New Exhaust Install

[cmkelly]

Hey gang,

I've read several posts in the 240sx general section about the joys of removing and installing a new exhaust and wanted to see if there was any advice this forum had to offer.

I've got access to a lift this weekend and have the better part of Saturday to do it.

How long should it take? Other than stuck nuts (I hate those ) are there any other "gotcha's" that I might encounter? My fall back position is to take it to Midas and give them some $$s to do it for me.

Thanks in advance. I'll take pictures and document the process for those who are interested.

cmkelly

[redtop91]

Jackstands, breaker bar, PB Blaster, elbow grease. If you have these you should be good. Set aside about an hour just in case things don't go as planned.

[biggie]

With it being on a lift, shouldn't take more than 30-40 mins. Assuming no crazy hard nuts/bolts, but being on a lift allows the use of bigger breaker bar.

Also assumes good exhaust fitment on the new one.

On my Vert it took about 1.75 hours, but I had to take off the cat and catback and hacksaw one of the bolts between them.

[94_240sx]

I have one good tip for you. You will see 2 bolts right above exhaust tips, unbolt them instead of taking it out from the rubber hangers. Space is pretty tight in that area, so that should make things much easier. I'm going to get new Nismo exhaust hangers when I do mine. Actually, I just received a new catalytic converter today and will put it on tonight, too.

[redtop91]

Rather than unbolting them I'd just lube em up with engine oil. That's what I did and they slid right out. It'll save you a few minutes too. Again just my take on it and one way of approaching it.

[Ihiryu]

If you got a catback, then I don't forsee any problems, but if you got a full exhaust, the only thing I can think of is the o2 sensor....I hate taking o2's out of older cars...ugh

I would recomend o2 socket, and a torch.

[Florida240sx]

Took me 20minutes on my vert to rip my old out and new in Manifold is a different story though. Unless you laugh at emissions like me... O you don't want to come off, well Mr. Sawzall says you are...

[whoflungpoo]

Took me 20minutes on my vert to rip my old out and new in Manifold is a different story though. Unless you laugh at emissions like me... O you don't want to come off, well Mr. Sawzall says you are...

heh, I have one bolt on the exhaust stopping me from pulling my engine right now... until Mr. Sawzall arrives with the calvary

[ishkabibble]

Rather than unbolting them I'd just lube em up with engine oil. That's what I did and they slid right out. It'll save you a few minutes too. Again just my take on it and one way of approaching it.

I agree. This worked for me. Also, if you unbolt the hanger, the bolts might snap when you are removing them.

[cmkelly]

Okay gang, the new BRM 2.5" exhaust is installed and I'll post the pictures as soon as I get them off my Treo.

First impressions:More power off the line and faster to 70 than before. I'll do my 0-60 runs tomorrow and see what the actual performance gain is. Subjectively it's faster. But hey, I just spent a bunch of money so my perceptions may be colored.

"What did you say?"Cruising around my conservative golf community I don't think I'll raise any eyebrows. Once I pull out onto the highway, however, it's LOUD. I'll admit, it's louder than I thought it was going to be but not so loud that I can't stand it. Still it's loud at full throttle and even loud crusing at 60 mph. If you go this route understand that with great power comes great volume.

Installation:Simple enough. I'll post pics soon. I was fortunate to have a buddy that actually has a lift in his garage. It was $3000 shipped to his house and has paid for itself already. He's pulled engines. trannys, and now my exhaust. Allow about 3 hours if you're as anal as we were. Otherwise you can have it done in about an hour. I had no problems with nuts and bolts. I used PB Blaster the night beofre and that did wonders. I didn't need a breaker bar or much muscle. I had some issues with fitment and the supplied gaskets but overall it was fine.

The Bottom Line:It's not cheap but the performance differance seems to be respectable. My 15-year-old son absolutley loves the sound. At 40 I hope my ears can stand the volume. I'll definately need to upgrade the stereo so I can hear it. Again, this is my daily driver (sort of) and not a track car. Secretly I love the sound but I know my wife will never drive with me again.

