My first Show'n'Shine (and DIY exp.) thread
Evolving Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Texas
You could go to a local auto parts store and buy some PBlaster. Do you have a jack? or any pipe laying around? You could get that around the crescent wrench to use as a breaker bar, or you could go to the local auto parts store and pick up a cheap socket set. Car looks nice btw!!
Thread Starter
Evolving Member
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 104
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From: Charlotte, NC
btw, this isn't a DIY thread, it's my personal first DIY project other than changing my oil
The Black plastic clips that came with the bumper, of 5 total I used 5:
- One pop-in plastic cap under each tail light next to the metal screw (2 total)
- One pop-in plastic cap underneath the bumper just above the tow hook
- Two screw-in plastic caps for the tow hook cover
Itching for that titanium exhaust =(
- One pop-in plastic cap under each tail light next to the metal screw (2 total)
- One pop-in plastic cap underneath the bumper just above the tow hook
- Two screw-in plastic caps for the tow hook cover
Itching for that titanium exhaust =(
Last edited by funkmaztafox; May 17, 2008 at 10:21 PM.
Air rachets were invented by God... if you have no access to such miracle inventions hit the bolt with some heavy repeat doses of PBlaster or WD40, then take an appropriate sized rachet or open end and put a nice long piece of pipe ( I have a big piece of copper tubing) on it and go to town. With that extra length it should be doable, and if you are really desperate dont be afraid to tap the rachet or rench with a hammer... emphasis on tapping! Don't break anything! Good luck and the bumper looks quite nice!
Evolving Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Texas
You could go to a local auto parts store and buy some PBlaster. Do you have a jack? or any pipe laying around? You could get that around the crescent wrench to use as a breaker bar, or you could go to the local auto parts store and pick up a cheap socket set. Car looks nice btw!!
Air rachets were invented by God... if you have no access to such miracle inventions hit the bolt with some heavy repeat doses of PBlaster or WD40, then take an appropriate sized rachet or open end and put a nice long piece of pipe ( I have a big piece of copper tubing) on it and go to town. With that extra length it should be doable, and if you are really desperate dont be afraid to tap the rachet or rench with a hammer... emphasis on tapping! Don't break anything! Good luck and the bumper looks quite nice!
Evolved Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
From: SoCal
I remember taking the exhaust off...I couldn't get it off with my little scrawny arms, so I put the wrench on it and kicked it. That loosened the sucker. I had just ran out of PB Blaster and didn't feel like driving for two bolts.
also, you have a PM coming your way.
also, you have a PM coming your way.
Thread Starter
Evolving Member
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
Finally a week later....
This exhaust install was a chore.
I was debating sending it to a shop because they probably could have done it much faster and known the fixes to small problems we had but it was a fun friday project.
Plus my buddy has a crapton of tools which I'm really glad I went there to do it.
The bolts which connect the cat to the mid-pipe are hella lame. Fully-threaded studs with a nut on the exhaust side.
Tried to bust them loose last week with a wrench, no dice. Sprayed the **** out of them with PB Blaster and WD-40 a few days this week, and again yesterday.
Tried to kick it yesterday with a a wrench and a buddy's help, still no dice. We even hooked up his 'junior' air gun to his compressor, even THAT wouldn't work.
We had to hook up the big sucker air gun to the compressor to bust those bolts loose =\
In order to get the airgun on the driver-side nut we had to remove the muffler and push the muffler-end of the mid-pipe towards the passender side of the car, away from the driveshaft.
There was a heatshield or something from the driveshaft preventing us from doing such.
As a matter of fact in the above picture, you can see he's trying to get the gun on it without moving the heatshield but it wouldn't work.
We decided to remove the stock muffler which would give us a little room to shift the midpipe over, exposing the driver-side nut.
Old Muffler off, next to Trust muffler:
Once we got the old muffler off, as I mentioned, we pushed the midpiped away from the driveshaft to allow easier access to the nut. Then the second nut came lose, as well as the old exhaust alltogether
Stock Evo IX exhaust vs. Trust Power Extreme Ti-R
What was left at the cat-to-midpipe connection: (what I didn't mention before was that there was a small bracket welded to the midpipe (Evo IX) to hold the o2 sensor.
This was NOT the bung, but it was to hold cables (off the exhaust?) for the bung.
I didn't reinstall this clip to my trust midpipe for obvious reasons since there was none, so I just kinda left them tucked away, although I'll probably get underneath and zip-tie just to be safe.)
As you see, there was also a clip for the o2 wires that went inbetween the nut and the flange of the midpipe. It did not go inbetween the midpipe and the cat, we just left it in this orientation with the stock exhaust off.
This little piece posed a problem for reinstallation because the flanges of the trust exhaust are slightly larger than the stock exhaust. So we couldn't get that little piece around both bolts.
We made the connection at the passenger-side bolt and just let the flange of that bracket sit in between the nut and the trust midpipe (no photo).
The muffler was slightly too close to the driver-side of the JDM bumper exhaust hole, but I pushed over the rubber hangers a little bit to keep from melting the bumper.
Fitup along the midpipe was absolutely perfect though. Fit quite nicely next to the driveshaft with no potential for rubbing.
Everything on and bolted up, I cranked her up, silencer still on. I could definately feel a difference but I wanted more.
Now I was challenged with the task of removing the silencer.
I found the perfect solution, it's painless, and cost 19 cents.
