How-To: 2012 complete DTLT // URD y-pipe install

JustAddMud · Aug 17, 2013

mipawlus said: ↑

Yeah, I'm looking at somehow getting the DTs in with a URD Y pipe. Don't know how yet, since I plan on keeping the cats to stay nice and legal (knowing my luck, I'd get popped at the first inspection).
Click to expand...

Well I'm not sure how Texas is regarding their vehicle inspection laws. Where my truck is registered grants immunity if the vehicle was built after a certain year. I don't need to get a yearly or quinquennial emissions test. Even when I move to Texas in a few months, ill be keeping my Florida tags and plates. I may look in to transferring my plates and tags to Arizona as it may be cheaper and they too have similar laws regarding emissions tests.

-J

ezemanf · Sep 3, 2013

JustAddMud[OP] initial post: ↑

First off, I'd like to state that installing new headers and y-pipe are no means difficult and any mechanic that knows what a wrench is should be able to figure it out. I am writing this guide not because the demand for this how-to is high, but merely to educate and inform the curious who might be on the fence about this install. Looking back, I don't think I took enough pictures. I wasn't in a rush and had to make a few trips to the hardware store, but all in all, this install took about 8 hours. I could have condensed it down to about 4 hours if I really wanted too. Well, lets get this dog and pony show on the road:

Goodies Purchased:

Doug Thorley Long Tube Headers PN: THY-517-LS-C

URD Performance Y-Pipe

URD Rear O2 Sim

Wicked Flows 18" muffler PN: 18SC300*

Vibrant Performance Resonator PN: 1142*

*Note: Some of you may have noticed I went with the 3" in/out for these pieces. I just merely future proofed my exhaust. It's cheaper to upgrade pipes alone if I want a larger exhaust system in the future. My local exhaust shop used 2.5" to 3" step-ups and step-downs for now.

Tools Required:

13mm open end wrench

4mm, 6mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm socket drives

Torque wrench 10 to 50 ft lbs

M12 (?) allen wrench

Anti-seize compound

PB Blast (or any penetrating lubricant of your choice)

Hardware Required*:

6 M8-1.25 x 30 bolts

6 8mm lock washers

6 8mm flat washers

associated hardware included with each kit (retain all hardware for reuse if required)

*Note: Since this guide covers install of the 2012 Doug Thorley Long Tube headers, an additional exhaust manifold obstructs the top three studs on both the left and right hand header manifolds. My work around was to use bolts.

The layout:

I was originally under the impression that the y-pipe was a single piece, but it sleeves together and gets crush clamped at final install.

The additional hardware I had to pick up. I recommend picking up everything prior to dis-assembly of your vehicle.

Step One:

I jacked up the front end of my truck and removed the tires for workability in the fender area. It made the install exceptionally easier. After I took off the tires, I used a flat head screwdriver to remove the rock guards pictured. Just a little prying action under the head of the tabs will work them loose. I took my time as to not break the little clips. Inexpensive, but still better to be safe than sorry.

The driver side is pictured, the passenger side is similar. While you are in the wheel well, now is a good time to disconnect the oxygen sensor from each of the catalytic converters. I chose to leave them installed in the Y-pipe for now as removing the y-pipe will make removing the sensors easier and they will be less prone to stripping.

Ignore the deceptive 'Red Square' for now, I'll get to that later. The sensor connector is located where my middle finger is pointing. I don't have a better picture than this, sorry. The passenger side is similar. Those little plastic clips were a pain in the butt to get disconnected. Take your time and slowly wiggle them out. You will be reusing the 02 sensors and you do not want to break any of the wires.

Step Two:

I began the removal process by removing the stock Y-pipe. I removed the rubber bushings holding the y-pipe to the vehicle under-body. A little squirt of PB Blast and some wiggling popped these off easily. Retain these bushings for reuse. Disconnect the two bolts holding the passenger side Y-pipe and discard (or retain for some extra scrounge hardware for future projects). Remove the two forward studs on the passenger side Y-pipe where it connects to the passenger side exhaust collector. You will not be reusing these studs as the supplied hardware is replaced with bolts. Unfortunately, in my haste, I neglected to capture this step with my camera. It should be fairly straight forward.

Step Three:

Work your way to the drivers side of the vehicle and follow the Y-pipe up over a cross-member. On that cross-member is a bracket. I tried my best to theorize its purpose other than to limit movement of the y-pipe. I'm sure a commenter might be able to clarify. I removed it and stored it off the vehicle for safe keeping. Remove the rubber bushing on this side in the same manner as the one previously. On another note, I also removed the silver heat shield from above the stock y-pipe to aid in its removal. I didn't want to damage anything. This was not required as there was allowable clearances and merely resulted in another step to reinstall it upon completion. Fortunately, not pictured for this writeup.

