You know those Marketplace deals that are too good to pass up?
That’s exactly how this one started.
A guy was selling catless headers and a Y-pipe for $50 — total steal. Two hours of driving later, I was in the driveway, tools in hand, ready to get to work.
To make it even better, the seller threw in a single-exit setup, already bent and welded. All it needs is a few resonators and a muffler, and it’ll be perfect.
Removal
Here’s the starting point. My windshield washer reservoir and SAP pump were already deleted, which honestly made life easier as both would’ve needed to come out anyway to clear the headers.
After jacking up the car, I started where the headers meets the rest of the exhaust, four rusty bolts that definitely put up a fight. I managed to remove them all without cutting, but two broke in the process.
Next, I moved toward the mid-section bracket, which holds the exhaust with rubber hangers. Pretty cool design, hadn’t seen it done like this before. With the bracket off and rear hangers unhooked, the entire system slid right out. Heavier than I expected, but it wasnt too bad.
The car already had a muffler delete setup with some sketchy welds now I’m 90% sure of where the high-pitched whistle was coming from.
Surpisingly the the hardest part of this whole job, was getting the header off the engine block. The top bolts were manageable, but the bottom ones? Nightmare.
Had to remove the passenger-side engine mount and bracket just to reach them. But after a bit of struggling they finally came free.
Installing the New Setup
I decided to reuse the OEM gaskets but added a layer of Permatex Ultra Copper gasket maker for some extra sealing confidence.
This time around, things went a lot smoother, more space to work with and better access for a decent ratchet. The only hiccup was remembering exactly how the engine mount came out so I could get it back in correctly.
While I was in there, I swapped the mount out entirely — it was completely split in half. I had a feeling it was bad and order one ahead of time.
All in I’d say this was worse than I expected but still not that bad of an install.
Tools Used
- 11mm, 13mm, 16mm sockets
- Ratchet and extensions
- 11mm ratcheting wrench
- Jack and stands
- Impact gun
| Time Taken | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| ~5 hours | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (Medium) |