alright, no biggy. A guy can always wish lol

 

Did the 02 housing and exhaust this weekend...what a pain....and I would like to think I know what I am doing...been working on cars 20years, have about every tool and know how to use them......nothing stuck---did strip a bolt removing it and that was Hell, since is stripped and stuck....one more thing---any one have solution other then splicing 02 wires to lenghten the sensors wires to the o2 housing...these a stretched kind of tight---looking for a pug in or wire extention...

 

i found that it was easier to just pull the radiator and turbo out of the car period, it only took about three hours to do and you dont have to pull the manifold in order to do it. by pulling the tubo and the radiator it gives plenty of clearance and you to take the risk of damaging your radiator at all.


o2 housing, downpipe, cat delete, catback, 660cc injectors, 255 fuel pump, intake, mbc, tuned by xs engineering, 330whp 300wtq on cali 91 octane.

 

This install was a PITA....when i was alsmost done and was putting the exhaust manifold back on, I accidently dropped a bolt inside the turbo .....and well i had to undo every again pull the turbo apart to get the freaking bolt....

 

just did this project, not bad at all.....worst part was breaking some of the bolts and nuts free. WD40 helped out quite a bit though. One of the biggest parts is getting the manifold out...quite the chore, a had a super hard time getting the lower exhaust cover bolts off. two of the three broke on me! Busted up some knuckles trying to get those damn things off!! Other than that, followed the illustrations and process..

 

I have got a PPI coated and ported Mani going in with my KOYO rad.

so i will pull the whole lot out and do the O2 housiing with it out the car.

 

I'm in the middle of this install.
Megan racing manifold and o2 housing going in.
The bolts came off mostly easy.
had to pull the rad, turbo inlet pipe and intercooler piping. (koyo rad is too huge to work with it in.)

But, anyone have trouble with the one o2 housing bolt, it's on the underside, where the pipes start to bend down, just a nut on a stud. Have to get in their with a 14mm wrench?

I cannot get this bolt off for the life of me. I've used enough PB blaster that i should be sponsored by them now.

 

Glad someone bumped this up, good info! (posting to find this thread later)

 

yeah the only way is to use a open end wrench, it is a PITA to work around it. other thing is you will most likely have to cut the stud to a shorter length when if you are installing a aftermarket o2 housing. PM with any questions I have done this stupid thing twice now. Lol.

 

When i did my 02 housing i seperated the hotside from the turbo and it's much easier to remove the o2 housing.

 

you wont need to cut the stud. just make sure when you are reinstalling the aftermarket one that you install the most difficult stud first. As you get the 02 housing on halfway, there is enought stud sticking out to start threading the nut. As you thread it on more and more with the open wrench in small turns or with a crow foot wrench, t will tighten up and then you can move on to the others. No cutting needed no matter which way you choose to attack the 02 housing

 

I just installed my ebay 02 housing and thought i'd make a few comments from my experience also. The only problem i really had was taking the 02 sensor out of the 02 housing. It's almost a MUST to get a torch and heat it up to break it loose, not to mention soaking everything in pb blaster/ kroil oil. I just undid the manifold, took it out, and unclamped the hotside and took out the hotside with the 02 housing. I also did cover up the radiator with a small piece of cardboard, which really helped. I also had trouble separting the hotside from the turbo, it was just stuck there even though everything was unbolted. I had to get a sharp knife and "tap" it between the hotside and turbo, and then it finally popped off and seperated. Overall though, i think it was worth it. Hope this helps someone!

** i also forgot to say that after everything was done, i drove home from my dads garage. After about 2-3 miles my SES light came on. I was dissappointed at first but then got to thinking and i installed everything flawlessly. So i figured maybe some PB blaster/wd-40 was messing with the 02 sensor. I disconnected the negative terminal when i got home for a few minutes and connected it back. The SES light went off and hasn't been back since.

 

some 02 sensors are real stubborn. a torch is definitely a good thing to have. good job on the install, enjoy

 

finally got the o2 housing off.
The o2 sensor was making me sooo mad. Took it to my friends house, it's amazing what a torch, little monkey wrench and 3 feet of pipe can crack loose, haha. Whoever invented leverage is my friend.

So i realized after it was all back in, what about that L bracket that held the stock housing to the frame or, whatever it was bolted to. Will just the manifold be cool to support all that?

 

It should be fine, because you still have the manifold, oil lines, and dp hangers holding everything in place. My aftermarket 02 housing didn't even come with a flange to bolt that bracket back to the frame, and i think most of them dont. Just look at it as another weight reduction!