I'm sure it could work. let me know u can stop bye and test fit it if u want, I have a 4 inch filter for fitment

 

Hey guys, I just started finally installing my TBE. I'm having trouble with the 02 sensor on the cat. I went out and bought a 22mm wrench to get it off. Am I on the right track with that? I'm getting up early tomorrow to finish the install...any advice would be great.

Oh, and what the hell is with the bolts? They look they have been sitting on the Titanic for the past hundred years. I bought propane to heat 'em up and I PB blasted them already to no avail. Its gonna be fun tomorrow, it better be worth it.

 

did you get a specialized o2 socket? or just a normal wrench. i would reccomend the o2 socket because you can put it on your ratchet and use a large breaker bar to get the leverage you need to loosen it.

 

Yes a breaker bar is a must if you plan on getting those bolts off. Or and impact gun, That will make your life alot easier. Good luck, exhuast stuff sucks to work on.

 

I didn't even know there was a specialized 02 socket. I bought a normal wrench. The only small breaker bar I have is a small metal pipe that only fits over the 1/4in ratchet...not a 1/2in drive. So, any ideas where I could get a larger breaker bar that would fit over a 1/2 in. ratchet?
I don't have an impact. Its gonna be all muscle... . I'm gonna try to heat up the bolts with propane, hopefully that, my strength, my hammer, my will-power, and incessant screaming of profanity will get the bolts off.

 

If you have a floor jack try using the handle as a breaker bar! If not just looks for any sorta pipe laying around. Or you can even go to a hardware store and buy some pvc pipe, or black steel pipe for gas lines. I've used that before and it has worked. The problem you will encounter is that there is no easy way to use the breaker unless the car is up real high. Plus the top bolt on the cat is kinda at a weird angle. Dosn't make it easy.

 

Air tools are a must , remove the entire exhaust in one piece....Unplug o2 first...heat pipe at cat to remove o2. Threads will be destroyed if you dont...o2 housing remove from turbo.....working on a bench is so much easier.. Half the bolts will either break or strip out......make sure after install you route the front o2 sensor wire up near the back of the power steering pump.....Does the motor feel different with the T/belt on correct???????????????? Oh yea and a box of band aids.................................

 

i went out to home depot with my 1/2in drive and sized up about a 3.5 foot breaker bar. then i took the downpipe off the cat, and wedged the whole assembly between my floor and railing on my basement steps. soak with pb blaster, and leaned nice an hard on that break bar with the o2 socket on the end. i would really reccomend getting that socket. it costs about 5 to 7 dollars at pep boys. you may only use it once, but it's 5 to 7 dollars that will make your life about a million times easier.

the o2 sensor did strip itself on the way out. luckily my friend was able to touch up the threads with a dremel tool. i made sure to put plenty of anti seize on it when we put it back in, in case it ever needs to come out again.

 

O2 sensors are notorious for getting stuck.

What I did was every day for several days before taking it out I soaked it in PB blaster.

It came out without major issue.

 

EXHAUST IS ON! Haha...what a bi*ch! I didn't heat up anything, just used grunt. Hell, I didn't even PB blast the front two cat bolts, however the top-rear cat bolt rounded, so I just took it off in one piece. Evey Tru-Value hardware in Bethel Park is a life-saver. They gave me scrap pipe and cut it so I could get a breaker bar over the 1/2 inch wrench. I got the 02 socket loose via the 22mm wrench I bought and lots of pounding with good 'ol Thor - my giant bolt-breaking hammer. The gasket that came with the downpipe was retarded (ebay, figures) as it only had an ID of 2 inches which had no way in hell of mating up to the 21/2 in. 02 housing. Luckily, I had already bought a Mitsu OEM donut gasket which seemed to work (no leaks), even though it didnt sit as well in the slightly different sloped gasket/flange housing.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the exhaust. I had to beat the living crap out of the downpipe with a hammer so that it would not rub on the ACD (currently clears by about 1mm). Still can't believe how solid it was...it took ALOT of really hard pounding just to make some very, very small dents. Pretty impressive for Ebay. The cat-back sits a little lower on the car than I'd like, but the sound is decent. I just need to get used to how much louder it is. Tends to resonate a little in the cabin at WOT. The power is noticeable, can't wait to get this thing tuned after I get some more stuff on.


I didnt know where to route the 02 wire, so I just kind of folded it over a few times and used those malleable metal clips on the underside of the car to hold it in place...is that bad? I used a CEL fix for the 02 sensor, it worked. One thing I am concerned about though is that I did not have a correct bolt through one of the hangars. Specifically, the passenger side downpipe hanger. It looked like it was different from OEM and it would not fit through the thread pitch on the Ebay exhaust...the bolts the exhaust came with were not long enough to make it all the way through the hanger...so one side is basically sitting there on the hangar rather tha being screwed down - definitely a concern. Mike, if there is a way you could help me put an OEM bolt through that hanger, it would be a big help. Thanks.

Oh, and the timing belt fixed...WOW, what a difference! It feels like a totally new car, I love it. Thanks again .

 

Awesome that you got it on, and hope it sounds great... Not sure if this may be a concern, but if it is that close to the ACD, then you might want to consider getting a different one, or one with flex pipe built in it. Remember, when the engine is under load, it may be rubbing very hard under acceleration and be causing large amounts of damage over a period of time. Or i could be wrong. Enjoy the new loud evo!

 

hey Dan, I ended up getting my filters in on Friday so I'm putting the filter conversion on the backburner for now.

You think the O2 sensor in the midpipe is bad??? Wait till you get to the one in the O2 housing. All of your troubles is the exact reason why the test pipe is staying on my car.

I got an official estimate from Mr. Shepherd for my tranny build. I actually end up saving a lot of cash having him do all the work. As long as the gears are good and the Tcase is still good I'm looking at about $1,600. Not too bad.

 

now i see all of the fun i will have since my downpipe and test pipe will be in this thursday...hopefully changing them out will go smooth...

 

as long as your are prepared and have the right tools, it's more tedious than anything else.

you should be fine.



just remember: Mechanical Advantage FTW!

 

Dave the front pipe is hitting the acd because its most likley the wrong one...There is a difference in the evo 9 front pipe and the evo 8... Basically its a little step out where the acd comes down futher in the 9.....The acd is heat sensitive if its too close to the exhaust it could damage the clutches, in the acd...If you need me to put a bolt in the hanger let me know.....