Newbie question

[Andy wright]

Just now, Andy wright said:

That makes much more sense. How it should have been . 

Ah.The nut plate is needed because in that new subframe, the four mounting holes are just holes, so the nut plate fits on top to provide the captive nuts 

[mattb130]

The standard muffler is very heavy its double skinned well at least the SC one is. Moving to a 2bular and you'll be 6-7kg I reckon lighter in the muffler plus the heat shielding on the manifold. All in think the saving is around 10kg from memory when I did mine. After that you'll be reaching for the lithium battery to complete the rear end diet. 

[Andy wright]

Today was exhaust mounting bracket day. ( well that and a couple of hours on my bike ) .,Cutting the damaged one off took about 45 seconds. Making a new one a little longer . Photos probably do the talking 

[Lithopsian]

Impressive!  Are you keeping a separate nutplate or are there some weldnuts hiding on that new bit?  Or just plain nuts and bolts?

[Andy wright]

58 minutes ago, Lithopsian said:

Impressive!  Are you keeping a separate nutplate or are there some weldnuts hiding on that new bit?  Or just plain nuts and bolts

59 minutes ago, Lithopsian said:

Impressive!  Are you keeping a separate nutplate or are there some weldnuts hiding on that new bit?  Or just plain nuts and bolts?

Nuts welded in place on the underside. 

[Andy wright]

1 hour ago, mattb130 said:

The standard muffler is very heavy its double skinned well at least the SC one is. Moving to a 2bular and you'll be 6-7kg I reckon lighter in the muffler plus the heat shielding on the manifold. All in think the saving is around 10kg from memory when I did mine. After that you'll be reaching for the lithium battery to complete the rear end diet. 

Ah. So you have the 2ubular manifold. It’s a nice bit of kit but Imhave a question. When I removed the original one. It was supported by a bracket between a point just upstream of the collector and the engine block. The replacement 2ubular one is supported exclusively by its 5 manifold studs and nut . Have you had any long term issues with exhaust manifold gasket leaks? 

[mattb130]

2 hours ago, Andy wright said:

Ah. So you have the 2ubular manifold. It’s a nice bit of kit but Imhave a question. When I removed the original one. It was supported by a bracket between a point just upstream of the collector and the engine block. The replacement 2ubular one is supported exclusively by its 5 manifold studs and nut . Have you had any long term issues with exhaust manifold gasket leaks? 

In the 3 years it's been fitted I've not noticed any issues with gaskets leaks. The biggest issue I've got is the Cat to Muffler joint that has a slight leak and needs attention every so often it's not major but just something I keep an eye on. I do have the power flex engine mount void fillers on both front and rear engine mounts which may be helping in that regard as well. 

[Andy wright]

Thank you. I have just bought those same mounting inserts for similar reasoning. So I will not exercise myself too much trying to rig up a manifold to engine brace . ( Though I can see why Toyota/Lotus did ) 

[mattb130]

8 hours ago, Andy wright said:

Thank you. I have just bought those same mounting inserts for similar reasoning. So I will not exercise myself too much trying to rig up a manifold to engine brace . ( Though I can see why Toyota/Lotus did ) 

The inserts should also have a minor effect on shift quality as well. Although you will get a small increase in nvh in the cabin until they have bedded in. 

[Andy wright]

Manifold in place.Engine mounts removed, cleaned , painted, blessed with some inserts and replaced. Lots of broken rear grill clips replaced along with some fibreglass repairs where some of the clips were supposed to fit : ditto the number plate light apertures and mounting clips. Fresh filter and a new sump in place. The latter turned out to be an utter nightmare because removing the old one was much more difficult that expected. The 6mm bolts came out ok, with one exception but the sump does not use a gasket, Instead it is sealed in place with ‘Dirko’ sealant . ( £15 a tube as I bought some to use for the new sump) .Anyway, said sump was stuck to the bottom of the crankshaft ladder like chewing gum to the cat , so it took a while to be persuaded to head south. 
On removal, at least a nice surprisingly clean engine was revealed, so at least it has received regular oil changes. Next came the problem. Mating faces cleaned up, sealant applied to new sump , sump put in place and 6mm bolts put in finger tight. One was a bit stiff , and with hindsight this should have prompted me to stop and quickly run a tap down the thread . But I didn’t . Set the torque wrench to 12Nm and tightened the bolts I left the slightly stiff one until last and before the torque wrench clicked the bolt sheared . Slight pause for about five minutes of my very best Anglo- Saxon profanities . 
    Centre punch, drill, 6x1mm tap and I think I might have got away with it, but not utterly convinced. I will drop some oil into it tomorrow but I can’t really fire it up until I have an exhaust system. If it leaks then ( a) it’s entirely my fault and (b) it’s an excuse to buy an aged 1ZZ engine and rebuild it with a few upgrades . 
After hours I have spent lying underneath the car, I wish now I had removed the clam to start with , not least as two of the 4 bolts that secure the clam to the subframe via the boot floor turned out not to be there and a third , on extraction , was bent . But more importantly it would have made so many of the jobs I have ended up doing over the past week so much easier . The downside is that I am sure it would have revealed a whole load more stuff that I would want to fix/ repaint / improve 

 

[Lithopsian]

Sheared at less than 12Nm?  Probably good luck that you've got rid of it.  If the new one torques up then surely it will be OK unless the RTV bead was compromised by all the messing about.  Fingers crossed.

[Andy wright]

2 hours ago, Lithopsian said:

Sheared at less than 12Nm?  Probably good luck that you've got rid of it.  If the new one torques up then surely it will be OK unless the RTV bead was compromised by all the messing about.  Fingers crossed.

Exactly . I have been putting the heat shield and rear grill/ number plate back this afternoon so only the CAT and back box to fit and I am good for a start. I will give Jim At 2ubular a call in the morning to find out if the back box will arrive this next week. If so I will hang on. If not , I’ll put the old one back on, leave the diffuser off and check that everything is ok before dropping the car back on its wheels. 

[Andy wright]

Back box dispatched.,Arrival anticipated 😀😀😀😀😀

[Lithopsian]

I'd be tempted to fire it up without the exhaust 💣

[Andy wright]

4 hours ago, Lithopsian said:

I'd be tempted to fire it up without the exhaust 💣

Thought about it , but with no pre cat sensor wired in the ecu would have a hissy fit trying to run closed loop