Additionally, not pictured is removing the two studs connecting to the driver side collector. These two studs should be removed in the same manner as the two from the passenger side.

Step Four:

Return to the passenger side of the vehicle and remove the two bolts from the union where the Y-pipe meets the exhaust pipe. I retained these bolts along with the factory crush washer. Pictured as a silver wire-mesh. It is recommended that you replace all crush washers when installing new items as it forms a better seal so I've been told. I did not do this because the following day I went to the exhaust shop to have them weld up my new aft pipe. I gave them the new crush washer for install.

At this time, you should have enough wiggle room to remove the complete y-pipe assembly. Split the passenger side and carefully feed the longer portion over the cross-member. Its not very heavy but it is oddly balanced so potential damage could occur.

Step Five:

Work your way to the base of the passenger side header. Where it connected to the Y-pipe, you will notice a small bracket connecting to the collector and transmission(?). I removed this bracket for ease of install. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of it installed. The following picture shows where it is located from the passenger side, the driver side is similar. After completing the install of the new headers, these brackets did not line up exactly with the new headers so I used some risk management and neglected to reinstall them. I'm sure they serve a purpose other than to get in the way, use your own digression as to whether or not you wish to reinstall them.

Its a small piece of metal no bigger than a business card.

Step Six:

With everything out of the way underneath the vehicle, proceed to start with whatever side you wish. I started in the driver side wheel well. You will need to first disconnect the exhaust manifold pressure tube thingy as pictured. Both the driver and passenger sides have a shim, pay attention to the orientation of the tab as seen in the picture. I'm not 100% positive if the orientation makes a difference here, but again if you take something off, better put it back the same way you found it (most of the time, heh). I removed the studs pictured, as they will be replaced with bolts found in the DTLT hardware bag. See step one's second picture for the red square

The arrow points to that tab orientation, the drivers side tab is on the bottom.

Step Six and a half:

Forgot important step here, oops. Carefully remove the 02 sensors from the old headers and install them in the location of your choosing on the new headers. You are given a total of four choices, two higher up on the headers (the wires weren't long enough to reach this location for me) or the alternative is two on the y-pipe. I chose the y-pipe location as this worked better for me when routing URD's rear O2 sim. Bear in mind that whatever hole you use, be sure to install the closeout bung in the empty hole.

Step Seven:

The most important step and I don't have pictures sadly. Your going to need child hands to get at the 6 nuts holding the header flange to the block or just a lot of time. Remove the 6 nuts from the drivers side and pull the header toward you (if you are working in the wheel well). I had to remove a good majority of the studs to get enough wiggle room to get the header free. Use the 4mm socket to do this, I tried to reach with a box head wrench but the studs aren't really designed for that. I managed to strip one using the wrench then switched to the socket. Lucky for me, I was going to replace the studs on the top row. Whew. If the studs are giving you issues, hit them with a little PB blast and let them sit for a bit. Caution: Be mindful of the seals, your going to want to retain these seals for reuse so take care not to damage them. Your also going to want to reinstall the seals in the same manner in which you removed them, so be observant.

Once you get the stock heads out of the way, I fished in the DTLT headers up from below. Easiest route in my opinion. Use a buddy to align the metal header seal on one stud. Since I had 5 out of 6 studs removed at this time, it was fairly easy to get the new headers on. Feed in the remaining two studs on the bottom row and get nuts started. Note: for all the hardware you remove from the block, dab a light coat of anti-seize on the threads. It will take some movement to get the bolts started. I laced the bolts with a small dab of anti-seize followed by one lock washer then one flat washer. Your going to want to torque these bolts and nuts to 16 ft pounds. Good luck with that. ** Tighten down the driver side then move to passenger side and repeat.

After both sides are wrenched down and tight, you've just completed the hardest part of this install. Now you get to put everything back together. YAY!

**Note: I chose to wrench these down fairly tight, after about 30 to 50 miles I went back and rechecked these bolts and nuts to ensure that they were still tight. Fitting in a torque wrench in that area is a pain. I am in no way condoning my method, always always always ensure the correct torque values.

Step Eight:

Don't forget to reconnect those little exhaust ports as depicted in step six. I tightened those down snug.

Step Nine:

Work backward from underneath the vehicle, feed the URD y-pipe over the cross-member and loosely install the new crush washer and bolts connecting the collector manifold to the y-pipe at this time. You will come back and tighten these down shortly. Reinstall the rubber bushing that you removed in step two. They should easily slide back on. Slip in the passenger section of the URD y-pipe and attach those two bolts and new crush washer to the header collector as well. Leave them loose at this time. Align the aft bolts up with the rear section of exhaust. Note: Like I stated previously, I used the original crush washer here because my specific application called for it, if you are ending your install here be sure to install the new crush washer in its place.

