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Down Pipe installed on high mileage car.....(long) Posted by MI-Roger [Email]  (#882) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from MI-Roger) on Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:05:50
In Reply to: Down Pipe arrived today!, MI-Roger [Profile/Gallery]
, Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:09:31
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I successfully installed my new 3-inch Down Pipe today. Total time required was around 4 hours, working by myself, with the car on Rhino Ramps in the driveway.
I chose to install a D-P on my 244K mile car because the intermediate pipe had failed, and I strongly suspect the factory original catalytic converters were reaching end of life. A 3-inch D-P is $400 more than replacing the intermediate pipe only, but $250 LESS than replacing the intermediate pipe and the Saab converter downpipe. Other owners with cars well past 100K miles may feel the same as I that the D-P is a cost efffective proactive maintenance item.
Special tools to make this job easier include: 13mm long profile wrench to break the turbo nuts loose, 13mm stubby wrench to tighten the turbo nuts after fitting the down pipe, 22mm stubby wrench to remove old and install new O2 sensors.
I soaked all nuts with PB Blast Thursday night, again Friday night, and again this morning. I wire brushed the top two turbo nuts before loosening them and they turned off easily. I forgot the wire brush step on the lower nut, and at the 90% removed point it jammed on the stud and the stud unscrewed. I tried to remove it from the stud but found the stud threads jimmied near their end, so I replaced the stud and nut together when installing the new D-P. Maybe this jamming was caused by my failure to wire brush before loosening, maybe not.
I purchased new turbo nuts from eEuro and found they would not fit with the D-P. The new nuts are a flanged style oval-holed lock nut, and there is not enough space on the new D-P flange to accomodate the flanged nuts. I re-used the other two old turbo nuts also.
No instructions came with the D-P so I had to rely on GenuineSaab's catalog photos to determine fitment. I will be checking with them on Monday as I am not sure I guessed right. Should the hanger rods on the straight pipe be on the top side or bottom side when installed in the car? Photo shows top side, it seemed to fit better on the top, but the original part and my SAAB/Remus exhaust all have the hanger rods on the bottom.
I also had to remove the center piece of the cross brace located at the rear sub-frame bolts to clear the larger diameter intermediate pipe. I saved this part in case I need to re-install it, but it will need some type of spacers if it is required on the car. Another question for GenuineSaab.
A big "Thank You" to my neighbor Larry. I was having a terrible time trying to cut the old bolts securing the intermeciate pipe to the SAAB/Remus center section. Larry is a retired Heavy Equipment Mechanic and he loaned me a set of special fluted sockets to remove the heavily rusted nuts from the heavily rusted bolts. I had tried to cut the bolts but they were buried too deep within the flange to access them with my Dremel abrasive wheels, no room for a hack saw, no room for a SawzAll. What to do? Larry called these sockets "Nut Cutters", I call them a God Send!
My exhaust sound after fitting the D-P is a LOT quieter than a failed intermediate pipe! Sound at idle and subdivision speeds is a gentle rumble. Sound at Wide Open Throttle may be evisceral, but I will have to wait to report on that one!
posted by 24.23.71...
_______________________________________ Saabs owned: 2008 9-5 Aero Sedan, sold at 227K miles 2006 9-3SC 2.0T - Wife's daily driver 2000 Viggen Convertible - Sold May, 2022 1964 Quantum IV Formula Car - Retirement project 2000 9-5lpt Sedan, sold at 318K miles
, Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:09:31, Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:05:50 <-- Viewing This Message, Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:38:41, Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:02:11
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