Nassau County Mechanics
 

I don't have a regular mechanic and I need to get an exhaust installed... can anyone recommend a quality/affordable mechanic in the area?

i had a couple things done at Real Auto Dynamics in Oceanside. @Kevin@RAD could get you set up

Yeah go to rad n tell them it was my old exhaust system lol

That'll be about $100 in labor man, you sure you don't want to try doing it yourself? Exhaust is a relatively easy bolt-on upgrade. If you don't have the tools, I'm sure one of us on the island could offer some assistance. Where are you located?

Yeah I was trying to do it myself, but the bolts on the stock exhaust are quite rusted. Also, I bought this used and am missing nuts/bolts/gaskets. I bought some 60mm gaskets but I'm not too sure if they'll do the job.

It'd be great if I can do this without going to a mechanic. I'm in Hicksville, just a couple of minutes away from the train station.

Well you definitely want to make sure you have the right nuts/bolts/gaskets or you run the risk of having a leak at some point. Also if the stock bolts are rusted on, you'll probably need an impact wrench to make easy work of it. Did you try spraying some WD40 on it to let it soak in first?

Given your circumstances, an appropriately equipped shop might be the prudent thing to do. That said, if you're trying to save the $100, do you have all the necessary space/tools/jackstands to do this? I live about half an hour away from you.

Some local speed shops that you may want to consider if you go down that path: MR Performance in Westbury, Performance Auto Solutions in Deer Park, JMR Garage in Bayshore.

i dont mind helping if you have the tools, or come to my house but it's quite a trip for you...

Yeah I tried WD-40 on them, but it wouldn't budge. I should have all the necessary tools... wrenches/ratchet/jack/stands.

I just emailed Invidia to see if they sell the nuts/bolts/gaskets separately or if they could provide the proper specs for them.

I'll wait to hear back from them before I decide whether or not to take it to a shop. Thanks for the help. I'll let you know if I need more :)

Yeah that's a bit out of the way. Thanks for offering though :)

Don't be shy to use some force on those stock bolts. Use a cheap wrench and smack it around with a hammer if you have to. Ideally, a breaker bar could be used but you won't have enough room without a lift. And if you've already got a lift, you probably have an impact wrench available so you could use that instead.

Anyway, let me know what Invidia says - if you decide to try it on your own and I can fit it into my schedule, I'd be happy to swing by and help out.

if the bolts are being stubborn just buy a 3/8 breaker bar from harbor frieght, its worth the 7-8 dollars... :)

Wd-40? Try liquid wrench or pb blaster

WD40 a 2-ft breaker bar and a bunch of swear words took care of all his nasty stock bolts.

We had to double up on the gaskets between the mid and front pipes though, not sure what was up with that but even torquing the bolts beyond Invidia's specs left a gap with one gasket. It looked like the sides of the flange weren't completely flush, but I couldn't tell for sure. Anyway, 2 bucks and change later, a second gasket took care of the issue.

System sounds pretty good, even with the catless front - I was expecting a raspy note but it actually sounded like my Perrin before I added the front/overpipe.

@Perihelion - good meeting you man - love the cosmetic stuff you've done with the car, really pops on an SWP! Sorry we ended up taking more than the "worst case" 2-hour estimate I threw out there LOL. Let us know how you like the system now that you've driven it.

I really dont know whats up with doubling the gaskets cause RAD did te install for me. Anyways im glad the exhaust worked out for him. now just tell him to buy my 11R's and his ride will be ballin