Midpipe swap without a lift?
 

Hi all,

After some fruitless searches, I've turned to creating a new topic to ask this question: those who have swapped your own midpipe, did you do it without a lift and how hard was it?

My go-to mechanic quoted me $98 to do the change if I provide the parts which isn't bad, but if I can do it with a jack and jack stands with my friend then that would obviously be cheaper, however probably more difficult...

Thanks!

Not hard to do without a lift

I did mine by just jacking up the front of the car enough for me to reach all of the brace bolts and exhaust hangar near the rear. It wasn't difficult.

Just put the car on jack stands. It may be difficult your first time because you haven't done it before. Buts its very easy. Once you've done it, its cake. Hardest part my first time was because I broke 3 bolts. Just don't do that:p

Posted From RX8Club.com Android App

Is it easier to jack up the front or the back or even one side? I don't have enough jack stands to put the whole car up and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable doing that anyways.

jack the front as high as you can, theres only 2 bolts at the back, the three at the front are harder to remove. dont forget to unplug the O2 sensor also! did mine twice on the floor. its a pain in the ass lying on that concrete floor but you will save your $98

But also keep in mind that if you don't have the tools you'll need (3/8 & 1/2 in drive metric ratchet set, breaker bar, o2 sensor socket, exhaust hangar tool, silicon spray), you could easily spend that $98 on tools. Then there's your time.

Personally, I like to work on my car, so I invest in strange tools. Others may choose to pay someone for those jobs.

You can do it by just jacking up the front, but it's much easier to use 4.
You'll have more room to maneuver, and use a creeper, which for older guys like me is a blessing.
I've done it for many years, even did it with my old Battlestar Cadillac Fleetwood, which weighed 4000lbs.

Once you get it up in the air just give it a good shake to be sure it is stable.
For added peace of mind, slide the tires under it.

I was able to unscrew my sensor with a regular wrench, fwiw.
Spray the hardware with PB Blaster, & let it soak for a while.
Spray the rubber hanger also when you're ready to take it off, a prybar or large screwdriver will come in handy for that.
You'll have to take the bracket off that goes across the channel, 4 bolts but 2 have slots, so you don't have to take them all the way out.

If your new midpipe doesn't come with new hardware, I.E nuts and bolts. I'd suggest you get new ones. It's pretty easy to break the old ones off when you're removing them because they're rusty and weak. The job isn't hard at all on jackstands just a tight squeeze under the car and if you have enough room a breaker bar makes life alot easier under there.

Could you expand on the o2 sensor socket and exhaust hanger tool? I'm not sure what you mean. Does the o2 sensor use a special socket?

Additionally, what is the silicon spray for? Gaskets?

o2 Sensor socket: It has a notch in the side that allows the sensor's cable to slide into it. As BC said, if you have a combination wrench set, you could use that.
Exhaust hangar tool: A press tool that pushes the midpipe hangar appendage out of the rubber hangar. I use a large set of c-clamp style vice grips.
Silicon spray: spray it on the rubber hanger before trying to press out the appendage. Trust me, it will save you a *lot* of effort.

A closed end wrench worked fine for me i just slid it over the connector all the way to the sensor

If you go to my profile page and are willing to scan through some random pics, I have some of my 8 on jackstands & the cat on the ground if it helps.

I found it pretty easy to swap out by only jacking up the passenger side.

I wonder if that puts any kind of unnatural stress on the suspension.
It doesn't seem like it would be an issue, but I don't know.

I don't think it does on the suspension. On the wheels it does, but it won't cause any issues if your wheels are structurally sound and you don't leave it sitting like that for days.