Fitting advice for spoon manifold
- Thread starter Gaz DC5
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Full 4-2/2-1 sections or just 2-1?
Have you got some ramps or are you gonna to try it on axle stands?
Do you know if the oem mani on your car has been off before?
Personally I wouldn't attempt it on stands, you'll need good leverage to get the bolts out and afaik you need to split it to remove it? As well as removing the heatshields
if it's been off before the bolts should be easier to free up and you may get away with it on stands
You'll need a proper tool to get the 02 sensors out, you will round them off with a normal spanner, though you can adapt the 'o' end with an angle grinder to make it slide over the wiring while still getting a good grip on the sensor
Have you got some ramps or are you gonna to try it on axle stands?
Do you know if the oem mani on your car has been off before?
Personally I wouldn't attempt it on stands, you'll need good leverage to get the bolts out and afaik you need to split it to remove it? As well as removing the heatshields
if it's been off before the bolts should be easier to free up and you may get away with it on stands
You'll need a proper tool to get the 02 sensors out, you will round them off with a normal spanner, though you can adapt the 'o' end with an angle grinder to make it slide over the wiring while still getting a good grip on the sensor
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I did mine on ramps, after that I would never attempt it on stands!
I've changed just a 2-1 in stands before, but I'd done it on ramps 2 months previous! That turned into a nightmare on the ramps, I didn't snap any of the bolts instead I ruined the thread on the top 2! Ended up having to drill them out and retap the holes, I would have been 'screwed' had this happened at home on stands
I've changed just a 2-1 in stands before, but I'd done it on ramps 2 months previous! That turned into a nightmare on the ramps, I didn't snap any of the bolts instead I ruined the thread on the top 2! Ended up having to drill them out and retap the holes, I would have been 'screwed' had this happened at home on stands
not too far, i've never been but it can't be much more than an hour away. I'm going to go there for a RR at some point so i might just kill two birds with one stone and get them to fit the Mani aswell i suppose.
I might just throw the 2-1 section on this weekend and when i get back to the uk to work i'll go to tdi for the 4-2 fitted and the RR
I might just throw the 2-1 section on this weekend and when i get back to the uk to work i'll go to tdi for the 4-2 fitted and the RR
yeah thats the thing, i don't wanna pay for something i can do myself. My mate did his toda on his ep3 so i'll probably just wait untill i have more time and do it then. I'll probably just fit the 2-1 this weekend instead, shouldn't take more than an hour tops
It's going back a bit now, so the job is not fresh in my mind, but from what I remember:
The head studs were no problem as you can access them from above, you may need a 'wobble extension' to get at one or two of them at a slight angle around the manifold primaries
The 4-2 to cat bolts were more difficult and if these have rusted and don't want to come off then this is where you'll have your fun - getting leverage with a breaker bar and assortment of extensions while lying flat under the car with not much room to move can be pretty frustrating
The cat to b-pipe bolts are a bit easier but the top one (IIRC) can tax you a bit
You can disconnect the O2 sensor without removing the sensor from the 2-1 section, there's a connector somewhere up towards the bulkhead. This allows you to remove the sensor with the exhaust part off the car, which may be a bit more 'controlled'.
I had to raise the rear of the car to get enough room to swing the Toda out as it's a one piece design, but you won't have this problem swapping OEM with Spoon as they're both two-piece.
You need to drop the ARB out of the way to give you room to get the 4-2 through into the space behind the engine. The OEM one with heatshield will be worse than the Spoon part as it's much bulkier. Tbh I can't remember whether I took the heatshield off, probably did.
I personally wouldn't bother doing the job in two halves, I'd do the job once and do it all.
A bit off topic but I personally wouldn't use the Spoon 2-1 part, I'd just change the 4-2 and keep the OEM 2-1/cat.
