Putting My Exhaust On
 

Next weekend I will be putting my car up on a lift and attempt to install my new ark dts exhaust. This is the first exhaust i have installed or removed by myself. I was just wondering if anyone has any tips, or advice for me. Or know of any common trouble spots so I don't waste too much time.

Remove it in one Piece by just unbolting at the cat, should be quite easy on a lift but I did it on my back and it wasnt bad.

Put some dish soap on the hangers during removal and installation, will make the process much easier..

Loosely fit the bolts at the flanges and get the entire exhaust mounted before tighting them down the rest of the way.

hit all the bolts with some wd-40 and let that soak for 20 minutes or so to make getting stuff unbolted easier. and dish soap or wd-40 on the exhaust hangers to make them easier to remove.

and then during install, only hand tighten everything, then make sure everything is lined up, make note of the tips to make sure they are square and then tighten everything to spec. having an extra set of hands will help a lot but it can be done solo.

pb blaster on bolts before starting
lithium grease for the rubber hangers to slip on/off
someone to help hold the exhaust while you bolt on/slip on hangers
new gaskets
torque wrench
degreaser to clean exhaust/tips after you finish so exhaust is clean it's first heat cycle.
camera to take video clips to show us the results/sound

Thanks guys. I will definitely post a video of the sound when I'm done. Also hoping to have an extra set of hands lol.

The new exhaust should usually come with the gaskets correct? And what kind of degreaser should I use to clean it.

check to make sure you have all the hardware and tools before unbolting anything. most exhausts come with the hardware, but double check. I believe the bolts for the OEM exhaust were 14mm. I'm not sure about the ark exhaust, but you will need to reuse the springs and bolts/nuts that go from the front pipe to mid pipe (the one with the cat).

I didn't use degreaser on mine, I just wiped off any finger prints and started it off. it was a pain getting the hangars off though, so definitely hit it with some wd40 and work it off.

PB Blaster is witchcraft. A breaker bar wouldn't hurt, either. It's bad for a torque wrench's health to use it for breaking.

Also I've been looking for the torque specs for the bolts online but haven't found them yet. Dose anyone have them? Or think the dealer might give them up?

tighten the bolts from the front pipe to mid pipe until they can't go any tighter. the spring compresses as you tighten and will stop the bolt from tightening anymore. you will need a wrench to hold the nut and a rachet to tighten the bolt. it was easier for me to tighten the nut while holding the bolt with my finger to compress the spring. then finish it off on both ends to make it tight.

for the rest of the exhaust, use the instructions from your exhaust manufacturer. or if they don't come with any, tighten them tight lol

don't forget to start up your car while still on the lift/jack stands and crawl under to test for any exhaust leaks.

Come on, torque wrench for an exhaust? Just tighten them nice and tight. Maybe throw some antisieze on the bolts.

Like everyone else said. PB Blaster and white lithium grease!