[slowzenki]

Can't wait to see the pics.

[cmkelly]

Okay, pics as promised:Old Muffler:

New "Exhaust"

This is after the old muf was off. I didn't need anything special to pull it.

I did have to modify the supplied gasket as the holes were not far enough out to get the bolts through.

This rear bracket came off pretty easily with a ratchet and extension:

This middle hanger is no longer needed because the new exhaust bypasses this area with a straight resonator.

Here's where things got tricky. I chose to install the exhaust in two peices rather that putting it together outside the car. My thinking was if there are any fitment issues I want to be able to have two points to fiddle with rather than putting too much torque on any one spot. The fittment wasn't perfect and as such I had to manhandle it to get it to line up. Normally this isn't a problem but when dealing with a gasket you have to be careful.



But in the end we got it to fit.

This might be my new signature

The only problems are that it doesn't quite hang straight and thus looks a little sideways from the rear.



I'm also getting a high pitched whine/whirr from the rear of the car intermitently like the sound of an insect. It might be the gasket, or the hangers vibrating, I'm not sure. Anyone else experience this?

All in all a good mod. I haven't done 0-60 times yet but again, subjectively it feels faster. If I can get it to sit right and figure out where the vibration/whine is coming from it'll be perfect.

cmkelly
Modified by cmkelly at 11:19 AM 9/24/2007

[slowzenki]

Looks pretty good to me. Checking out your vert makes me want to buy an intake, exhaust and tail lights for mine. Someone needs to buy mine before I give in to temptation.

[94_240sx]

Cool! I have some comments.



I also took my stock exhaust out yesterday for some work. I noticed that your exhaust tips are way in. Mine has more than an inch space between the tips and muffler. Are yours stock? Mine looks like this.

This might be the reason it doesn't hang straight.

This is such an eye sore to me. I gotta fix it if it's on mine. I wonder bending the hanger brackets slightly will fix this problem.

I'm also getting a high pitched whine/whirr from the rear of the car intermitently like the sound of an insect. It might be the gasket, or the hangers vibrating, I'm not sure. Anyone else experience this?

Only thing that I can think of is exhaust leak from the gasket or pipe is slightly touching the rear sway bar. Overall, it looks very good and glad to hear that you are happy with it.

[cmkelly]

Our exhausts look a little different. Is your bracket upsidedown for some reason? Or am I looking at it wrong?

I'm not sure if it's stock but the previous owner was appearanty pretty anal and took it to the dealer for everything.

Yeah, I'm going to have to fix the tail pipes so they hang correctly. I'm going to let it settle in for a week and then take it back to my buddy's lift.

And yes, the pipe is pretty close to several things underneath, good catch. I'll take a look at that when it's on the rack.

[amolao]

Get in there with a crow bar and bend the rear hanger, it should take care of it. I just went thru the same thing ......

[94_240sx]

Our exhausts look a little different. Is your bracket upsidedown for some reason? Or am I looking at it wrong?

They are same. You unhooked it from the rubber hangers, but I went further and took out the bracket.

I'm not sure if it's stock but the previous owner was appearanty pretty anal and took it to the dealer for everything.

Tips look stock to me. Whoever installed the tips hammered them in way too far.

Yeah, I'm going to have to fix the tail pipes so they hang correctly. I'm going to let it settle in for a week and then take it back to my buddy's lift.

Another option would be any exhaust shop cut the pipe and weld in a small piece of extension there, so muffler can sit right. But, that should be the last solution since the cutting is involved.

And yes, the pipe is pretty close to several things underneath, good catch. I'll take a look at that when it's on the rack.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[whoflungpoo]

looks pretty good man, nice and close to stock...

If I ever go with an electric cutout after the downpipe, I may try and get one of those to keep some semblance sleeper look (at least from behind, front mounts kinda give it away)