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Jjr D.i.y 3" Front Pipe Installation

Tommy G

By Tommy G,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

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Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
Posted

Just wondering if any other Stagea owners here have purchased/installed the JJR 3" Front pipe and/or catco high flow 3" cat?

Are they terribly difficult to install yourself? I might be able to get access to a proper car-lift. Is it just a case of getting under there and undoing bolts?

Cheers.

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https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/252549-jjr-diy-3-front-pipe-installation/
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ssshonky Grand Master

ssshonky

Posted
Posted

I did it and I have the attention span of a goldfish and the IQ of a Buffalo - so have faith :happy:

its fairly straightforward really- though you MAY have problems with the orientation of the cat- I did and yeah - $100 worth of mods from the exhaust shop and good as gold!

the o2 sensor can be a bit of a sh1t to get out but if you buy a CHEAP 22mm ring spanner- just chop a bit out of the ring end and chop the entire spanner in 1/2 and your done :P

also do a search - several threads covering this with LOTS of info in it. other than that I am more than happy to assist.

pintaline Proficient

pintaline

Posted
Posted

i got the dump, a hoist makes it so much easier! but i found the the pipe knocks on my gearbox (manual) x-member and one or two of the bolts at the turbo are a bit hard to do up... one of mine got half way in and hit the side of the pipe so that's as far as it went and another on the other side almost had the same problem. apart from that, works a treat and the pipe meets up to the factory cat position

D.

Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks fellas. I'll give it a shot, and if I get stuck I can always take it up to an exhaust place/mechanic. Sounds like a bit of worry re the x-member as I have a manual also. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

RBPOWA-(TJ) Grand Master

RBPOWA-(TJ)

Posted
Posted

yeah i got the same damn one ! stupid bend on the pipe is in the right direction, i think JJR forgot that a Auto Transmission sits there, had to have mine cut and re-welded to fit, and a re-angled flange for the X-force cat .....

Have fun. if you cant get it on yourself, dont waste anytime stressing about it and punchin hell out of the car, just breather and put the stock back on and get a hoist and welder :)

good luck

  • 2 weeks later...
Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hey Fellas,

I fitted the full exhaust system up last week - bought it all from Just Jap at Kirrawee. Can't recommend these guys enough. Awesome pricing and very helpful/friendly.

I was lucky enough to get access to a friends diesel workshop in my week off work, and the hoist and great tools made things heaps easier. It took us about 2 hours to get the factory exhaust out and cat-back exhaust fitted up, but we had a few head-aches when trying to put the new JJR front-pipe in! As was mentioned earlier, it seems the orientation of the big 3" pipe doesn't quite line up with where the factory front pipe runs, so gets seriously close to the x-member under the gearbox (well, it is in my manual RS-4 S anyway - is this different for autos and if so does this front pipe fit in no worries?). I have no doubts that the pipe would have 'hit' the cross member when driving around. Anyway, after taking the front pipe off and putting it back on again literally 4 times, we decided it wouldn't fit. We took it up the road and had the pipe bent about 1 inch horizontally towards the passenger side of the car so as not to hit the x-member. After that it all fitted together superbly once we took off the cat-bracket and bent to a new shape. Really happy with the result. Word of warning - if using the new gaskets, make sure you use some 'gasket-goo' or other high-temp silicon to seal the pipes - I had a few 'leaks' between various pipes and had to unbolt everything so as to fix it which took ages.

The HKS Silent Hi-Power is a tremendous exhaust for anyone considering a hi-flow system. It actually sounds pretty loud around town (I can only imagine how loud the standard hi-power is!) But at idle, or cruising on 100-110km/h it isn't too droney at all. Very nice at steady throttle, with a bit of burble and growl when accel/decellerating. The Catco 3" cat is very nice also. Power is now up noticably, and the highway fuel econ has improved from 9.6L/100kms to 8.9L/100kms to boot! Just gotta replace the O2 sensor now - the existing one looked pretty charred when I took it out. Anyone know where I can get a new replacement cheaply?

Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted
You have the exact same system as me, it's pretty good eh ?

The only problem i have is the cannon hangs a bit low and scrapes a bit sometimes.

Does yours have the same problem?

I haven't had any probs with scraping yet - mine is sitting at std factory height though. Is your car lowered?

Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted
pushing me too do mine :)

but i cbf installing... any takers in melb? name a price :D

Aftermarket cat-back is a breeze to install - have a go at it yourself, seriously. You should get an exhaust place to fit front pipe IMO. You couldn't pay me enough to go through the pain of fitting up the front-pipe again :D

BKC34 Collaborator

BKC34

Posted
Posted

i have a 3"catback, would love to get a dump/front pipe very soon, would you recommend that i get a exhaust shop to do it,

(my mate is a mechanic but i'm not sure if he has a welder or anything, and if it's a real C#@t of a job i dont really wanna ask him then) NB he still charges me tho lol

kidafa Veteran

kidafa

Posted
Posted

ive installed a 3 inch ffr bellmouth dump pipe onto a s2 stagea.

Was a piece of piss. Remembering it was an auto. Ive got a good feeling if your car is auto it will be a direct bolt on item.

If its manual... well thats another story by the looks of things will need modifyig :P

BKC34 Collaborator

BKC34

Posted
Posted
ive got a series 2 manual and it bolted straight in without any cat mods or anything. just snapped one stud but yer that was my fault

Riiiggghhtttt. ok well i guess ill give it a go then, this is with the jjr bellmouth front pipe right?

BensDR30 Experienced

BensDR30

Posted
Posted (edited)

I fitted the JJR front pipe/3" CATCO a couple of months back to our S1 RS4V with the car on the ground (my Z is using the shed/jackstands at present). Yes, the pipe is VERY close to the x-member, but hasn't hit it so far (I expect that the vibration would be quite audible if they did make contact).

The exhaust mount that attaches to the gearbox was also unable to be re-used - the larger flanges on the exhaust just made the fitment too tight, and compared to the factory system the front pipe was about 20mm shorter.

Having said all that, I am happy with the product, and even with the standard system behind the cat, the top-end is noticeably better. There is a little more turbine noise with the thinner wall SS vs the OEM cast dump, but nothing remotely unpleasant for my 6-month old daughter :(

I ended up wrapping the front pipe in exhaust wrap from the O2 to the lower bend, and added some insulation to the heater pipes - you don't want them letting go after getting baked by the dump-pipe!

(I had previously replaced the O2 sensor, so that was easy to remove)

Edited by BensDR30
Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I ended up wrapping the front pipe in exhaust wrap from the O2 to the lower bend, and added some insulation to the heater pipes - you don't want them letting go after getting baked by the dump-pipe!

(I had previously replaced the O2 sensor, so that was easy to remove)

You'd recommend the heat-wrap? I haven't used anything on mine - I'd hate for anything to melt or burn because I haven't shielded something...

Tommy G Collaborator

Tommy G

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Riiiggghhtttt. ok well i guess ill give it a go then, this is with the jjr bellmouth front pipe right?

I sent Just Jap a big email explaining the probs I faced with the stainless 3" front pipe. Hopefully in subsequent productions they will resolve the probs, or release a manual and an auto version of the pipe if this is indeed the issue.

Speak to Darron or one of the other guys at Just Jap - they may be able to put the 1" bend in the pipe for you before you pick it up???

webng Experienced

webng

Posted
Posted
You'd recommend the heat-wrap? I haven't used anything on mine - I'd hate for anything to melt or burn because I haven't shielded something...

There is a bit of debate on this whether it's worth putting on heat wrap on a s/s dump pipe. My understanding is whilst hotter temps are better for exhaust flow, the inability for the s/s to expel heat if it's wrapped up isn't good for it.

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