test pipe removal nuts? and pics

[jimmya4]

picked up a group buy vmr cat delete and doing preperation to put it on. first step of diy is to remove the top 2 nuts from the cat and then later the bottom 2 from under the car. well i tried the top nuts just to see if i could loosen them and it turns out i cant there is no leverage. any ideas? here are the pics of my point of view. first one is of no lengthened wrench 17mm



with lengthened wrench



lengthened wrench on other nut (even harder)




thanks for any ideas or input from those who conquered the first step of many for this mod

[tre]

Do you have a breaker bar? If not, you can get one for about $20. Most (if not all) breaker bars use 1/2 sockets though, it looks like your socket set is 3/8 so you may need a 1/2 drive 17mm socket as well. That will get the bolt loose so you can use your ratchet to get it off. Every DIY person should have a breaker bar. Here is a harbor freight breaker bar: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30395

[jimmya4]

nah i dont have one im just a kid using my dads garage but that looks perfect ill go check the hardware store tomorrow. diy's are saying guys are using 3 inch extended drive ratchets and i didnt see how it was possible.

[XCELR8]

Take the airbox completely out. Looks like its still in there. Should be able to pull the wrench a lot more toward the pass fender if you take that out.

[passatkid]

Hold the extension with one hand and get a piece of pipe that fits of the the handle of the ratchet and then you will have some leverage.

[S1LVERBULLET119]

Take the airbox completely out. Looks like its still in there. Should be able to pull the wrench a lot more toward the pass fender if you take that out.

ding ding. get a breaker bar.

[jimmya4]

ya i was thinking a pipe earlier but i didnt really have one that wouldnt break. ill look for the breaker bar. for the air box, im pretty sure i get the same amount of space with or without it but it doesnt really matter. once i get the nut broken free i can get it off with the littlest amount of space

[Phrost]

You need more tools, my friend! I did my own install too. I'm going to tell you now, you need a 1/2" drive breaker bar for this install. You'll also need a universal joint and random extensions (looks like you have some) because all of the bolts you will be removing are in some weird spots.

Even if you did have room though, those nuts are on there really tight. You shouldn't be torquing your ratchets like that, or you're going to break it in no time. If you just put a pipe over your ratchet, you're going to break it. If you start hitting it with a hammer in an attempt to break the nut loose, you're going to break it.

P.S. those 4 nuts on the turbo aren't hard to get off at all. Assuming you'll only be using jack stands though, have fun unbolting the downpipe from the end of the catalytic converter. That is where I got stuck, I couldn't get those at all until I had my car up on a lift. But yeah, you won't be able to do this without more tools, especially since you're kind of new to this stuff

[jimmya4]

nah i have a car lift in my garage. im buying a breaker tomorrow i guess and i have all the universal tools that your talking about. i have worked on the car up on the lift a few times becuase i bent the cross bar and needed to replace it (bar you need to take off to loosen the 4 nuts that undoes the downpipe). my opinion, a day in the garage working on the whip on the lift watching some college football on the tv and drinking some..... drinks.

[jayuuey]

remove the airbox completely and you will have plenty of room.

then follow this
http://audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96984

what helped me was,
wobble socket, for the inside cat to turbo bolts
you definitely need to drop the downpipe
make sure you have a 10mm 12point spline socket before starting
have some exhaust paste ready when reconnecting the downpipe

i would not recommend doing this diy. its not impossible though. i was able to do it with a floor jack and stands but it was not fun. good luck.

[Subaru71]

you could use an impact wrench...

[jimmya4]

how would i fit an impact wrench in there? but nevermind i dont know, i think i can handle this i couldnt without my lift but thats a huge help. if i can not do this it will only humble me more. im not trying for 2 weeks, im just trying to get everything ready so that i can get it right the first time

[audidrver]

first you need some pb blaster, looks like you have some already, but make sure you squirt it on the threads so it will drain in. If you don't do this you run the possibility of breaking the stud on the turbo. then your screwed. I did this b4 on my b5= not fun. 1/2 in ratchet and swivel assembly. like others said, take the air box out first and the 02 sensor off, this will give you more room. follow the link posted earlier the bottom.

[jimmya4]

first you need some pb blaster, looks like you have some already, but make sure you squirt it on the threads so it will drain in. If you don't do this you run the possibility of breaking the stud on the turbo. then your screwed. I did this b4 on my b5= not fun. 1/2 in ratchet and swivel assembly. like others said, take the air box out first and the 02 sensor off, this will give you more room. follow the link posted earlier the bottom.

that stain was me using wd40 as pb blaster. i also just found an 11 inch breaker bar in my garage. im not going to lie i never thought about breaking the stud on the turbo if i did i would start to cry... going to hardware store tomorrow to get a 1/2 17mm socket to fit my breaker bar. also some pb blaster i guess. why do i need that 12 point spline over a normal 10mm socket and do i really need exhaust paste?

[jayuuey]

12pt spline drive is for crossbar removal to drop the downpipe.

get pb blaster. wd40 is not used to penetrate bolts.

i would recommend exhaust paste because if you get an exhaust leak, you have to take everything down AGAIN and use...the paste.

please read over the install write up so you know what to expect. its not a very technical install but its by no means easy due to the space constraints.

[Phrost]

12pt spline drive is for crossbar removal to drop the downpipe.

I could not find a 12 point spline drive bit anywhere, so I ended up buy and using a T55 torx bit. Worked perfectly

[jimmya4]

oh im good for the cross bar because i have replaced that twice (lowest part of car keeps getting hit). picked up a penetrating thing like pb and it worked well with the breaker bar got top screws loosened in a second. also got exhaust paste (thanks for the heads up). next problem is unscrewing the o2 sensor. any tricks? i take it you just take a wrench to the thing. small space though

[Phrost]

They make a lambda wrench to remove o2 sensors (so the wire had somewhere to go) otherwise you'll need a wrench. It comes out easy once you break it loose.

[Subaru71]

how would i fit an impact wrench in there? but nevermind i dont know, i think i can handle this i couldnt without my lift but thats a huge help. if i can not do this it will only humble me more. im not trying for 2 weeks, im just trying to get everything ready so that i can get it right the first time

looks like you have enough space.. judging by the pic with the long extension, don't quite remember how much space it is exactly.. but a long extension, maybe a u-joint, carefully, and with pb blaster.. just an idea though.. that or the breaker bar.

[jimmya4]

ya i had the length but not the width for an impact wrench but that was out of the question im not that gnarly what is this nascar haha. well i think im ready for the first process only way to know if i can do the rest is when i actualy get it on the lift . thanks guys