H-Pipe Install Time
 

I will soon be getting an off road H-Pipe for my 93GT. Due to emissions testing in my area I will have to swap this pipe out with my stock pipe and cats for testing time. Can anyone out there tell me how long it takes to do this changeover?

with the car on two jackstands and some cinder blocks it took me and a helper about 3-4 hours to do. Take into account that one head stud was warped and that took about 30 mins to work off without braking it. Also the new h-pipe i got from summit didn't fit right so we spent about an hour using c clamps and slowly cranking the mufflers onto the h-pipe. This was all done by hand with no air compressor. If everything goes well and fits right you should be done in about an hours and a half. I'm in the same boat as you, i have to switch to my cat'd pipe every two years to get past inspection.

I wish I could just swap mine and not have to worry, unfortunately with a full stock exhaust except for the mufflers, I have gotten ticketed for "loud exhaust". I have to constantly watch for cops and I have to let up when I'm around them, sometimes I get stuck side by side and have to shift at like 1200rpm. If they hear me coming before I see them, it's guaranteed I'm getting followed for a block or two. It's pretty pathetic. My car really, really isn't that loud, and the body's bone stock with no STICKERS! My buddy has a full off road setup and it's at least 20db louder but he doesn't care cuz his dad is $$$$$$ with connects.

Anyone have anymore info? please! All I want to do is know how long to just swap an h-pipe from stock to aftermarket? No headers etc.

H-pipe
 

Why bother. There are aftermarket H-pipes sold by Jegs or Summit with Hi Flow cats and balance tubes.

squid,

If your H-pipe was like mine, it had never been off the car for any reason. It turned out to be a pain. My stock headers had a stud and a bolt on each side. The 2 bolts came out fairly easy but BOTH studs twisted off. All 4 bolts connecting the H-pipe to the tail pipes twisted in to. This was no big deal because my BBK offroad H-pipe came with 4 new bolts. I ended up having to pull off both headers just to get the 2 studs out. So, I went to the local hardware store and bought 4 new bolts to bolt the H-pipe to the headers. The bolts were metric, I think a 12 x 1.5 thread pitch x 50 mm in length, anyways with new bolts I had the new H-pipe back on in no time. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just saying don't let it get the best of you. These little 30 minute jobs can turn out to be real pains sometimes. But if you do change it out then swapping the 2 back and forth wouldn't be as bad if you were doing it every 2 years. That way the bolts wouldn't seize up and rust as bad.

the first time i did an h-pipe swap it took me about 3-4 hours on a lift!

the bolts on the passenger side header-hpipe flange are a ***** the first time. you WILL need swivels and extensions and wrenches!

speaking of which, i passed my emmisions so it's time for another h-pipe swap!

THe first time took a couple of hours but I used an impact. I've had to do this about 4 times now due to blowed engines, transmissions and other things and now it takes about an hour from pulling in the driveway to lowering the jack. It is on a set of BBK long tubes so it's a little easier to get to but once you get everything limbered up, it shouldn't take too long.


Long live compressed air!!!

All I can say is be careful and patient. Don't get in a big hurry to get it done. All that will do is cause problems. Spray some wd40 on the header to h-pipe bolts and let it sit for a while. I broke a stud off in the header. Real pain. If everything goes off without a hitch, it will probably take you about 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs. when you put the new one on, use some anti sieze on the bolts. I don't know about the h-pipe, but my X-pipe came with it. Let us know what you think of it when you're done.

Caymon