got2hav1

Has anyone removed the stock exhaust without a lift. I have race ramps , jack, and stands. It looks like it is possible and I have done C5Z removal without lift. Any tips? Do not want to cut the pipes. Plan is to do the muffler mod on spare set and add ZR1 X pipe. I could pay local shop to do the install but just wondered if its possible to do at home. Thanks.

YeeeeeHaw

Due to the size of the can, the ramp is not high enough for the passenger side, jack it up higher and play safe. The passenger side is very hard to remove, plus there are cables that can be cut by the end of the over axle pipe easily. Uplug the two cable, move them (and the connector) out of the way before you twist and yank the can out.

jwmgr8

Just replaced stock exhaust with B&B fusion. Previous to this had installed long tube headers with new cats and x pipe. Don't really know why but there was no way existing mufflers were coming off without droping rear suspension cage. Only droped 1/2" - kept on bolts, but they were not coming off without this drop. So I needed a lift?
B&B big improvement over stock

YeeeeeHaw

Did you un-bolt the sway bar and flip it down to make room? Otherwise it catches the can.
The B&B can is much smaller, this gives you much more room to turn and fish the pipe in.

Tomcatsbolt

If you remove the heat shield above the mufflers, you can just get them out. Without removing the shield, the muffler can just catches the lip of the shield.

jgaches

You can, only if you can configure your jacks in a way that allows you to drop the rear craddle. That, along with dropping the swaybar, and removing the heat shield, will allow the removal of the passenger side. The drivers side is not nearly as difficult. I ended up removing the driver side, but just pulled the passenger side out & back and modified it while still on the car. It was much easier to me than going thru the other gymnastics needed to remove it. It was still a PITA.

califbiglar

06’s & early 07’s removing the heat shield doesn’t work, the passenger side just won't make so cut the pipe or drop the suspension. It's different for later 07's and up for some reason.

jgaches

No, not exactly. Mine is an 08 and removing the heat shield was NOT enough to get the pasgnr side out.

BearZ06

It was for my 08, couldn't get it out until the shield was removed then no problem!

Vito.A

Your 09 Z06 mufflers will come out if you remove the passenger side heat shield and drop the sway bar out of the way. Put the front end on 2 X 6 boards and the rear on jack stands. You do not need to remove the trans wire harness, just be careful with it (2-man job).

You will need to completely remove the H pipe to get the mufflers back in properly. Reinstall both mufflers up over the axle, but do not secure them. Then reinstall the H/X pipe slip fit into the over axle pipes, then loosely bolt it up to the cats. Use anti-seize on the slip fits and the bolts.

A thought, if you ever go to long tube headers you will need to replace the ZR1 X pipe with the header manufacturers X pipe. If you ever plan to run headers, this could be a waste of funds.

FNBADAZ06

'06 here, and removing the heat shield gives you that extra 1/4-1/2 inch to clear the axle pipe past the transmission casing
You must also unbolt the rear sway bar and rotate it out of the way, like others have said.

blackvetterzo6

I dropped the rear cradle about 1" and worked the muffler out. Be careful and you'll get it. Dont force anything as there is wiring all over the place. You wont believe how easy it goes back in. Its only a couple of bolts to loosen the cradle. Then just tighten her back up.

got2hav1

Thanks guys sounds like good advice. Thanks for the help.

royski

just did the muffler mod , very easy, jack up car higher the better remove h pipe 10 bolts total , then take off vacum lines and remove the sway bar 4 bolts and just let hang, and slip down drivers side first not off the car just far enough to open the muffler up and seal off the perferated pipe and close it back up , leave it hanging and push it to the drivers side as far as it goes dont force anything ,next pull pass side down not off or out just down and mod the muffler .i didnt weld it i brazed it together , i used 2and a half inch pipe cut down the middle spread it open put it around the pipe and squeez it back together and brazed it up . carful not to start your car on fire , put some protection above your mufflers . when welding or brazing it back together . it worked for me and sounds great , best mod i ever did cost not much 20 bucks in the gas ax and brazing rod . and a piece of pipe . and a few hrs of time . you can do it on the car and save youself a lot of time fighting the pass side pipe . do it on the car if you have the tools now it sounds like a 427

jgaches

Doing it place is not a problem, the OP wanted to take his completely out. Looks like for whatever reason some were able to get theirs out without droping the craddle, and others were not.

Got2hav1,
Let us know how it worked out for you.

got2hav1

Yes, I am wanting to remove completely. I have a second set of mufflers and a friend is doing the mod. I will save my orginals and replace with the modded set. Also will be adding the ZR1 X pipe at same time.
Just to answer a post previous I am not planning headers in the near future. Car is new and don't want to screw around with the warranty. ( Would have it tuned if headers were added.)

YeeeeeHaw

Done it again without having to drop the craddle or removing heat shield.

I've done that last month, I took the stock muffler out, and put it back in because of some issues with the replacement muffler.

Last week, I replaced the stock with the Fusion. I drove the back up on a pair of 10" ramp. Jacked up the front, removed the center pipe. Then lower down the front, jack up the rear and placed 3 pieces of 2x10 between the ramp and rear tire on the passenger side, now that the back is high enough for me to remove the stock muffler easily.

Once again, be very careful with the cables when removing the passenger side.

MarkRx

I've removed/installed mufflers and swapped H / X-pipes on my 07Z about 5 times now. I dont have a lift either. i drive the car up on some rhino ramps, then jack the rear up. take note to watch the front wheel as you raise the rear, naturally it will start to walk back twds you, don't go too far or the car *could* roll backwards. make sure you have enough lip left on the ramp so when you start wiggling the exhaust and torquing down on bolts the car does not fall. If you don't understand any of this then stop here.

remove the nuts and bolts for the rear sway, let it hang down and out of the way. leave the exhaust shield (this pan directly above mufflers) in place. you may scratch it slightly but no one will see it. too much fuss and bother to remove and re-install the tiny screws. most critical part of removal is when you pull and twist the passenger side muffler. there's plastic boxes, wires with plastic connectors, rubber hoses, etc up there. if it doesnt come out, don't force it. simply change the angle or twist in another direction. if you lower the canister, the sharp opposite of the pipe end is going to go up. the harder you pull down, the more of a chance you will cut wires, or damage other goods. sounds lame, but it's common sense. it helps if you have two people, one to hold the muffler and you crawl under with a flashlight to see where it's hitting to guide the pipe. careful not to pinch your fingers the fun part is mating the mufflers back to the h-pipe or new x-pipe. sometimes a flange opener, or using a heavy duty screw driver works. WD-40, PB blaster, etc is your friend, even on the rubber exhaust hangers. every car is different, some pipes don't want to slide back together, some go together in 10 seconds. take your time and have FUN! here's a video so you can see how they are removed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxFrS8dKJxM

got2hav1

Change in plans. Corsas on the way modded Z06 catback for sale. Scheduled lift for Wednesday to install Corsas.

YeeeeeHaw

You understanding and experience is exactly same as mine

That's safer to use the lift. But you could have the muffler out before you get to the lift