Flexi downpipe - to fit or not to fit (well, get someone to)

[Corranga]

My exhaust has a hole in it, my mechanic says its the downpipe.

I have a new SS one from eliseparts, plus fitting kit which seems to be a couple of gaskets and some bolts.

I have also bought an undertray fitting kit incase thing break, and some C clips (they hold the undertray on right?!)

How difficult is the job? I'd be doing it in a driveway, with the possibility of using a trolley jack, axle stand or wedge ramps to get the car up a bit.

Do I need anything else? (special/odd tools that people don't tend to have or some sealant kinda thing or anything else?)

The car is booked in with my mechanic for 8th January, should I just wait until then and keep it parked up over Christmas?

Chris

[Rich H]

Plasters and fiberglass proof eyes...

The bolts on the manifold/flexi joint are a pain to get to. A good set of extension bars is needed as well as a large can of WD40 or equiv. The nuts will be very hard to shift. there is a chance the studs will break off or unscrew. The cat joint will also be a pain if its not been apart before.

Not a technically demanding job, but time consuming. I would go with the ramps (And chocks!)

[ABZ-Elise]

I put my de-cat pipe on myself a few weeks ago. All the bolts were seized solid and luckly for me they all snapped which made it alot easier.

I used a set of cheapo ramps to get the car high enough. WD40 never made any differance in getting the bolts loose but I bought new bolt anyway. Downpipe should be easy enough if you have a bit of mechanical skills and a decent tool kit.

My downpipe is burst to...so let me know how it goes if you do decide to do it

[robin]

You need a good assortment of 1/2" and 3/8" drive 15mm deep six-sided sockets, extensions and wobble bars.

To minimise the damage to the delicate heatshield, take your time undoing the 10mm bolts that hold the heatshield to the bulkhead - spray them with some penetrating fluid a couple of times over the preceding days - there are two at the top and two horrid ones that hold the shield to the cross rail at the bottom (in fact these are angle brackets with one vertical bolt+locknut and one horizontal bolt+locknut - undo whichever is easier but make sure you take the torque on the nut with a tool rather than just twisting the bolt - it will tear the heatshield if you do).

In early cars (up-and-over coolant pipe) expect to have to remove the top coolant rail in order to gain reasonable access to the 10mm bolts that hold the heatshield on. Probably possible to do without the coolant rail removed, but it's going to be a lot easier with it off - downside is you'll lose some coolant and will need to bleed the system afterwards (no biggie - in fact you could flush the coolant and refill with some new stuff at the same time).

To actually remove the shield, undo the lower engine mount at the subframe end (19mm fcuk off bolt) - this allows you to swing the engine back and forth a bit and hopefully will allow you to wiggle the shield out of the top without destroying it.

Next, attack the 15mm nuts that hold the downpipe to the manifold; chances are one or more of these will shear (feck) or undo the stud (not so bad). Again, liberal application of penetrating oil over the preceding days will make this easier - in fact spray it on both the nut and the back of the stud - that way if the stud shifts it won't drag rust into the thread and then lock and shear.

One of the four is really hard to get a good angle of attack on, hence the need for various deep six-sided sockets - it's easier with a 3/8 than a 1/2 drive because there isn't room for the 1/2 drive.

If you shear a stud you'll need to remove the manifold (feck) and drill out the old stud, then feed a length of threaded rod through and put a K-nut on the back to hold it while you tighten the other side from below - the exhaust uses K-nuts - you'll have some spare from taking the other end apart assuming you'll use Geary's new nuts & bolts - failing that I have a bag full of the right parts here.

Of course if you take it somewhere where they do these all day long, they'll do it in an hour or so no bother - it's all about experience and having the right tools.

Cheers,
Robin

[Rich H]

What he said! I don't rememeber taking the heatshield off or undoing the enigne mount. Probably would make things easier! My car has a top coolant rail so access to the bottom nuts was a bit easier

Don't for get the plasters and tea. I promise both will be needed!