Does Rockauto.com ship to Hawaii? If so their prices are a little better but not sure with shipping.
I have a 98 4cyl and a 6cyl.
Just did the 4cyl with the Walker part last week. It went well. I have been under the car with flex pipe issues before with the 6cyl so familiar with it.
As far as the brand....not sure. I read reviews on amazon and steered away from some because people said some brands did not fit well. So, see if any reviews.
I just did it with 2 standard ramps on the front tires and chocks behinds the wheels. Go slow be safe. emergency brake etc. With jack stands I double up or use the 2 regular jacks in addition so if it goes wrong I don't get flattened into a pancake.
I went to car wash and sprayed underside of car and engine clean. Put it on front ramps. Chocks to back wheels. Double check parking brake. Cardboard underneath for padding and helps you slide easier. I used a wire brush to get thicker rust off. Used goggle as you will get stuff in your eyes when under a car. PB plaster the cat to resonator section bolts a few hours then wipe off. PB blaster the upstream bolts.
Start with the downstream section as its more floppy and moves as you try to un bolt(upper section is more stable since attached to engine) Take advantage of the stability of the hangers holding pipe more steady.
Used wrench for bolt head(not enough room for 2nd socket on mine, if yours has room 2nd socket would be easier) I used a small piece of galvanized pipe over the socket to make a longer socket handle as my breaker bar was too long. Loosen up but do not remove bolts yet so it holds the pipe and cat in place for when you work upstream.
For upstream bolts I used deep sockets and socket extension to get the socket back to a good movable space. Used the galvanized pipe for a breaker bar too.
Took upstream off first and then down stream. Soaked downstream bolts in PB blaster for awhile and re used them. re used upstream bolts.
In addition to new gaskets I also used permatex high temp gasket maker red 650 farinheight sealant as an outer ring to gaskets. Its messy so have some paper towels.
I put some vasaline on rubber piece that holds hanger and on the hanger itself. Put gasket and sealant on and started by sliding hanger into rubber holder. made some mess with sealant getting upper bolts aligned and put a nut on upper part then went downstream and put bolts on loose and then tightened everything up and put more sealant on joining edges and cleaned up mess.
Sealant says wait 24 hours. after 6 it felt solid and I started and drove car.
6cyl has to be harder because of 2 pipes-connections upstream compared to 1 with 4cyl but this the basic idea.
I thought once bolts loose I would have to pry and pull to get pipes apart but they just came apart and I live in rust area with 260,000 miles.
I did take a screwdriver and tried to remove as much rust as I could on inner pipe but in your area rust should not be a big issue.
Good luck!
Nice write up. Thank you for this. It will help me!
Rockauto prices are usually cheaper, but when factor in shipping, it is alittle bit more than Amazon. The good part about rockauto is that they have better selection of parts than Amazon.
If the car runs fine and you are only replacing the cat because you have to pass emissions testing then look on the forum under 420 code. I believe there are some recent threads of how this code can go away with adding a O2 sensor extension for 5-10 bucks and the code goes away. It might be worth a try since if you already replace the downstream sensor you are already familiar with the area on car.
Go to first new post New 99 1MZ TB/ PO420?
king, i'd like to echo something dlw sed...i too use the jacks front and rear centers in addition to the 4 jackstands.
never had a jackstand give way but my 2 trusty craftsman 1 1/2 ton jacks under it too, i know it's not going nowhere.
good luck. and i know you know this but sometimes i forget to use the 5% discount code. on that purchase it's about 70 bucks savings so worth pasting it in...
tony
Just want to get rid of the light to make the car run better but mostly to get rid of the check engine light.
I've always go crazy on jack stand and other stuff to try keep me from becoming a pancake. I tend to use all 4 when I get deep under there. OCD I guess.
Weak upstream O2 or AF sensors can also give P0420, also exhaust leak. Its the difference between the upstream and downstream that says "cat efficiency" and a minor 5% drop red flags this (with a couple million VW TDIes putting out 40X this...)
Replacing the upstream O2 (Fed) or AF (Cal) sensors is pretty much due at 200k, again Densos being the best choice.
Of course as DLW says the Dorman Help! 420009 non-fouler trick can also silence the P0420, for about $4, just drill one through with 1/2" bit and mount the downstream O2 like so
ex pipe---undrilled 420---drilled 420---O2 sensor
from that far away the exhaust O2 looks real low...:grin:
Hmm... I will that in mind.
We don't have any emission testing thankfully.
I looked at my notes. Previous owner had the Bank 1 sensor 1, bank 2 Sensor 1 replaced at 161K on 1/23/2012. I think it was then when he was told the cat was bad. I do have the android app 'Torque', but not sure what data to look at or how to check the O2 Sensors via the app.
Going to also be replacing the two knock sensors and wire harness down there (one of the knock sensors is also on the CEL list)....and doing valve covers, plug seals, and spark plugs. Hopefully by end of this year after I replace the PS high pressure hose in the next two weeks.
Just trying to make this car run 100% better
