professional install on uppipe?

1sttimetuner · 09-29-2008, 10:13 PM

I inherited an 02' WRX wagon, which I have already replaced the exhaust myself (turbo back). Should I have a professional install my uppipe? It seems some people have had some issues post install with power, boost etc...

seanwrxwagon · 09-29-2008, 10:40 PM

You can do it yourself. I have confidence in you. Make sure you read some detailed instructions before you start and use new gaskets.

wrxman420 · 09-29-2008, 10:44 PM

If you can handle the turbo back yourself, an up pipe shouldn't be a problem.

blk02wrx · 09-30-2008, 05:19 PM

it's a pain if all the bolts are rusted. it took me about 4 hours and thats with a lift and air tools. if you did the turbo back you should be fine with the uppipe but make sure you don't have to work the next day just in case.

isd_intrepid · 09-30-2008, 06:03 PM

ditto on the work thing

I did my DP by myself withouth a lift or airtools. started at 5pm was done at 2 am. Hands were really sore the next day

SuBeast · 09-30-2008, 06:15 PM

If you did the downpipe yourself, you should be able to acess the uppipe too... Good luck and damn intrepid, that's a serious amount of time working on your car! Longest I have worked was from 7pm till 9:30pm installing a header on brothers Acura integra..... And Hondas are easy to work on! jeeze 9 hours installing the DP? What made it so hard?

tuner ready · 09-30-2008, 08:22 PM

Stripped bolts?

seanwrxwagon · 09-30-2008, 09:48 PM

A couple things I learned from doing mine. You should buy an offset wrench for the o2 sensor. Buy it before you start and you won't be tempted to waste two hours trying to get it out with vise-grips or some such nonsense. Also don't be squimish about raising your motor a bit to get some clearance. Get new studs for the new UP. It is not a good idea trying to reuse/extract the old ones. Get a complete exhaust gasket kit as you will need several gaskets, not just the two at the UP. I'm sure there are other things I learned but i forgot what.

wagonracer · 09-30-2008, 11:45 PM

My two cents is use OEM gaskets everywhere, the ones that come with aftermarket UP's and DP's are usually crappy laminated ones, and they will fail (ask me how I know, D'oh !!)

+1 on the o2 sensor advice, it's a pain. I bent a wrench just for that task, but you can buy one with the correct angle too. Having done that job twice, I can tell you, plan on a bit of a long day (4-6 hrs) and have a fresh can of PB blaster ready. Be careful with the banjo fittings for the turbo cooling lines too, they can be brittle.

Heat wrap the UP and DP and use the turbo heat shield, even if you have to modify it to fit, as heat soak robs our cars of power. ...guess that might've been more than two cents worth, huh ?

'02 wagons rule !

blk02wrx · 10-03-2008, 12:05 AM

there are 4 or 5 gaskets you need just for the up pipe install. and yes jacking up the engine definetly helps. i have a cobb turbo heat sheild and it looks good and dose it's job. the biggest probum i had was with the heat sheild on the stock up pipe and manifold as it gets in the way of everything. also you might want to be ready to bu a new egt sensor as they fuse into the up pipe and mine snaped when i tryed to take it out. and yes a fresh bottle of blaster is a great thing to have but i suggest using some on the th day before you start wrking on ittoo. sorry for the long post.

YES 02 WAGONS DO RUL!

RentForSale · 10-03-2008, 12:31 AM

I did mine myself with a lift and hand tools . If its your first its gonna take you a good portion of the day , but its doable . Not as hard as it is time consuming .

5pm till 2 am for a DP ?!?!?! Sometimes you gotta know when to just give up . Shouldnt take more than an hour .

blk02wrx · 10-03-2008, 03:52 PM

arent we talking about a uppipe???? i'm guessing he ment it took that long for a uppipe. it took me 20 min to do the dp

BugEyedAWD · 10-03-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RentForSale

I did mine myself with a lift and hand tools . If its your first its gonna take you a good portion of the day , but its doable . Not as hard as it is time consuming .

5pm till 2 am for a DP ?!?!?! Sometimes you gotta know when to just give up . Shouldnt take more than an hour .

Man, your forgetting the smoke breaks and the beer breaks in between bolts! thats a 9 hour job if you include those with no impact tools.

seanwrxwagon · 10-03-2008, 05:42 PM

+1 for factory gaskets. You can purchase a complete set from vendors such as flatirons tuning.
+1 for PB Blaster used the day before.
I did the up pipe, down pipe, spark plugs, steering rack bushings, cat back, and the fuel filter all at the same time. I would say it took me about 15 hours all together but I could do it all again in about half that. I did not have to remove the banjo bolts on the turbo, maybe I had extra room since I pulled a lot of stuff before I put the up pipe back in.

02 wagons rule.

chevarian113 · 10-05-2008, 08:37 AM

It's an easy DIY, just time consuming. We just did one last week on a friends car. We are total N00bs, and with beer, grabbing dinner, and lots of BS'ing, we had it done in about 8 hours. We used Perrin's directions, which we barely used. It's not that hard, just have a good workspace.