3 inch rjc downpipe

[alliedmike]

so I bought an RJC 3 inch downpipe and just installed it tonight. its slammed right up against the frame. . pinned so hard that laying under the car i cannot move it off the frame. any clue as to what is going on here?

 

[ikle]

You can check your motor mounts, maybe they need replacing

 

[alliedmike]

just did a full resto on the car rebuilt motor new mounts everything is new on the car...its strange

 

[chopped39]

Did you pull the motor mount perches from frame and reinstall in differant hole?

 

[alliedmike]

Did you pull the motor mount perches from frame and reinstall in differant hole?

those are the only things i did not remove from the frame when I tore it down .so there in the same spot as when i started the tear down...( not that this means there correct) maybe the guy before me did something stupid haha..how can I tell if there correct The motor and trans went back in the car perfectly everything lined up..wouldent I have had an issue with the trans bolting up to the tranny mount if the motor mounts were off?

 

[alliedmike]

I have been reading some other posts on here, about guys elongating the holes that mount it to the turbo. is this "normal practice"should i have to do this after spending all the money on it. I dont want to hack this thing up.

 

[chopped39]

Are the mounts stock or Hr style? Stock manifold? Maybe the pipe is bent wrong. It would have been a real task to get it in if the perches were in wrong. I would call rjc before modifing it

 

[alliedmike]

stock mounts and stock manifold. and yea the motor and trans basically fell into place...but im thinking its bent wrong it seems to be down and to the pass side too much it can use to come up atleast an inch and a half from the frame and over towards the drivers side like 2 inches

 

[chopped39]

That pipe might be for aftermarket headers.

 

[Boston GN]

Having a very similar issue. ATR pipe/ATR headers. Replaced my motor mounts with HR ones and now my pipe is wedged between the heater box and the frame.
HITS BOTH of them. I have a feeling I'm going to have to cut my pipe and mod it to fit. Ugh

 

[RED LS1]

It appears most aftermarket pipes are like this. How close is your RJC pipe to the inner fender well?

If you loosen up the down pipe and loosen up the turbo you should be able to find a lot of adjustment in the pipe. Hopefully enough to get it off the frame. Another problem you may face is getting it to line up with your catback.

 

[Fat Nat]

Make sure motor mounts are on the right side hard to tell which is which with stock mounts

 

[alliedmike]

It appears most aftermarket pipes are like this. How close is your RJC pipe to the inner fender well?

If you loosen up the down pipe and loosen up the turbo you should be able to find a lot of adjustment in the pipe. Hopefully enough to get it off the frame. Another problem you may face is getting it to line up with your catback.

actually its touching the inner fender well like enough where i need to trim the plastic..not sure i should have to do this. i called today and they said i can ship it back and they will check it to verifyits size is proper but that sounds like alot of shipping to pay for back and forth and such i think ill just endup cutting the pipe and trimming where needed and have to tig weld it back together grrrrrr

 

[alliedmike]

It appears most aftermarket pipes are like this. How close is your RJC pipe to the inner fender well?

If you loosen up the down pipe and loosen up the turbo you should be able to find a lot of adjustment in the pipe. Hopefully enough to get it off the frame. Another problem you may face is getting it to line up with your catback.

well before i cut it im going to give this a try and see if im overlooking some adjustment i hope so

 

[Nick Micale]

I have fit the RJC down pipe on a few GN's and never had a problem.

There are other variables like type of header, turbo housing, suspension that can cause alignment issues.

Simple fixes can be to open the 4 holes in the DP for adjustment as well as doing the same to the turbo flange holes on the header. This will allow the turbo to swivel a little and move the end of the DP away from the frame.

I have seen this interference issue many times also caused by aftermarket turbo housings having the bolt pattern slightly off from the original Garrett housing.

 

[alliedmike]

I have fit the RJC down pipe on a few GN's and never had a problem.

There are other variables like type of header, turbo housing, suspension that can cause alignment issues.

Simple fixes can be to open the 4 holes in the DP for adjustment as well as doing the same to the turbo flange holes on the header. This will allow the turbo to swivel a little and move the end of the DP away from the frame.

I have seen this interference issue many times also caused by aftermarket turbo housings having the bolt pattern slightly off from the original Garrett housing.

thats actually a good idea that may fix the issue opening up the holes on the DP will allow me to lift the pipe off the frame rail and then opening up the turbo mounting holes will allow me to turn it away from theinner fender plastic where its pinned GREAT IDEA!!!! as far as what i have for parts on the car i have stock suspension stock headers and the turbo is using the stock garrett exhaust housing.. (sorry that got long winded ) great well ill work on this tomorrow night and post back if i find a solution thanks again everyone

 

[alliedmike]

so this finding leads me to a whole new problem..why the hell does the gasket not seal the whole face of the flange on the DP??? you can see the carbon on the top left of the picture and the gap inbetween the flange and gasket .it is perfect on the turbo..its a remflex gasket this car is driving me CRAZY

 

[SCOOBY DOO]

You shouldn't need a gasket with an RJC DP. Got an RJC pipe on my car...without a gasket...seals perfectly...with no exhaust leaks.

 

[alliedmike]

really? hmm i would have never thought you could install it without a gasket. works for me thanks ok now thats one problem solved

 

[alliedmike]

hey i just wanted to post back so if someone in the future finds this thread they have a final answer

i used a burr in my die grinder and was able to grind out the turbo mounting holes in the header in a slot pattern so i could turn the turbo clockwise a tiny bit and it pulled the DP away from the inner fender. then i did the same to the DP flange and was able to lift the DP up off the frame and bolt it secure (just a side note if your going to do this dont waste your time using a harbor freight burr, there useless, i went to a commercial supplier we get supplies from for work and got a rock carbide burr worked fantastic, made short work of it)