Exhaust Upgrade Questions

squire said:

I am planning to install a Bassani X-Pipe and Cat-Back on my '04 Cobra tomorrow night. I was hoping someone that's upgraded the exhaust system on an '03 or '04 would share their experience with me.

1) Do I need a torque wrench to loosen/tighten the nuts/bolts when removing the old exhaust and when installing the new?

2) Do I need to cut the old exhaust to get it off?

Thanks!

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I have yet to upgrade my exhaust, but here are some answers any way:
1) A torque wrench is only used when tightening bolts to a specified amount of "torque" by Ford. THe exhaust bolts should be tight, but I dont know of any published numbers. Most of your important bolts in the motor and your wheels need to be torqued, but not the exhaust.
2) Unlike the GTs, our IRS causes ford to run the exhaust underneath the rear axle. Thus, you unbolt it, it drops down, and you bolt on your new exhaust. No cutting is neccessary.
Hope that helps. By the way, what exhaust set-up are you going with. Im having a hard time deciding between Magnaflow and Bassani, and I still love the sound of the good flows.

Here's a good "how-to" for the midpipe install, similar steps, etc (plenty of pictures too):

http://www.fnsweet.com/pics/kevsS3/x_install.shtml