hey guys, i attempted to install the b&b midpipe last nite. i am a wrenching novice so it took quite a while. i could not for the life of me remove the 02 sensor from the stock midpipe section. does anyone know a trick or tip to get it out? i was using an adjustable wrench b/c i didnt have any wrenches big enuff to fit over the bolt. any help is much appreciated. thanks.

also.....if there is nothing i can do to remove it (if seized?) do i really need it for the car to run properly? i know that there are two 02 sensors in the rx8 exhaust system. one main in front of the midpipe section, and a backup one in the midpipe section. do i need the backup one?

 

Don't quote me on this, but I have been doing some research on the Rotary Performance high-cat pipe and the B&B midpipe. I believe that the B&B midpipe is illegal in Cali, (don't know where you live) because it is just a straight through pipe without a cat. This will keep you from passing smog and emissions testings as compared to the Rotary Performance high-cat pipe which has a cat on it and a place for the stock O2 senor so the CEL will not come on, I believe the B&B does not have that but then again don't quote me on it because I'm still researching.

Regarding the stock O2, I think you need to be careful because someone told me they stripped the threads so they had to buy a whole new replacement. Just take your time and hopefully it will come loose.

I hope I helped a little as hopefully I'm starting to understand a little more about these high cats/midpipes. Good luck.

 

My o2 sensor came right out with a bit of old fashioned elbow grease. And from hearing about stripping the part on this site, I found the proper sized wrench just to be sure I had a perfect fit. Maybe you could try some liquid wrench or something like that. I would guess you'll get a CEL with this part and will need to get an o2 fooler.

Heard complaints about the spring loaded bolts in the back also, but those came off with a bit of elbow grease and nothing else.

 

has anyone gotten an 02 sim/fooler to work? i heard the casper electronics and the 02 sim from rotaryperformance both do NOT work.

 

Heard that about the Casper unit, but not about the RP one.

 

also........i believe i have an exhaust leak, possibly from both connections (from header to midpipe and from midpipe to exhaust). i re-used the stock doughnut that goes between the header and midpipe and it seems fairly secure. im not too sure about the midpipe to exhaust section however. there is no gasket between those two. is there supposed to be one? if so, where can i find a replacement?

 

If you look at your stock cat, there is a really thick circular piece that is connected to the end of the cat that sticks out about an inch. At first glance, it didn't seem like it would come off but it does. Use a flat head screwdriver and take it off. After you take that off, connect is to the midpipe and that should help with your leaking problem. I didn't install the doughnut gasket at first, which gave me a leaking problem as well. Hope that helps.

 

thanks for the help velocityred. actually, that is EXACTLY the problem i was experiencing. i forgot to take off that gasket thing on the catback side of the midpipe, and installed it today and now the midpipe is working fine.

lol........its barely noticable above stock exhaust now that its installed properly. when i had an exhaust leak, it was at least 100-105 decibels im pretty sure. it was only slightly quieter than running open header!! loud enuff for me to to silently hope to myself 'please dont let me see a cop, please dont let me see a cop.' =P now its working fine.

 

That was how my car was when I installed the stock exhuast to the midpipe. It was leaking really bad and sounded like crap. After installing the gasket, the problem was solved. Glad the midpipe is working fine.

 

Arent you guys finding that it smells too much??

 

mine only smelled for a few days or less