Installing a CP-E Downpipe...any advice? Tools Needed??

[dkswim]

3-3.5 hours remove the TMIC gives you room up top if you need more did your DP come with instructions? yes you need to remove the lateral braces to pull out second cat first and then you have room to drop the Dp out the bottom. youll need othe size wrenches its just there sizes you normaly get in a basic tool kit. i did mine after i let it sit for an hour so it was still warm during that time i loosend ub some of the difficult bolts.


p.s. if you run into and problems or have any Q while performing PM me or call me.

 

[meha11]

i'm only 160lbs and managed to do it laying on my back on the driveway on my own, it is easier than people think. PB blaster is key.

When you remove the nuts from the turbo, the studs will most likly come out too, if so label each one to make sure you put them back in the same place. Buy some neverseize/antiseize too like someone else mentioned.

Would recommend getting some of that aluminum tape to patch up the soft heat shields after your finished.

 

[knowledge007]

What do you mean patch up. I didn't have to patch anything. As a matter of fact I was only able to be put but a few heat sheilds back???

 

[SPEED305]

A good tip to make the O2 sensor removal easy is to go beat the snot out of the car first and get her nice and hot.

(protest)
you got to be kidding, right? i mean, how can you tell someone to go work on the exhaust side of a turbo car right after dawging it out!

 

[meha11]

What do you mean patch up. I didn't have to patch anything. As a matter of fact I was only able to be put but a few heat sheilds back???

I scratched mine up a little and meant to buy some tape to make repairs but never got round to it. If i was to do it again i would have the tape ready when i did the install.

Example- where the 2 brackets are just by the cat or at the first O2.

 

[knowledge007]

(protest)
you got to be kidding, right? i mean, how can you tell someone to go work on the exhaust side of a turbo car right after dawging it out!

Whats ****** up is that he states that he works for Protege Garage. Wouldn't want someone like that working for me considering he would only be a safety hazard.

 

[knowledge007]

I scratched mine up a little and meant to buy some tape to make repairs but never got round to it. If i was to do it again i would have the tape ready when i did the install.

Example- where the 2 brackets are just by the cat or at the first O2.

Oh, I thought you meant the actual metal heat sheilds. I see now.

 

[AutoXRacer]

I know how hot FI exhausts get... I was talking about warm to the touch, not HOT to make your skin stick to the exhaust, then leaving skin to burn on the hot metal (been there, done that in my early years). (lol2)

Where do you buy aluminum tape from; never seen it in stores...(huh)

I was figuring with an extra long wrench/ratchet-n-socket that clearance would not be an issue... But I'll see tonight/tomorrow as I get into it.

Thanks for all the advice, I surely appreciate it!!!

 

[Fritch]

you can get the aluminum tape from most home improvement stores near the ducting sections. Also most auto parts stores will stock it as well.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Just found my DP at my front door...opened the box and was expecting to find a turbo to DP gasket like the service manual says the stock configuration has...

Do you reuse the factory gasket? I though gaskets were supposed to be changed anytime you removed parts...???

 

[Sierra117]

Hmmm, interesting. Might need to contact CP-e about that. Think you could get a picture up, like against a wall or on a bed or something for scale? I'm thinking about buying this one, and there is a local place that caries them, but I want to see if it is something I could pick up on my lunch break and stick it in the back of the car, or if it is something really oversized?

 

[redrocketz]

(protest)
you got to be kidding, right? i mean, how can you tell someone to go work on the exhaust side of a turbo car right after dawging it out!

I'm dead serious I have installed a few of these now in order to get the sensor out easily and safely you get her nice and hot and the sensor comes right out with ease. you guys are wimps. after you pull the O2 you let it cool down for a bit then proceed. If PB gets in the sensor it can damage it and then you are out some big money because the dealer wont warranty it if they have seen it was removed and reinstalled in a different DP. We have stripped a few of these damn things out before because mazda likes to install them wrong on some cars. Just my opinion Which was told to me from others and worked great.

 

[redrocketz]

Whats ****** up is that he states that he works for Protege Garage. Wouldn't want someone like that working for me considering he would only be a safety hazard.

I don't only state it but I do and it works great I've been doing this long enough to know what I'm doing. Heat is a pain but you get used to it working at a shop where people bring the car in and you have to work on it right away because they are waiting for it. But what do I know. And I know how to be smart about what I am doing. You have to balance time and safety with efficiency you cant always be sitting there for 8 hours before you get started just because a small burn is an inconvenience.

 

[palerider]

Would Chuck Norris wait for the car to cool down?

 

[Sierra117]

Would Chuck Norris wait for the car to cool down?

Chuck Norris would look at the box, look at the car, and then say "Downpipe, get in there." And it would happen.

 

[palerider]

Chuck Norris would look at the box, look at the car, and then say "Downpipe, get in there." And it would happen.

I was thinking more along the lines of him installing it by force through the console while driving in 4th at the rev limiter.

 

[iBoost]

Chuck Norris would just drop kick that dp in there and get it over with. lol is there a how-to for this? need more pics please.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Hmmm, interesting. Might need to contact CP-e about that. Think you could get a picture up, like against a wall or on a bed or something for scale? I'm thinking about buying this one, and there is a local place that caries them, but I want to see if it is something I could pick up on my lunch break and stick it in the back of the car, or if it is something really oversized?

When I took it out of the box I was surprised to see how small it was.
It will fit in the back of a Miata trunk to give you an idea.

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

I was thinking more along the lines of him installing it by force through the console while driving in 4th at the rev limiter.

His stuff is so bad, you have to love it.
My favorite Norris scene is from the first episode (I think) of "Walker, Texas Ranger". He chases, I think it was three bad guys, across the border into Mexico, clearly not his jurisdiction. He catches them in a small roadside cantina. He beats them all unconscious, and the last guy, just before the final blow, is yelling at him.
Bad guy: "You got no right! You got no right!"
Walker knocks him cold with a right cross.
Walker, looking down at unconscious bad guy: "Really? I thought that was a pretty good right."

 

[winniep]

I am about to order the Corksport TBE and aside from cutting the exhaust off of the car (not about to drop the rear suspension), I'm going to have to drop the crossmember for the downpipe, aren't I? I was hoping this wasn't going to be the case, but after looking at the underside of the car in preparation, I don't see any other way. Appears that this install is going to be more "involved" than origionally anticipated. Also, I am getting an additional bung welded on for a wideband, where would be the best place for the bung?