts. WD-40 is your friend for removing hangers and bolts. Have a 14MM wrench handy.

 

Like mentioned, if you're gonna do it yourself, make sure you have a decent jack and jack stands. The hardest part will be getting the old exhaust off. Sock the bolts with WD40. They can be a real bitch. Your new exahaust should provide the gaskets. If it's too much of a pain the ***, have the exhaust shop do it. $40 sounds right. I paid $50 to have my APEXi N1 installed.. Good luck..

 

Also soak the three bolts connecting the cat and the rest of the exhaust with wd40. I would let it work it's way in. The the really hard part, is those three bolts. But, if you don't have time or the tools then 40 bucks is not bad.

 

I installed my exhaust myself. For $40 I'd pay someone else to do it.

 

lol that's what I was thinking. I could easily install it myself, but for 40 bucks I would not waste my time and just have them do it.

 

I pay $10 for an oil change when i bring my own oil and filter.

For $10 I get:

- Dont crawl on my back in a parking lot
- Dont spill oil on my mug
- Dont burn my arm on a hot exhaust manifold
- Dont have to fight to get the filter off
- Dont have to collect the old oil, drive to autozone and dispose of it

However if i am ever in my dad's shop doing work (even if i'm early on the change) i go ahead and do it there, since i've got a lift to use - 5 minute oil change.

 

lol I do my oil changes at the shop. the exhaust would be easy too. I rarely if ever use hand tools on my own car anymoe so the exhaust even would be a breeze, but still, me is lazy..

and we can have the oil picked up

 

If i had a shop with oil pickup, i'd change my own oil all the time too

 

Let them do it for 40 bones

 

Use lithium grease on the hangers instead of WD40. It won't harm the rubber. You can get a jack and 4 jackstands from Harbor Freight for around $80. It's an orange 2.25 ton jack from Central Hydraulics. It has a lifetime warranty, and it's $50. The jackstands are either blue or orange for about $15/pair.

Taking off the exhaust is easy. You need a 14mm socket, a 3/8" drive ratchet, an extension, a flex joint, and another 14mm socket/wrench for tightening the T1R bolts.

First, spray the hangers with the white grease. It will congeal and make them slippery. Then, take off the 2 bolts that connect the stock muffler to the b-pipe. Remove the muffler from the car, and transfer the 2 rubber hangers from the stock muffler to the T1R.

Second, take off the 3 bolts that connect the cat to the b-pipe. This is a little tricky because the top bolt is hard to reach. The extension and the flex joint will come in handy here. After you take off bolts, the b-pipe will be dangling from the hangers. Take them off and it'll fall off.

Now, assemble the T1R b-pipe by connecting the resonator with the s-bend. You need to use 2 14mm sockets or wrenches to hold the back of the nut while turning the bolt. Use the lock washers, and don't forget the gasket. Transfer the hangers and put the new b-pipe on the car.

After that's on, you can put the muffler on. That should be self-explanatory. Wipe down the whole exhaust with some rubbing alcohol to remove the fingerprints and start up the car. If you don't, you'll get stains on the steel from the oil on your fingers.

That's it! Enjoy your T1R!

EDIT for grammarrrrrrr


[Modified by SpoonEK2, 11:38 AM 3/15/2003]

 

Hmm... It depends how lazy I am tomorrow whether or not I install it myself, doesn't sound too hard. Will they wipe it down with alcohol before they start the car up at most exhaust shops, or is that something I'm going to have to bug them about?

 

You have to ask them to get that done.

The only part of the exhaust system that should be wiped off is the muffler, everything else can NOT be seen and shouldn't be bothered.

 

i am surprised at how many people have said "just pay someone to do it." swapping a catback is EASY.

its not about the money... i guess not too many people like working on their own cars anymore these days its a good learning experience and i personally take pride in working on my own car.

do it yourself.

 

WD-40 is a big help but really its a DIY job. Thats paying them $80/hr to do something that simple...big rip off.

 

If this is the case, I would just pay the $40 and have them do it.

You would definitely have to get a new jack and stands if you were going to tackle this yourself, which if you get a good jack will cost more than $40, not to say that a new jack wouldn't be an investment.

I myself would rather do it myself, but because the only thing my condo association will let me do is wash my car, I usually get stuck paying somebody to do everything.

 

DIY rules!

Bust out the tools and jack and get to work.

 

it takes 30 minutes for an exhaust shop to do with power tools and a lift? It takes about that long maybe a little bit longer to do with just a floor jack and some jackstands. DIY i say, save the $40 for something else i say. Only hard part is, undoing the top bolt that connects the cat to the bpipe. other than that, it's easy and good for you knowing that you actually did it

 

Big time tip: Tackle the b-pipe->cat connection first. If you can't get those off, then you can't get the rest off

 

DIY for the experience. Its basically remove and install, nothing outrageous.

 

It all kind of depends how lazy I am tomorrow. I don't have a jack or jack stands that I would need to do the job myself... How would those ramps you drive up on work for something like this? Driving seems to be a lot easier than jacking