My 2p, hope it helps a bit
The head studs were no problem as you can access them from above, you may need a 'wobble extension' to get at one or two of them at a slight angle around the manifold primaries
The 4-2 to cat bolts were more difficult and if these have rusted and don't want to come off then this is where you'll have your fun - getting leverage with a breaker bar and assortment of extensions while lying flat under the car with not much room to move can be pretty frustrating
The cat to b-pipe bolts are a bit easier but the top one (IIRC) can tax you a bit
You can disconnect the O2 sensor without removing the sensor from the 2-1 section, there's a connector somewhere up towards the bulkhead. This allows you to remove the sensor with the exhaust part off the car, which may be a bit more 'controlled'.
I had to raise the rear of the car to get enough room to swing the Toda out as it's a one piece design, but you won't have this problem swapping OEM with Spoon as they're both two-piece.
You need to drop the ARB out of the way to give you room to get the 4-2 through into the space behind the engine. The OEM one with heatshield will be worse than the Spoon part as it's much bulkier. Tbh I can't remember whether I took the heatshield off, probably did.
I personally wouldn't bother doing the job in two halves, I'd do the job once and do it all.
A bit off topic but I personally wouldn't use the Spoon 2-1 part, I'd just change the 4-2 and keep the OEM 2-1/cat.
My 2p, hope it helps a bit
Thank alot for that evs thats a great help. It's alot more aqward that i imagined, i thought just doing the 2-1 would be straight forward but even this doesn't sound all that simple. I think i'll come home early next time i'm back and get it booked into TDI north then i can get the RR done afterwards.
Why wouldn't you use the 2-1 evs? Once the spoons on i imagine the the 2-1 section would be easier to swap over than it is now? Or do you just think its not very good?
Why wouldn't you use the 2-1 evs? Once the spoons on i imagine the the 2-1 section would be easier to swap over than it is now? Or do you just think its not very good?
Happy to help
As for the Spoon 2-1, I just don't think it's very good. I had a full Spoon mani which was nowhere near as good as the Toda (RR graphs are about on here somewhere), my 2-1 cracked, and others have found that it's not great for midrange torque. Others have complained that it makes a funny noise, which it does but I quite liked it :lol:
IIRC Spoon themselves recommend that their 4-2 is fitted with the OEM 2-1 for road use. JDM cats are small and not very restrictive anyway, so in my view it's just not worth the risk of running illegally and the hassle of swapping it about for MOTs.
As for the Spoon 2-1, I just don't think it's very good. I had a full Spoon mani which was nowhere near as good as the Toda (RR graphs are about on here somewhere), my 2-1 cracked, and others have found that it's not great for midrange torque. Others have complained that it makes a funny noise, which it does but I quite liked it :lol:
IIRC Spoon themselves recommend that their 4-2 is fitted with the OEM 2-1 for road use. JDM cats are small and not very restrictive anyway, so in my view it's just not worth the risk of running illegally and the hassle of swapping it about for MOTs.
Evs said:Happy to help
As for the Spoon 2-1, I just don't think it's very good. I had a full Spoon mani which was nowhere near as good as the Toda (RR graphs are about on here somewhere), my 2-1 cracked, and others have found that it's not great for midrange torque. Others have complained that it makes a funny noise, which it does but I quite liked it :lol:
IIRC Spoon themselves recommend that their 4-2 is fitted with the OEM 2-1 for road use. JDM cats are small and not very restrictive anyway, so in my view it's just not worth the risk of running illegally and the hassle of swapping it about for MOTs.
Ok that for that evs, i dont want to have a loud car anyway but i think i'll put both parts on and see how it goes, if i don't like it i can put the oem cat back on. I have a mugen ecu and i've been told by a couple of people they don't work too well with cats - the ecu runs rich and can destroy the cat (so i've been told)
gixer750
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i have the spoon 4-2 on the missus' black teg, the decat was on for a while too, but the 'ticking' noise under acceleration annoyed me, so i put the cat on again. the thread stripped on my oem mani on removal and it is a bulky sod to remove, tho' I didn't need to touch the arb.
diy job yes.....would I do it on stands.....hmmm, no.
diy job yes.....would I do it on stands.....hmmm, no.