bwhyit

I've got a 98 4runner 4WD V6. Recently I've developed an exhaust leak and I need to remove the cross pipe. I done quite a bit of searching and all I've seen is that it is very difficult "Royal PITA" to remove the pipe. Unfortunately this is all that I have found.

Can anyone that has removed this pipe in the past share their tips tricks on what they did to get it out?

I'm going to dive into this tomorrow and I need all the help I can get.

Thanks.

VSU_4runnin

which part of the exhaust?
may i sugguest just cutting it out? skill saw?

bwhyit

I need to remove the cross pipe. I can't cut it out since I have to put it back in when I'm done.

j-man

hmm, spray every bolt down with some pb blaster, or whatever you have to penetrate the bolts/nutz. Let it sit for a while, and start wrenching. Its gonna be tough, you're gonna swear at it a few times which can help, but your gonna need to be creative with some sockets and extensions to get it done. I ended up haveing to sawzall mine off. good luck

bwhyit

OK, so I've got all the bolts out but it's gonna be a tight squeeze to get it out of the truck. I'm gonna disconnect the trans mount and lift the transfer case to get me a little more room. Any other advise would be greatly appreciated (what other parts to remove, direction to remove pipe, etc).

Thanks.

bwhyit

Bump.

Someone out there has to have done this before???

camo31_10.50

lol..i feel your pain buddy..i tried to remove one on a Tacoma..and we just gave up and tightened up all the bolts again..LMFAO..

im gonna do the same thing on my 3vz(take out the crossover) but im going to do while the motor is out of truck..should be prettyy darn easy then..HAHAHA

rimpainter.com

The trick is to lower the tranny / change the angle so you can get it past the firewall and the bellhousing.

Beto

Did this on a Tacoma - sort of. As Rimpainter said - you have to drop the tranny and transfer down a bit to change the angle. Other than that, you need to cut it out - I was putting headers on so I chose the cutting approach eventually.

okie81

x2...and the bolts, which you've already got out

rimpainter.com

I'm curious how many crossover pipes have been thrown (safely of course) down the street out of frustration after removal, lol.

nuke1105

took me 8 hours to remove, replace all gaskets and reinstall TRD headers. Just wanted to give my 2 cents.

j-man

i cut mine up in 20 pieces so it could never inflict pain and frustration to anyone else....

Beto

Took me 2 days to remove manifolds and install JBA headers. I don't know if the TRD ones are as bad, but the worst was that one bolt on the front driver's side. No socket would fit, and a 14mm wrench couldn't even get 1/8th of a turn at a time. I had to remove the hood, cut a wrench in half, drill a hole in the stubby handle, and pull the wrench with an overhead hoist. Hoist 1/8th turn, lower, reset the wrench, hoist, lower, reset, hoist....

bwhyit

Well, I've come to the conclusion that it is physically impossible to get the cross pipe out without cutting it. Looks like the tranny will come out later this week.

rimpainter.com

Um, I don't think you need to remove the tranny. When people are saying "drop" I think they just mean "let it down." Someone chime in if I'm off base though.

I personally didn't use this method - I cut my pipe out. But I swear a few guys that I trust said that you can lower it down a bit (leaving the bellhousing bolts in place and everything).

bwhyit

I tried dropping it donw but still couldn't get it out. Tried for about an hour and no luck. I dropped the tranny down as far as it would go. The jack wasn't even supporting the trans, thats how low I let it down.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Beto

In the service manual, I found the crossover pipe in "cylinder head removal"- It seems like they say to remove the crossover pipe after the intake manifold is off- do you think that might give you enough room? The intake isn't so hard to take off.. Other than that, lift the engine? Get some headers? Just guessing here now. Even if you get it off at this point, do you think you could bring yourself to put it back on? Or will you want to torture it?

hross14

Here is my suggestion-

1. Tell wife to stay out of garage for 2 days and not ask any questions
2. Drink two beers
3. Remove the body mount Bolts and lift the body off the frame using jack a length of 2"X4". Keeps the cabin from getting dented
4. Support body off of frame--This is easier than you think--it just like putting in a Body Lift
4a. At this point you deserve a break--two more beers
5. Drop tranny and start cussing
6. Remove crosspipe and do what you gotta do.
7. Put it all back together making sure the everything is perfect--or you wil have to start over.
8. 12 pack of beer and then let the wife rub your feet for a change or do whatever floats your boat

Done

hross14

OR--just pull the motor out--thats how i got my headers on--but i have removed the cross pipe exactly the way i described--but maybe more beer and it was on a rolled truck.