Tips for installing Janspeed 4-2-1 and exhaust?

[SteveG]

Well, I managed to get lucky on eBay and won a 4-2-1 manifold, and full exhaust including backbox and sport cat...

It just got delivered today and is currently in a half-open box in the back of my car and appears to be in good condition.

I was planning on fitting it this weekend, preferably on Saturday and nothing left over on Sunday, so was wondering if anyone had any tips of stuff to prep, replacement bits, removal/installation tricks, etc?

I've got the Haynes manual, and have had a skim through the basic processes, and have figured out some stuff like:

- get a new manifold gasket (local Motor World has it)
- soak all bolts/nuts in WD40 (possibly for several days previous)

What I'm sort of foreseeing is bolts shearing off and having to piss about going to Motor World or B&Q on my bike to get some nuts and bolts, the U-clamp whatevers that hold the exhaust up, and some various sundry things that I'd not thought of. So, I'd like to get the bits beforehand.

Apart from the manifold gasket, do I just get some universal flange joint gaskets at the required diameter? Do I need any other odd gaskets like a conical mesh or something? I understand this might be hard to guess at without seeing the parts in some detail, so hopefully the photo above is sufficient.

Any pointers gladly welcome. I've fairly handy at DIY and have most power tools, and have built modified computers with customised cases, watercooling etc. incl. fabricated fibreglass components, but I've not really done much with cars apart from basic maintenance/service, so modification/overhaul is new territory where I could do with some heads-ups for things to watch out for etc.

Oh yeah, I've got a couple axle stands and was thinking about getting a couple more to get the whole car up on four stands rather than try to mess about with just two stands. Or would getting a pair of ramps and using those with stands be better for room underneath?

 

[Skinner_87]

Hi Steve,

You seem to have a good handle on things

If the manifold bolts / studs in the cylinder head are rusty they will more than likely just unscrew the stud from the head. This isnt a problem as you can just screw them back in once the nuts are freed off!

you wont need an conical metal gaskets like the original, i normally just use exhaust gasket paste on all the joints.

Re extra stands the higher up you can get the car the easier it is to get to everything but i've only every used two starting at the front and working backwards

Good luck with the fitting,

 

[SuperUno]

I found it a lot easier when fitting mine to remove the alternator and belt, exhaust paste for the sliding joints, use wd40 on the exhuast rubbers, and if if doesnt have one then you will need a split pin to replace the r clip when the rear box joins on.

Oh and start spraying wd40 on all bolts/nuts now and everyday till the day.

 

[SteveG]

I think I've absorbed almost as much GT85 as the car lol. Just one question then really (excuse my ignorance), but what r clip? Is it for a join between the back box section and the pipe section that precedes it? All I could see without the car jacked up was the rubber mounts and the flanged joints...

 

[SuperUno]

Your current system wont have an r clip, they look like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-clip

 

[SteveG]

Ok I'll look out for where one would go when I lay out the Janspeed system in the morning.

The belt(s) are squeaky, and the alternator looks old so I'll be taking a gander at them while they're off. After cleaning up the alternator, would I want to use regular grease, or dielectric, or copper grease? I'm not sure whether the squeaking is bearings or belts, and they seem at or very near the tightest setting. Or can I just lube the belts to supple them up?

Sorry if these are basic questions, Haynes manual isn't so helpful here, some of it even refers to the wrong section like the cat removal in 4B but it's not lol

 

[SteveG]

Was such a pig to get the old exhaust off... almost all the bolts were seized despite 3 days of soaking, and using a torque wrench as a driver for leverage... ended up cutting it in the middle with an angle grinder and then shimmy/turning/wiggling the two bits (down pipe to middle, middle to backbox) out!

Got the manifold cleaned up and gaskets in place, manifold loosely on the studs, ready to assemble the new system tomorrow, should be about 5000 times easier than taking the old one off!

Do I need to wrap the manifold down pipe with exhaust sack tape stuff as a heat shield? I see the original had a close-fitting heat shield, but dunno how effective that would have been seeing as it seems to be in contact with the down pipe?!

 

[SuperUno]

You dont have to fit heat wrap, but it can help reduce under bonnet temps.

 

[SteveG]

Cool, well thanks for all the pointers, got it on tonight, mostly after sunset lol, but I'll have to change out the manifold washers as there's a random mix of original and some I had. One of the studs might be almost stripped as the nut became easier to turn and I didn't want to force it. No visible blowing around the manifold. I'm missing a clamp for where the back box pipe slides onto the rest, but it's on with paste for now.

Sounds nice, not too loud, seems to have opened up the throttle some. Getting a GA16 air box delivered Tues or Wed, so will see how that effects it too. Deep dish steering wheel arriving this week too, so am pretty happy apart from the rotten cross member and sills lol

 

[SteveG]

It smells like exhaust inside the car with the fans on and the vents switched to pull in outside non recirculated air.

If, after changing out the washers so that they all fit flat, and doing some blowing tests a la Haynes manual, I can't see any smoke, has anyone got pointers on what to check or look for?

 

[Skinner_87]

It smells like exhaust inside the car with the fans on and the vents switched to pull in outside non recirculated air.

If, after changing out the washers so that they all fit flat, and doing some blowing tests a la Haynes manual, I can't see any smoke, has anyone got pointers on what to check or look for?

You could always squirt some soapy water on each joint bud to see if there's any leaks. Reseal any with gasket paste

 

[SteveG]

Ta. Will give that a go if I can't see it billowing out with the tail blocked lol

 

[SteveG]

Finally got round to sorting a few things out today. Did the exhaust blow test to try and find a leak and couldn't find anything! There was a burning oil/fumes smell around the manifold... Turned out to be a combination of a small patch of oil that had dripped off the dipstick, and some grease I'd put onto the manifold studs, smoking away a bit when the exhaust warmed up.

Wiped off the oil/grease and tested again for a good few minutes and it passed the visual and smell tests!

Hadn't really had a chance for a fast run since fitting the exhaust and Almera airbox, so went for a quick run around, vents no longer on recirculation.