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OK, I had a ton of questions when researching exhaust systems, installation procedures, tools, additional parts, etc, so I thought I'd post up my experiences while it's all fresh in an effort to help others. Skip to the bottom if you just want to hear about the performance.
This job was done by myself on a hoist in a friend's shop at his house. There was nearly zero rust on the car or exhaust system. I think the entire system ships in 6 pieces. We welded it up so we had a DP, long center section with Cat welded, the curved piece over the rear subframe, and the muffler/tip section.
In late July2005 I placed an order with Genuine Saab for the full 3", turbo back, JT exhaust system. They dutifully warned me that the manufacturer was neither consistent or concerned with producing enough systems to suply NA demand. The wait would be between 2wks and 3 months. In fact, it was nearly 2.5 months. Whatever. The price was right and I didn't have many options. It was drop shipped to a local service shop for me, although I ended up installing the system myself on a hoist at a friends house.
I knew from my research that I would need to source a catalytic converter (which I did from Summit Racing for $54 (16" with EGR tube capped off -Catco part)) & new exhaust hangar.
I installed the full exhaust system myself with a friend's help. We have done quite a few hybrid engine swaps on classic Datsun's, so we were actually a little pissed we didn't just build the entire exhaust since it's so straight.
We started by removing the cat back portion of the exhaust. Then we removed the downpipe after the car was on the ground again. Tools we felt were invaluable for this were a 1/4" drive wrench with a 13mm socket, 1" extension and a wobbly elbow (wrench, wobbly, extension, socket is the setup that worked best for the nut closest to the engine), a shorty 13mm box wrench (for the lower nut), and a 13mm Gear Wrench for the front nut.
We removed the O2 sensor and slid the downpipe (DP) out. Raised the car and slid the new DP up. It's a tight fit, and getting it right was only possible with me on the creeper with about 3" of clearance under the car and my friend threading the O2 sensor from the top. To put the O2 sensor back on properly, you must pre-twist it counterclockwise about 10 times, then thread it into the DP. Once the DP was on, but loose, we raised the car up and positioned it underneath with a 1/" spacer and vice grips locked onto the lower exhaust hanger mount. Then we lowered the car and tightened everything up.
Raised the car, fitted the cat & center section and rear muffler for length, then marked our cutoff spots and alignment marks. We ended up only using about 10" of the shortest section so it could be a joining piece, and we welded that to the long pipe and the cat. We used the clamps that came with the system on the DP and center section, the center section and the intermediate muffler, the intermediate muffler and the "S" section over the subframe, and the "S" section and the rear muffler.
We did a good job since there are no vibrations or rattles.
IMPRESSIONS:
Stock Aero 5spd, 186K miles, NGK plugs, 3" turbo back JT exhaust. Well, the fuel cutoff is pretty obvious now. The car pulls incredibly hard and I really have to keep an eye on the APC so I don't peg it in the red. Granted it was raining, but it seemed that in 2nd and 3rd, the car was breaking the wheel loose on hard acceperation near 3500rpm. The idle exhaust note is healthy and has a quiet, but noticeable rumble. Keep in mind, I've had a rotted out "S" section of my exhaust for almost 6mos. I really hate the round, chrome tip JT put on the exhaust, but I didn't notice it until we were installing it and I'm low on patience to have it replaced. It will stay for a few months. I will probably get a real boost gauge before I consider monkeying with the fuel cutoff. it's there for a reason and I'm sure that just turning the screw a few times isn't the best solution without numbers. The car really pulls strongly from very low RPM; very noticeable. It also pulls like a freight train deep in the power band. Again, you must keep an eye on the APC or you hit pretty consistent fuel cutoff. Can't believe I waited so long. My next bonus check might go to getting an ECu upgrade.
posted by 216.152.10...
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