I just finished putting back on my Stock 02 Downpipe.... Since everything was removed I would say it takes less than an hour. I expect when I throw on the AMS pipe, it will only take 2 hours and that includes everything start to finish.

 

This past Sunday me and my buddy installed my UR O2 DP. We started taking evrything off at 10:30am and were fully finished at 4pm. You gotta have all the proper tools with veriety of extantions and swivels to get the job done. We smoked hookah and drank beers during breaks. If hookah and beer wasn't present then I don't see it taking more then 4 hours tops. Thats actually what the service manual says for replacement the O2 housing.

 

Hows the BOV sound? Any different with the free flowing TBE?

 

is it a must to take off the turbo/manifold??

 

No, You do not need to remove the turbo/Manifold.

 

great write up! I'm working on removing my o2 housing and getting the DP installed and then i'll install the rest of the exhaust after Christmas. I'm spraying all of my bolts down really well with PB blaster though... hopefully that will help the job to be at least a little bit easier.

 

maybe i missed it but can someone post some pics of some of the variety of tools needed that may not be in your standard tool set. I have a 302 pc Craftsman set but i know i will need some additional tools for this job. Thanks in advance

 

nice write up

 

+1

 

I'd recommend two sets of ratcheting open-end wrenches (one like those pictured in the first post, that rotates 90 degrees) and a straight set. I've found those to make my life so much easier on other jobs that it's well worth what they cost.

You'll likely need a breaker bar (pipe that fits over one of your 3/8ths ratchets). We used it from the top side on a couple of the turbo-side bolts.

The bottom heat shield bolts that have to be hit from under the car are the worst. We ended up wrapping a nylon strap around an open-end wrench and using our legs against the underside of the car to leverage them off...there is no clearance from the underside to use a breaker bar and you'll probably find those two the most difficult.

You'll want at least a couple 14mm sockets on hand since breaker bars have a habit of snapping them. heh.

 

im curious as well.it seems most mods are a pain to install.

 

thanks man, i will def pick those things up before i tackle this monstrous task

 

My two favorite tools for the job were in the 14mm sockets. One, a regular SHORT socket 3/8" dirve. Two, a swivel/u-joint combo with 1/2" drive. I used the latter with about 2ft of 1/2" extensions to get even the O2 housing/DP bolts undone from the stock two-piece arrangement. If you can also get a regular 1/2" u-joint, that was useful also, seems a bit o'kill, but was handy. Everything else I needed would be found in a reg 302-piece Craftsman toolset.

 

AMS Downpipe:

Since I was already running a test pipe and catback exhaust, I didn't notice any difference in the tone of my exhaust. It's already pretty deep. I did notice though that I can hear the whine of the turbo better. Not a night and day differrence, but there was aubible higher pitch that was noticable. It seems to resinate through the downpipe. My top end increased by atleast 10 mph but she was still pulling when I let off. I'm guessing I could've gotten another 5-10 mph. Turbo seems to spool up faster. I'm very happy with the Downpipe. The instructions here helped a ton. AMS was also helpfull for on the spot questions and tech support.

 

Net, with this mod alone, I saw increased usable torque at the track, noticable to even other drivers trying to keep up with me. The spool up begins at a lower RPM, and you already notice it hangs in there longer too. Not bad, an increased RPM range for large amounts of torque.