Nobody's thread states anything about how to get the one nut on the downpipe. It's not as simple as just getting a socket or swivel socket. There has to be a trick to this.

 

What have you tried so far i didnt seem to have any problems taking it off or putting it back on and ive done it a couple of times. Which of the two bolts cant you get off?

 

I'm interested in hearing if there are any tricks as well. For when I change mine out in the future. Doing the front exhaust pipe next weekend. One bolt is clean and clear. The other seems to be somewhat obstructed by the drive shaft. Was thinking about trying to tackle it from the top. Been spraying it with PB blaster last couple days to be on the safe side. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I used a swivel head socket. Hosed them all down with good old PB as well.

 

Pull the passenger wheel off as well as all the plastic underbody shields on that side and the axle heat shield. I use a series of extensions with a u-joint placed between them, and a swivel socket. This will help you get under the unibody and back up towards the turbo where the top bolts are.

 

When i swapped my downpipe, i took off the extension part (the two springed screws) first. That will give you enough room to get to the nut from where the downpipe exits.

 

Need a ratchet 14 mil thats it , dont forget that the nut goes backwards , that means if u took the other ones towards you , this one is the other way , i litterally fought with with like an hour until i realize this little detail lmao

 

Took off a wheel, two extensions, and a swivel head... Honestly I ended up paying someone to do it. Too much of a pain in the *** -_-

 

Time and patience is all that will save you here.

 

Sorry, just to be clear, are you saying that these are reverse thread? Didn't expect that.

 

I can't decide whether to delete this gem of a post or make fun of it.

 

It's not reverse thread, just the nut is on the opposite face from the bolts. Put short, you should be pulling your wrench towards the top of the engine to remove.

 

The bolt goes the opposite way for clearance issues. Standard right hand thread.

 

Ok, The first time I read through this thread I was a little confused. Now it is starting to become much clearer.
Here is where the confusion comes in. I think it might be possible that we are all talking about 2 different parts. Based on the diagram labels on a website (www.evoxservicemanual.co.uk/) the down pipe is just that. The pipe that runs down from the turbo and connects to the cat on the other end. There are two spring bolts on each end holding it in place and it has one bung for the forward O2 sensor. The O2 housing is the part that connects the down pipe to the turbo. It's short, wide mouth and has 6 bolts (I think) facing towards the passenger side of the car.

When you purchase (what some of the vendors call) an upgraded down pipe. Some of them come with the O2 housing already attached to the end. It's sold as 1 unit but could be called 2 different pieces.

I was looking for any tricks to getting to the drivers side spring bolt on the down pipe since it's obstructed by the drive shaft.

 

Does anyone have any tips or photos for removing the two spring bolts from the bottom of the front downpipe ?

Tried to get to these from the engine bay but the angle is too extreme to get a decent hold on the bolt. (the other side spring bolt seems best to tackle from below due to the heat shields in the way.