if you find that link, I'd really like to see it. post it here or pm it to me if you can find it. thanks.

 

I'll look into it. I didn't realize I was buying a chinese piece of **** until I had it in my hands. I figured it would install ok with a little tweaking. Wrong.

 

there's another heat shield right above the CV boot on your passenger side axle that you need to remove before you can get at those bolts properly. that's really the only way you're going to get in there. it's a round metal plate RIGHT above the axle, so you really can't miss it, but I'll take a picture of mine when I get in there to fix this mess if you're still having trouble.

in the meantime: http://audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101953

by the way, that pipe looks legit. you shouldn't have any problems with O2 sensor interference, but I'd recommend you get a new gasket for the turbo side of this as well. any exhaust shop should have this laying around. take the pipe with you when you go to get it to make sure the gasket meets the dimensions you need it to.

 

O2 sensors need to be in the stream to read correctly. An elbow will throw off the reading.

 

damnit. that makes sense.

looks like I'll be buying a new test pipe and O2 sensors soon then (might as well replace them both while it's easy).

anyone have any thoughts on the quality of the cheaper aftermarket O2 sensors that just get spliced into the existing wiring from the OEM sensors? they go for like 40 bucks as opposed to 120+ for the full replacement, namebrand sensor.

is this something I should spring for quality on or can I get away with cheaping out here?

 

First you'll probably need to take that off and try a left-handed(reverse) drill bit to drill your pilot hole. that may take it out without even needing an easy out. then use the easy out if that doesn't work but if you have use of a torch heat that sum beach right up and I guarantee the reverse bit will remove it. Take that jap crap and treat the guy that sold it to you like a pinata. ^^^ haven't you learned about cheaping out yet???

 

everyone needs to learn this at some point. atleast the OP knows now.

 

Actually I don't think so which is why I was commenting on the question about the O2 sensors.

 

Get quality O2 sensors to avoid MILs. Stick with OEM/Bosch. You can get a bit of a break if you get the "universal fit," but you'll have to splice in the old connectors. Also, remember to get a non-fouler for your secondary O2 if you decide to stick with a test pipe.

If you don't have a 3" down pipe, you don't need a 3" test pipe. Labree HFC would be a better option if you want to avoid emissions and MIL issues; it has a 3.0" inlet and a 2.5" out. It's high-flowing enough to handle up to a GT2871r elim.

 

the reason I asked is because I know we can occasionally get away with using cheaper parts, for instance a K&N cone filter will yield the same results as a carbonio or similar overpriced intake from what I've heard, and the ebay fmic's seem to get the job done just as well as those with more reputable names behind them.

I thought the O2 sensors might have been another area where I could afford to cut costs down by using a generic sensor. I feel the question was worth asking.

As far as this piece of **** test pipe I now have, I didn't realize it was cheap chinese **** until it got to my door step. I bought it from some guy either here or on vortex, paid (i think) 80 shipped and saw the quality when it arrived. I figured I'd install it and if there were any issues, I'd take them up with him then. I've had this thing for a good 3 months at least and at this point, I think I need to just eat the loss.

When you get down to it, it's only 80 bucks. Not really that much money. I guess you could say the same about the difference in cost from the generic O2 sensors and the Bosch ones as well, though...

I'm planning on keeping this test pipe. My temporary fix this weekend (provided I get the time to work on my car) is to pull the test pipe out, remove the broken O2 sensor, plug that bung with a nut and washer, remove the remains of my broken turbo>cat stud (hopefully without having to remove the turbo, but we'll see about that), replace it, and reinstall the test pipe with one sensor.

From there, I'm going to order two new O2 sensors (might as well replace them both at the same time), a non-fouler (?? have to look into this...), buy another O2 sensor bung from an exhaust shop (ensuring it's the right size), and removing this damn test pipe again to drill a hole for the bung in a better place and weld it in, then installing it the right way.

By the way, this is a 3" inlet to 2.5" outlet test pipe. I'm still running stock exhaust components for a bit and understand that the outlet needs to be 2.5" to mate up properly. If/when I end up going BT, I'll go full 3" test pipe to full 3" exhaust, but that's a little ways out.

I never even considered going HFC instead of test pipe because I thought those things went for close to $1k, but labree is letting them go for about $250 right now. I'm going to throw that idea around a bit too. I'm still going through with the temporary fix, but from there I may want to pick up a more legit test pipe or hfc.

Thanks for all the input here, btw. I had a decent idea of how to fix this, but the reassurance helps.