okay, think I'm ready to put the dp and shield on. However I can't for the life of me figure out what bolts on to the center of this shield /arm. I'm looking around like... I don't see any other parts. haha. Am I missing something obvious?

 

is that gap between the shield and the arm just.... arm need to be squeezed a little closer and a big bolt thru it to the block? ��

 

First, what is that hose coming from that is hanging just above the aux cooling pump? I would definitely recommend affixing it to its proper location.

There is a 13mm hex bolt that passes through the stanchion and tightens into the block. If you can't find the OE bolt, you can go to a hardware store and source one.

 

Oh I believe that's the hose that pops onto the coolant bottle. other thing to the left of the pump is the o2 sensor (so that gap at the brace is okay? just run a 13mm bolt thru? has to be here somewhere. haha)
Hey.... while you're here, emailed you guys about getting a banjo bolt... torqued It to 30 lbs by accident and snapped it off. haha. Thanks man!

 

We leave the 10mm bolt on the stanchion loose until we get the 13mm started, then tighten them both down so you aren't fighting or adding a preload to the stanchion.

I don't see that email, give us a call and we can get you a set of banjos sent out.

 

IMHO, this is not a DIY project for a shade tree mechanic.

 

We tell a lot of people this, but everyone wants to do it! That is why we keep updating directions for everyone!

 

All I have left is the top heat shield and I'm
done! Did the valve cover gasket yesterday / oil change and finished under the car. Yesss.
I'll let you guys know if it turns on. Couldn't thank you guys enough! if I had to do it a 2nd time.. it's really not that bad after you learn the tricks. Biggest problem I had was getting my big hands into a few places but I got creative with extensions and tape to hold on bolts to sockets. Hahaha, thanks again everyone

 

I am right in the middle of this project right now. Everything was going relatively smoothly for one of my projects until....the lower o2 sensor. This thing is not budging and it has now started rounding off. I have drenched it with pb blaster, used breaker bar / o2 socket...nothing (did they weld these in?). I will probably only have a few more attempts left at getting it with the socket before it is completely rounded. I do not have access to a torch. Any thoughts / tips for this one? I do have some vice grips but don't want to damage it unless I absolutely have to. The only other roadblock at this point I see is the bracket for the DP to the rest of the exhaust as it also seems really rusted.

 

If possible, get a new clamp for the DP and cut the old one off. See if you can leave the O2 sensor in the DP and just remove it as an assembly. Its been a while since I did this, so I don't remember if that is possible or not.

And make sure that you don't see any leaking from the oil filter housing. It is right there for you to inspect under the car. You have already done 3/4 of the work if you need to replace those gaskets.


Have fun,
Mike

 

Try a pipe wrench, its will chew it up , but might be able to get it off.

 

Thanks for the tips. I was able to remove the lower heat shield and the DP is free now. I did break down and buy a torch (shown below). Anyone have any experience with that one?

I will try to use this to heat the DP while out of the car and then use the vice grips to get it out. I don't have a vice though so I need to figure out something to hold the DP down. If this doesn't work I am taking it to an exhaust shop to have them get it out. I guess at this point I am going to be replacing the sensor.

I probably would have been on the home stretch of this project if it wasn't for this O2 sensor.

@mbwicz: I haven't checked the oil filter housing yet. Does it take a gasket that I can purchase at like autozone? I'd rather not have to wait longer for that to get shipped.

 

If you didn't damage the wire on the O2 sensor, it should be fine, leave it in there. That is the same torch that I have, you won't regret buying it.

The gaskets are molded and available from a dealer or mail order. I doubt that NAPA or autozone would have them.

If you don't have any leaks, just make sure to clean everything before you put it together. That way if there are any future issues, you can see where the problem started.
Good luck,
Mike

 

I don't think I damaged the wires, but the thing looks like it was mauled by a wild animal now so I was going to try to get it out and at the very least put some anti seize on it and put it back in for when I do have to replace it.

If I do not bother with it at all right now, is it ok to use the torch on the DP when it is installed on the car to help remove it in the future?

Also, I got the super kit from Detroit Tuned (highly recommended) and on the website it says it comes with those gaskets. I will check mine when I get home to see but if that is the case, then I will definitely go ahead and do those and the return line as well since that also came with it. When you disconnect the coolant expansion tank, do you disconnect it at the engine or the tank end? Is there one that is better than the other? My car has been sitting for a few days so will there be a big mess when I pull off the oil filter housing? The turbo itself is still on attached, will I need to completely remove it to replace the oil filter housing seals? Pelican Parts said the whole thing would need to be removed, but I think I can get it from below?

Thanks for the responses! Want to get it right the first time before putting it all back together

 

No need to remove the turbo. You can get to everything from underneath and/or above.


You will want to drain the coolant before removing the oil filter housing. Coolant circulates through the oil filter housing and oil cooler (this is bolted to the oil filter housing). It will make a mess, no good way around it. Check the oil filter housing to make sure that it is still flat (some people have found warped housings). My housing was fine, but there was a break in the gasket.


