Pipe Werx 3 " down pipe

hoffmanvp3

hoffmanvp3

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Any one on here recently installed or removed the pipe werx 3 " down pipe on the 8L S3?
Scratching my head for the best way to remove it as it's rubing as the propshaft damper so need to make a strategic dent.
Cheers
 
Take it back to pipewerx and get them to do it as there exhausts are all custom made
 
It's not really pipe werx fault as it wasn't rubbing before.
It's only after fitting an aftermarket mani that would appear to have moved the turbo slightly to the right thus pulling the downpipe over to the right as well.
looks like a sub frame off job to remove....******** lol
 
Have you tried moving the engine over slightly using the engine mounts?

I did this to solve a similar issue with my downpipe. as with the engine as far over to the passenger side as possible mine does not rub at all now.
 
If i moved the engine to the left or right it wouldn't change any thing as the downpipe and propshaft move together
 
Ah ok yeah mine was very close to both the bulkhead and the prop so by moving the engine over it gave me a good 3 or 4mm clearance all round which stopped the knocking noise I had when turning left. I think mine was hitting the bulkhead though not the prop.
 
My knocking from my DP (relentless 3") only stopped once I changed my engine mounts tbh.

I did follow vrbob's advice above and it did solve the knocking slightly - but not fully- however once both of the engine mounts were replaced there hasn't been a knocking since from the DP.
 
Oh yes that's a good point I did also replace my engine mounts about the same time as Kwistof as my old ones were quite tired so this also changed how the downpipe sat. It was after changing these that I had to adjust the engine location to eliminate any unwanted noises.
 
Other than removing the DP and denting it where it rubes would be to make a 5mm gasket spacer for the DP to hotside to make the DP move over by 5mm.
New engine mounts wont change any thing as well:(
 
Yeah I see what your saying as if you made the gasket thicker the DP would move away from the prop towards the bulkhead leaving the engine etc in the same place.

How much clearance do you have around the DP at the mo?
 
I have also had this problem ever since fitting the downpipe. Was not too bad to begin with, but after fitting a relentless mani and new mounts, left hand turns under acceleration are nasty, with a horrible knocking sound and feel through the steering wheel. Hopefully when my new mani arrives and a shuffle of the mounts, it will be a bit better
 
Well i dont wanna name n shame any one but its a high quality mani that ive fitted (not relentless) and its only since fitting that ive developed this problem.
Currently there is no clearance and you can just turn the prop shaft by hand with the prop shaft damper rubbing on the DP
 

Well here you can see the problem, quite clear they are rubbing but its enough to cause a PITT!


And this is the rubbing from behind the propshaft damper.
These 2 pics are with the supplied spacer fitted.


Now this is with the oem gasket fitted instead of the supplied one between the Turbo and Mani.
There is now a gap big enough to stop the rubbing.....BUT


BUT now its rubbing on the feeking Flexi. If i could just move the props balance weight 2" back towards the end of the car id be happy with that but not sure the prop would shake itself to pieces.


I think the only option left is to remove the Down pipe and dent it where it originally rubbed in the first place, which to say the least I'm not particular happy with seeing as i just put her back together again!
 
hoffmanvp3 said:

Well here you can see the problem, quite clear they are rubbing but its enough to cause a PITT!


And this is the rubbing from behind the propshaft damper.
These 2 pics are with the supplied spacer fitted.


Now this is with the oem gasket fitted instead of the supplied one between the Turbo and Mani.
There is now a gap big enough to stop the rubbing.....BUT


BUT now its rubbing on the feeking Flexi. If i could just move the props balance weight 2" back towards the end of the car id be happy with that but not sure the prop would shake itself to pieces.


I think the only option left is to remove the Down pipe and dent it where it originally rubbed in the first place, which to say the least I'm not particular happy with seeing as i just put her back together again!
Click to expand...
Std gasket std bore not suitable for oversize manifold bore. There is adjustment in downpipe to studs usually to rotate the assembly
 
Just a tad. Just feeked off i never spotted this while the head was off as it`ll be **** easy to have sorted then but that's life for ya lol
 
hoffmanvp3 said:
Aberdeen bud.

Bill how may i ask you adjust the down pipe by rotating it?
Click to expand...

clearanced holes in the DP flange so it can be rotated.
we often have to pull them where we need them to clear prop and the flange hole clearance usually allows some margin or rotation.
 
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That`s one of the mods i`ll be getting my Machine shop to do on the DP Bill.
Also pulling the head now as it appears i cant undo the 3 bolts on the DP as i used Nordlock washers on them as i didnt want them coming loose and now they will not budge so oh well i`ll be getting plenty practice with head gasket and timing belt lol
There`s a few things i wanted to do while the heads off again, Wrap the DP with heat tape being one of them
 
Mine is a pipe werx item and was a ****** to get right...
I later found out it was for a TT?
Although i thought they were the same ?
Mine cleared the prop just the de cat section had to be cut and re welded as the bent in it made the centre section sit too low.
All good now though. I did not fancy the job to be honest, I let a good mechanic i use do it.
 
badger5 said:
clearanced holes in the DP flange so it can be rotated.
we often have to pull them where we need them to clear prop and the flange hole clearance usually allows some margin or rotation.
Click to expand...

Sounds like something I might need done. So what is it you do exactly. Do you drill out the existing holes on the flange(lengthening them) allowing the downpipe to rotated towards the engine.
 
U would need to elongate the 3 bolt holes but would need to be concentric to the main bore of the DP allowing a clocking motion to rotate clockwise/counter clockwise thus rasing and lowering the cat end of the DP to clear
 
Keep trying with the DP studs, you can't go removing the head just for that!

I also Nordlocked mine on when i ran a k04, they took some effort to get off, but cracked off eventually with a bang and a bruised hand.

Still preferable to pulling the head though!
 
I've got the ARP stud kit for the head so can re use so its just a new gasket so its not to bad and get good prices from TPS:)
 
hoffmanvp3 said:
U would need to elongate the 3 bolt holes but would need to be concentric to the main bore of the DP allowing a clocking motion to rotate clockwise/counter clockwise thus rasing and lowering the cat end of the DP to clear
Click to expand...

this is an excellent idea.

should prob be something for people to consider when first fitting one,just incase
 
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IrishDave said:
Sounds like something I might need done. So what is it you do exactly. Do you drill out the existing holes on the flange(lengthening them) allowing the downpipe to rotated towards the engine.
Click to expand...

I have drilled oversize as well as filed them into slots as required.. It does'nt take much slot to move the DP a shed load..
 
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Well predictably one of the 4 bolts holding the steering rack to the sub frame sheared on me last night so i`ll be sorting that first but did get the DP off last night without too much hassle, but those sub frame bolts sqreeshed on the way out which was a bit worrying until i could see they were removed in one piece:)
So the left of the sheared bolt is being soaked on GT85 and will attack it again tonight lol
 
I had exactly the same problem where my propshaft doughnut was rubbing against my downpipe. when I replaced my propshaft I only took the prop off to find a hole in the side of my down pipe from where it had been rubbing :sob:
 
surprisingly no, the reason it was hitting the downpipe though was because I was missing a bolt in the damper so it was spinning correctly, its fine now though
 
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