YotaTech Forums - Step One of Mini Rebuild Complete

Step one of minor rebuild is complete. Here's what I accomplished so far:

Downey FIPK
Downey Header
Downey Exhaust

Here's the details:

Downey FIPK:
All I can say is "Piece of Cake." The hardest part of this mod was making sure I was turning the nuts in the correct direction. :)

Downey Header and Exhaust:
A lot tougher than the FIPK, but that was expected.

Step one: Removing Header and EGR

Removing the old was the most difficult part.
The EGR is bolted on in such a way that you have to bend the metal pipe in order to remove the existing header and EGR. Not an easy task. After I had the EGR off I grinded off the existing bolts that were tack welded on the EGR and replaced with new bolts, making it much easy to re-install.

If you decide to do this mod, make sure that you use penetrating oil on almost all nuts and bolts.

When removing the old header I broke a bolt that attached the egr to the header. I was lucky that it was not a header bolt, because then I will be using an easy-out on my engine block. But instead the broken bolt is attached to the old header which is sitting in the trash :) (Note again: Use penetrating oil)

Step Two: Removing Exhaust

Since I was replacing both header and exhaust I went ahead and remove the exhaust,converter and muffler. Removal of the exhasut was easy, especially since the tail pipe broke in half in my hands.
Do not cut the middle hangers. You will re-use these on new converter. I went ahead and cut off the rear muffler hangers because I wasn't going to use them for new muffler.

Step Three: Cutting the pipe

Since Downey makes the header/exhaust kit for a number of applications a few of the pipes need to be cut to fit. I placed the header on and then worked my way back to measure where I was going to cut. Once I knew where I was going to cut I cut one piece at a time and installed loosely and went on to the next piece. This was a little time consuming because I wanted to make sure that I was cutting in the correct place. Unfortunately, I used a hack saw for all my cuts, so my forearms had a nice work out.
FYI - For some applications you will need to cut 1.5 inches off the bottome of the header.

Step Four: Installing the header and exhasut

The header and egr was easy to install. All the necessary gaskets are supplied in the Downey kit. Make sure to use Gasket sealer and a torque wrench for your header and egr bolts.
The converter and muffler were a little more difficult, but everything ended up high and tight. One of the reasons why they were more difficult was because a few pieces of my suspension were not located in the correct place (bent in the wrong direction from a few rocks) .

Step Five: Go for a spin

What a difference in power and sound. ahhh just what the doctor order.

Step Six: Cheers

Sit back and enjoy a beer. :drink:

Wish I had a digital camera so I can post some pics. I'll try to borrow one and show the results. On to the next mod... Suspension lift