Have fun,
Mike

 

+1 to everything mbwicz said

I did not disconnect the coolant expansion tank at all, when you drain the coolant there will be none in there anyways. You may want to unscrew the retaining screw for the coolant tank at the top and move it out of the way if you need to get under it, but I don't think I needed to.

I ordered the super kit a couple months ago and IIRC it only came with the oil filter housing gasket, not the oil cooler gasket. Some people like to replace both at the same time since you have everything apart but mine was not leaking and I didn't have the part on hand (and did not want to wait a couple days extra).

 

Well, I am making progress guys. Got the oil filter housing off last night (She threw up everywhere, that was no joke). I didn't end up draining the coolant, I just let it run out of the housing for a few mins. I will probably go ahead and change the oil while I am in here.

Still deciding if I want to drain / flush the coolant. I probably should. The process for this is just draining from the lower radiator hose, flushing with distilled water, filling the system up again at the reservoir right? Is the bleeder screw in a different location on an N14? I still have some time to decide, I have a lot of leaked oil to clean up (already gone through 2 cans of brake clean).

 

I would certainly refill the coolant, since the oil filter housing runs both oil and coolant. You could have coolant in the oil and/or vice versa so better safe than sorry to just drain and refill both. There's a PDF floating around the internet documenting coolant flush. The bleeder screw is tucked in just to the right of the valve cover about midway back to the firewall. Big "plus" on the top so you can put a flathead or Philips head screwdriver and unscrew it a bit.

 

Still plugging away in the evenings after work. Here are some pics from when I first got down to the area and then the various stages in cleaning up the oil. I could not believe the amount of oil and gunk there was built up in that engine bay. It was a mess!

I also replaced the vacuum pump since that was another item on the laundry list that I received from the dealership to get done (got the pump from ecs tuning but didn't come with a complimentary window decal :( lol). I also have put the oil feed line on and am getting ready to bolt it down and put the oil filter housing on as well tonight. So far this has been kind of a fun job and even more exciting when I am saving 900 Plus dollars.

Once I have it back together more, I will drain the oil and put new in and also do the same with coolant, probably will go ahead and flush it with distilled water to get some crud out of the lines. Then I have to locate the elusive bleeder screw, I hear it exists but have never seen it in person. hahaha

 

From you last picture the bleeder screw should be very close to that green ring. I've seen some people have it and some don't, and I didn't understand why.

 

Well I got it all done guys. Only had one heat shield bolt leftover which I didn't put in because the holes on the front lower and upper heat shield didn't line up, I think I bent the shield a bit taking it out. No biggie though, it is still solid and not going anywhere. Then I drained the coolant (which I was surprised how little came out of the lower rad hose) and replaced it with distilled water to give it a flush. Brought her out of the anesthesia and fired her up.Took her a while to warm up but I did see a little smoke coming off of the turbo / components. It eventually stopped so I figured it had to be any crud left over from cleaning up.

Ran it for a while with the heat on, shut it off, drained again. Now filling it with 50/50 new coolant / distilled water. I did locate the bleeder screw and unscrewed it but nothing came out of it, even bubbles (tried it with the reservoir cap on and off). Then after filling with coolant, I drove her around for a while and pulled it back in the garage to top off the coolant. I think I have only put in maybe 3-4 quarts of coolant in at this point and the level is at the max. Will it eventually go down so I can add more?

Also, it is throwing code p0036 which i looked up to be the o2 sensor heater, so maybe I did end up damaging some wire trying to get that thing out?

With the torch that I bought, is it safe to use that to heat the downpipe by the o2 sensor while it is on the car? I don't want to burn or melt anything down there.

Other than that, it was a decent project and I would do it again just make sure you don't get into a hurry.

 

The bleeder screw will only bleed when unscrewed about 2-3 turns. You should definitely see some liquid coming out, even if it is between bubbles. Do this when the car is running. It doesn't necessarily have to be hot. Make sure that you have the heater turned on as well.


If you flushed with distilled water, it is likely that your coolant is a little weak. The engine block is still filled with water, so if you just added 50/50, you may need to add some straight coolant before freezing time. You can probably get your antifreeze tested (or get a cheap tester) to see what % you are at.


Glad you got through it. I would check to see if a wire got broken on your o2 sensor, maybe you can just repair the wire than fight with getting it out. Since you had to fight so much with the o2 sensor, maybe pay someone else to finish this portion of the job?


Have fun,
Mike

 

+1 the bleeder screw you just put a little pressure on it.

On the 02 sensor its easy to twist it too much and watch that top one when you put a tool on it.

Good luck,

 

Well I have it all together, fire it up and I'm seeing a little
smoke come out right around here... smells like oil so I'm hoping it's just burning off the old residue? Everything seemed to get pretty warm pretty quick but I suppose
that's normal for a turbo? It's actually coming from under the top heat shield so I'm thinking maybe the exhaust to turbo joint is leaking exhaust? Takes about a minute after starting to start getting smoke and the heat shield is already really hot

 

Update, Cried wolf... smoke went away and everything seems to be perfect. idles
really nice and no oil leaks yet!