Now all 6 bolts should be temp installed at this time, four coming off the header manifolds and the two at the base of the y-pipe. Double check that the crush washers didn't move and torque the bolts at the collectors to 46 foot pounds. Once these are torqued down, tighten down the retention bolts on the aft exhaust pipe.

Step Ten:

The passenger side of the y-pipe will have a slip union. Snatch up that pipe clamp and wrench that sucker down ensuring that your overlapping both sections of pipe. See picture. I positioned my pipe clamp off to the side which allowed me to wrench down on it and reduces any possibility of stuff getting stuck on the clamp. Call it paranoia if you must.

Step Eleven:

Everything should be put back together at this time, reinstall the rock guards in your fender well's and reinstall your tires if you took them off. Pat yourself on the back because your all done.

________________________________________
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Here are some photos of my final post welded exhaust.

I chose to dump it after the axle, and I'm enjoying the sound. I've put on about 1k miles since the install and its not overly rice'y sounding. The tone is subtle and strict. I'm glad I purchased the resonator, I don't hear rasp at all.

Well I hope this was informative, Ill monitor this post and update with corrections and clarifications as required. If you want another perspective on a header install, check out http://www.xr-underground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5553 Its not for the 2012+ but it may answer some questions you might have.

-J
Click to expand...

Thanks agasin for the header bolt sizes a few weeks ago. Now due to the rasp because of my exhaust system I had to purchase the 3" vibrant Resonator. Through all of my research I can find anywhere that shows how/where to install the resonator. I see it goes before the muffler but do i need to cut the URD Y-pipe or anything to fit the resonator in place.

STiLL WILL · Sep 3, 2013

ezemanf said: ↑

Thanks agasin for the header bolt sizes a few weeks ago. Now due to the rasp because of my exhaust system I had to purchase the 3" vibrant Resonator. Through all of my research I can find anywhere that shows how/where to install the resonator. I see it goes before the muffler but do i need to cut the URD Y-pipe or anything to fit the resonator in place.
Click to expand...

You'll want the resonator welded in anywhere after the y-pipe but before the muffler. The catback piping will need to be cut and the resonator will need to be welded in.

ezemanf · Sep 3, 2013

STiLL WILL said: ↑

You'll want the resonator welded in anywhere after the y-pipe but before the muffler. The catback piping will need to be cut and the resonator will need to be welded in.
Click to expand...

Perfect exactly the info i needed...Thanks bro! Hoping this corrects my rasp problem

cdelgado14 · Oct 29, 2013

Great instructions.i will be getting my headers and mk2,urd y on Friday!im pumped

JoyStick · Nov 10, 2013

I just installed my DTLT's this weekend and of course I'm reading this after I'm done But for those that are reading this before doing their install the only thing I would like to add would be if you disconnect the steering shaft try and not get the steering angle sensor out of alignment (Looking like I did and now I'm possibly going to have to have the zero point calibration done) and my #1 favorite tool doing this install was a flex head 12mm geared wrench.

JustAddMud, Awesome write up

KingKoda · Jan 10, 2014

So, OP thank you for taking the effort to post this original thread. Got my y pipe installed tonight while doing my favorite things, sniffing petrol products and breaking out air tools.

But side effects aside my Urd y pipe installed without a scratch and only required two hands and a foot. Maybe some choice language for grunt. Haven't had a chance to open 'er up rolling onto the highway yet, but your post ended up being my go to for reference; +1 time saver.

B3AS7808 · Jan 11, 2014

awesome write up!! I did the install with a buddy over black friday weekend. I had to get the URD y-pipe reshaped at local exhaust shop to avoid the front driveshaft because of the lift.

TheFang · May 16, 2015

Installed mine today. No clue what that bracket is for in step three either. I found that taking the cat off the stock Y-pipe on the passenger side helped a lot in removing the whole thing. Gives you more room to wiggle the drivers side out.

JustAddMud · Jun 3, 2015

It is my understanding that the small piece of metal as outlined in pic 3 in the OP is there for stability. As you "lay the hammer down" the engine will torque a bit in the engine compartment as it delivers power to the wheels. Now this is just my understanding and not to be taken as fact, so I may be wrong, just pointing that out. I believe that this pieces of metal prevents undue strain on the 6 bolts/studs that your headers mount to on either side. There is a chance that you could damage your headers. I decided to take the risk and not reinstall them for two reasons. One, it didn't fit and I couldn't force it to fit. Two, I was too lazy to fab up a workaround. It was late and I was tired. It's been on for about 3 years now and I haven't noticed any issues.

-J

rjohnson009 · Jun 21, 2016

Hi JustAddMud,

Kudos to you on the detailed instructions on installing the LT. I just installed URD U-Spec and your instructions were great! I ordered the Vibrant resonator which made the overall sound perfect for my 2006 X-Runner!

Thanks again for taking the time to take pics and provide guidance!

