I have goten lucky and bought a very nice set of 2003 Z06 Ti exhaust for my 2000 A4 auto. I have the car jacked up and have the rear sway bar dropped for the extra clearance but still can't figure out how to get the stock removed.... does anyone have any helpful hints or what not? thanks so much!

Sully

 

Your best bet is to take it to a Muffler Shop and stand there and keep an eye on them. You have to have the car frame at least 36" in the air for the assemble to clear.

 

Another alternate is to cut the pipe so you can get it over the axle. Stock systems are plentyful as there are a ton of them out there that are removed every year for aftermarket parts. Saves you the muffler shop fee but makes your stock exhaust even less valuable. I have 2 brand new stock exhausts out in my storage barn but I.m not sure why...

 

I do not have a lift, and I do them all the time.. it's more work without a lift... you need some decently tall jackstands..

Leave the front of the car on the ground.
Get the back as high as you can, the air dam will be very close to touching the ground but it will not be an issue..

Drop the sway bar, do not remove then end links only drop it down...

The drivers side muffler will come out with out removing anything else you just need to rotate and move it in the correct way to get it out...

The passanger side is the harder side of the 2...

I pull the wheel on the pass side, remove the caliper, and the 2 18mm upper control arm bolts.. this will not effect the alignment as it is set by the lower control arm..

pull the axel out of the diff carefully maybe put a rag around the end so you DO NOT nick the surface...

Lay the axel down on the subframe...

Now you can wiggle, position, whatever and remove the pass muffler..

I've done this on many of them no problem with out a lift it really doesnt take that long after the wheel is off it's only a few more bolts to pull the axel..

Hope that helps if you have any questions please let me know... Or if someone wants to tell me that this is a crap way of doing it go ahead all opinions are welcome..

Little extra work but can save you money... and you will know it was done right..

-=Rick

 

yeah I have the car over 36 " in the air at the rear and the air dam in the front in touching the ground. Started with the passenger side and man talk about tight fit... tried a number of times to push pull and tug it out with the tranny and the full tank cover there it is tough... I will try again in the morning and start with the drivers side... I don't care about the stock exhaust but just worried if it won't come out how am I going to get the Ti in. Any other tips more than welcome... Rick.. thanks for the details.. will try it tomorrow!

Sully

 

Best bet and safest at most $100.00 to R&R...my $.02

 

You have to turn the mufflers to where they are almost touching the corner of the bumper cover, again put a rag over the muffler so you don't scratch the paint... After you do it one time, the next will be a bit easier... just play with it and you will get them out...

They will not just come out straight and over, they must be manueverd out.. they will come out..

If you were closer I'd stop over and help you out...
-=Rick

 

Here is a link, to when I did Theresa's Bullets, I removed the stock exhaust all in one piece... I know I didnt get any real pics of the actually removal part.. but here it is anyway..

http://www.rickanthonymotorsports.ne...topic.php?t=43

-=Rick

 

Know what you mean about the pass. side. When I did mine to put on Borlas, I cut the stock pipes at the muffler, but still had a problem getting the flanged end of the pipe out. I took pliers and bent the flanged edge on the tank cover. It doesn't look pretty, but it sure make removal and install easier.

 

You have to remove the heat shielding on the passenger side to get the flange to clear....if you don't want to mess with lowering the axle assy.

You'll like the way that Ti sistem sounds too, once you get it in.....especially if you have LT's and mini cats.

Good luck and make damned sure you have your vette adequately supported at that height.

 

There's the answer.. peesky automatics... do that, and then a little bit of twisting and turning to get it out.

 

The key was the removal of the heat shielding on the passenger side after that once up to the correct 36" I got the old out and the new in... then all sweaty and happy put everything back together and fired it up.... WOW ... it sounds perfect and I just am amazed at the difference.... the Ti's are exactly what I was aiming for! thanks for all the help everyone!

Sully

 

I paid my Chevy dealer $90 to install new mufflers on my C5 a few years ago. It was the best $90 I spent. I think ya' got to be nuts to raise the rear end a 3200 pound car 3 feet off the ground and then crawl under it trying to remove/install a couple of mufflers. All this to save $90-$100. Yes, I know--it's the feeling doing it yourself, yada, yada, yada. It scares me just thinking of someone doing this swap....

 

Just grow some nuts!! just kidding. I cut mine out, and the new ones were in pieces, so they went in very easily.

 

I switched mine out in the driveway in 1hr and 15 mins. I was moving quick and had 4 jacks stands and two secondary jacks along with my large main jack. I was very careful and over cautious. It was really very easy.... well once I got the info on removing the passenger side heat shield... then it was all down hill...

 

If you do it right, your'e never under the car when its up that high.