Front downpipe removal? 95 Es300
 

How does one take off the front downpipe? long story short, I was trying to replace an exhaust gasket and broke both studs on it so it has an terrible exhaust leak.. I went to a muffler shop, and they put some muffler cement on it and said it should be fine.. the seal blew out real quick..

So my second option, I figured i'd remove the whole exhaust manifold with the DP and get one from the junkyard.. problem is i couldn't remove it at the junkyard, pre and post cat..

How is the downpipe attached to the bottom section right before the cat? Doesn't seem like my other cars where its just a 2-3 bolts

Also, how would I remove the rear manifold since the manifold to downpipe seems like one piece?

Maybe this diagram of the exhaust system will make it a little easier for you to remove. The manifolds are separate from the down pipe, that's why they had two studs holding it on. If the car is not up in the air so that you can see everything and have clearance to pull the pipe assy down, its not coming out. The only other part holding the assy in place is a rubber hanger as noted as item 1 on the diagram . You must get the converter completely out of the way for the down pipe to drop. Once you get all that out then you can fight with the manifolds if you trying to get them as well.

Thanks, the diagram helps a little bit, hmm so I guess at the junkyards they just cut the pipe off the cat, which explains why the whole flange was missing, but I couldn't see the flange on my car either, it looked like it was just one piece.. those 2 bolts aren't the problem, those are broken so i figured i would drop the front manifold at least, and undo the other side, or drop both manifolds, and drop just the downpipe section before the cat as one piece with the manifold(s)

I do have a california spec FYI

Why not try to extract the broken studs and replace them?

i did manage to drill out one bolt, and replaced it, but it would still leak a little bit, the other one, no space to extract or drill.. have any suggestions? not to mention it was broken in a bad way

Can't really think of anything other than a right angle drill or corrosion-x right now. Corrosion-x is amazing and I managed to extract studs on the manifold from a 91 mr2 turbo that I couldn't get out after a week of soaking in Pb blaster. Two or three drops, waited about two minutes and it just broke free with hardly any effort, I was sold at that point. We simply called it the juice at the structural engineering lab I worked at. It was the last resort to loosen things, awesome stuff.

hmmm would i need a right angle drill also? can't drill out the left side (the side without o2 sensor)
and would the drill bit be long enough? to drill the bolt out rather than extract it out?
its the downpipe i'm having issues with, not the exhaust manifold itself

BTW what is the proper socket for those weird star type bolts? the reason why they snapped is a shop tried yo just use a 14mm socket i believe

Just swap to fed spec manifolds and Y pipe. Then install a spacer on the downstream O2 sensor. Slight performance gain and cheap to do.

Haha I could care less about a fed spec manifold, just want the damn exhaust leak fixed.. not to mention I would have to get off the manifold and Y pipe first wouldn't I?

Star shaped bolts are called torx bolts. If your mechanic tried to use a hexagonal socket on them you need to find a new person to work on your car.

I know they are torx, and yeah he said it had a 14 on it so you can use a 14 also if you don't have a torx.. well following his advice, i did that since i didn't have any 1/2" torx sockets.. and i snapped one as well at the junkyard when i was just playing around trying to figure out how to take off the downpipe and the front manifold as a whole..

i try to work on my own cars now, but the 1mzfe isn't an older straight 6 rwd benz, or a typical 4 cylinder i'm used to working on..

No, it sure isnt. I truly dislike transverse mounted v engines, they are such a pain to work on.

I agree, but I found a deal I couldn't refuse on a 2001 Coach edition, guess goodbye downpipe troubles.. maybe i'll get it welded shut or something and just sell it as a working car..

and the 98+'s seem much better made, and I think they use regular exhaust bolts/flanges like most other cars?

Same reason I'm in an ES300, it was going to be traded in so I bought it instead as my turbo Subaru Legacy was completely unreliable. Having said that, I do enjoy the comfort of the car and it probably has saved me from speeding tickets as I am a total boosthead.

the car is mainly for my mom, but the es300 is one hell of an highway cruiser, i used to drive it alot before i got a boosted car too, quite a nice change going from uncomfy recaros to nice leather seats once in a while :)