Go to home depot:
Buy a long (at least 2ft.) $30 Irwin clamp Bar/Spreader or equiv. (Make sure it has a hole in the end!!)
KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!!KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!! KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!!
Go to the hardware section and get a 5/16" dia., 1" long bolt from the little boxes of individuals ($0.09)
(Note: 5/16 is what happened to fit in the hole of the Irwin bar hole, different brands may have different size, but checking the low prices of the nuts and bolts, it wouldn't hurt to buy a few spares.
Also, do NOT get anything larger than a 1.25" long bolt, it WILL NOT fit)
Get a 5/16 hex nut. ($0.10)
Leave the store and put the bolt in the hole at the end of the clamp (see pic):
Voila!
Final Product
Special Thanks to:
My buddy Josh for using all his tools haha
Calvin and the entire SpeedElement crew (I think I called up there 7 times in the last two weeks about this exhaust, and they were not hesitant to answer ANY question I had.
(btw Calvin you were right I lateron found what the extra flanged nut in the packaging was for )
SpeedElement FTW, EXCELLENT business, and above-and-beyond customer service. It's tough having an imported exhaust because it makes online tutorials non-existent.
I think I may do a HOW-TO after this. But for now I think I'll enjoy waking up the dead with my new TRUST Power Extreme Ti-R exhaust!
This exhaust install was a chore.
I was debating sending it to a shop because they probably could have done it much faster and known the fixes to small problems we had but it was a fun friday project.
Plus my buddy has a crapton of tools which I'm really glad I went there to do it.
The bolts which connect the cat to the mid-pipe are hella lame. Fully-threaded studs with a nut on the exhaust side.
Tried to bust them loose last week with a wrench, no dice. Sprayed the **** out of them with PB Blaster and WD-40 a few days this week, and again yesterday.
Tried to kick it yesterday with a a wrench and a buddy's help, still no dice. We even hooked up his 'junior' air gun to his compressor, even THAT wouldn't work.
We had to hook up the big sucker air gun to the compressor to bust those bolts loose =\
In order to get the airgun on the driver-side nut we had to remove the muffler and push the muffler-end of the mid-pipe towards the passender side of the car, away from the driveshaft.
There was a heatshield or something from the driveshaft preventing us from doing such.
As a matter of fact in the above picture, you can see he's trying to get the gun on it without moving the heatshield but it wouldn't work.
We decided to remove the stock muffler which would give us a little room to shift the midpipe over, exposing the driver-side nut.
Old Muffler off, next to Trust muffler:
Once we got the old muffler off, as I mentioned, we pushed the midpiped away from the driveshaft to allow easier access to the nut. Then the second nut came lose, as well as the old exhaust alltogether
Stock Evo IX exhaust vs. Trust Power Extreme Ti-R
What was left at the cat-to-midpipe connection: (what I didn't mention before was that there was a small bracket welded to the midpipe (Evo IX) to hold the o2 sensor.
This was NOT the bung, but it was to hold cables (off the exhaust?) for the bung.
I didn't reinstall this clip to my trust midpipe for obvious reasons since there was none, so I just kinda left them tucked away, although I'll probably get underneath and zip-tie just to be safe.)
As you see, there was also a clip for the o2 wires that went inbetween the nut and the flange of the midpipe. It did not go inbetween the midpipe and the cat, we just left it in this orientation with the stock exhaust off.
This little piece posed a problem for reinstallation because the flanges of the trust exhaust are slightly larger than the stock exhaust. So we couldn't get that little piece around both bolts.
We made the connection at the passenger-side bolt and just let the flange of that bracket sit in between the nut and the trust midpipe (no photo).
The muffler was slightly too close to the driver-side of the JDM bumper exhaust hole, but I pushed over the rubber hangers a little bit to keep from melting the bumper.
Fitup along the midpipe was absolutely perfect though. Fit quite nicely next to the driveshaft with no potential for rubbing.
Everything on and bolted up, I cranked her up, silencer still on. I could definately feel a difference but I wanted more.
Now I was challenged with the task of removing the silencer.
I found the perfect solution, it's painless, and cost 19 cents.
Go to home depot:
Buy a long (at least 2ft.) $30 Irwin clamp Bar/Spreader or equiv. (Make sure it has a hole in the end!!)
KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!!KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!! KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! THE CLAMP IS RETURNABLE!!
Go to the hardware section and get a 5/16" dia., 1" long bolt from the little boxes of individuals ($0.09)
(Note: 5/16 is what happened to fit in the hole of the Irwin bar hole, different brands may have different size, but checking the low prices of the nuts and bolts, it wouldn't hurt to buy a few spares.
Also, do NOT get anything larger than a 1.25" long bolt, it WILL NOT fit)
Get a 5/16 hex nut. ($0.10)
Leave the store and put the bolt in the hole at the end of the clamp (see pic):
Voila!
Final Product
Special Thanks to:
My buddy Josh for using all his tools haha
Calvin and the entire SpeedElement crew (I think I called up there 7 times in the last two weeks about this exhaust, and they were not hesitant to answer ANY question I had.
(btw Calvin you were right I lateron found what the extra flanged nut in the packaging was for
)SpeedElement FTW, EXCELLENT business, and above-and-beyond customer service. It's tough having an imported exhaust because it makes online tutorials non-existent.
I think I may do a HOW-TO after this. But for now I think I'll enjoy waking up the dead with my new TRUST Power Extreme Ti-R exhaust!
Last edited by funkmaztafox; May 24, 2008 at 05:28 AM.