Rick

JustAddMud · Jun 23, 2016

Thanks a lot Rick. I try to be as informative as I can when I write up my DIYs. I'm glad it helped out. Let me be the first one to welcome you to the wonderful world of modding your truck and welcome to TacomaWorld!

-J

DEDAFLO670 · Nov 15, 2017

did you ever have problems with the check engine light coming on? after install

JustAddMud · Dec 6, 2017

DEDAFLO670 said: ↑

did you ever have problems with the check engine light coming on? after install
Click to expand...

Since installing it back in 2013 to approximately the first onset of winter in 2015, I never had any issues with the CEL coming on. I had installed URD's rear O2 simulator since the beginning. I started getting that dreaded P0420 and P0430 CEL codes but those are just telling me what I already knew that I don't have CATs installed. I suspect that during the time that the simulator has been installed, it may have been exposed to heat that might have damaged the electronics. I haven't been underneath the truck in a long time with all the Pelfreybilt armor removed to put eyes on the O2 sim. I tucked and zip-tied it above the gearbox to some loose wires up there. It seems like its the short trips around town when the engine doesn't fully warm up will throw the code. I have a Blue tooth OBDII reader handy that I use to reset the code. Don't get me wrong, it's not an every day occurrence or something like that. Sometimes Ill get the code twice in a week, other-times ill go many months between CEL's. It doesn't bother me and it takes about a minute to fire up the reader to reset the code so its not a big deal for me. In hindsight, I probably would have routed the brains of the O2 simulator to up in the engine bay because who knows if water caused corrosion inside the unit or not. Now you've got me thinking about it. Here I am waffling on and on, I hope this answered your question?

-J

https://www.urdusa.com/urd-rear-o2-simulator-1gr-fe-4-0l-v6-dual-channel/

DEDAFLO670 · Dec 20, 2017

JustAddMud[OP] said: ↑

Since installing it back in 2013 to approximately the first onset of winter in 2015, I never had any issues with the CEL coming on. I had installed URD's rear O2 simulator since the beginning. I started getting that dreaded P0420 and P0430 CEL codes but those are just telling me what I already knew that I don't have CATs installed. I suspect that during the time that the simulator has been installed, it may have been exposed to heat that might have damaged the electronics. I haven't been underneath the truck in a long time with all the Pelfreybilt armor removed to put eyes on the O2 sim. I tucked and zip-tied it above the gearbox to some loose wires up there. It seems like its the short trips around town when the engine doesn't fully warm up will throw the code. I have a Blue tooth OBDII reader handy that I use to reset the code. Don't get me wrong, it's not an every day occurrence or something like that. Sometimes Ill get the code twice in a week, other-times ill go many months between CEL's. It doesn't bother me and it takes about a minute to fire up the reader to reset the code so its not a big deal for me. In hindsight, I probably would have routed the brains of the O2 simulator to up in the engine bay because who knows if water caused corrosion inside the unit or not. Now you've got me thinking about it. Here I am waffling on and on, I hope this answered your question?

-J

https://www.urdusa.com/urd-rear-o2-simulator-1gr-fe-4-0l-v6-dual-channel/
Click to expand...

Ya I have the o2 simulator from urd An it's still throwing the codes I recently moved the o2 sensor to the furthest inlet on the header for the o2 sensor talk to urd An he said they haven't had any luck with the o2 sims working for the 2015 tacomas I do the same thing I just reset An clear the code when it comes up I was just wondering if you did anything different I didn't do

JustAddMud · Dec 22, 2017

DEDAFLO670 said: ↑

Ya I have the o2 simulator from urd An it's still throwing the codes I recently moved the o2 sensor to the furthest inlet on the header for the o2 sensor talk to urd An he said they haven't had any luck with the o2 sims working for the 2015 tacomas I do the same thing I just reset An clear the code when it comes up I was just wondering if you did anything different I didn't do
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Hmm, I'd have to go take a peak under the hood to be certain as to which bung I selected but if my memory serves me correctly, I selected the bung closest to the headers. I believe I tried the furthest hole but the wires weren't reaching because the loom was very short. As for the code popping up, yeah I just hit it with my Bosch Blue Tooth OBDII reader (worth the money mind you) and reset the code. As I've said before, the P0420 and P0430 code pop sporadically so I've learned to deal with it. The truck is just doing its job letting me know that there is an issue but I'd rather not remove the bulb from the dash cluster and loose the ability to see when my truck's throwing trouble codes. Sometimes it's a few times a week and others it'll go many months between codes. I'm sorry that I can't be more of a help for you.

-J

Stryker420 · Mar 24, 2019

When you took the 6 nuts off that hold on the stock manifold, did you have to use any special technique or did the nuts back off easily? Did you use air tools? Thanks for your time!

TheFang · Mar 24, 2019

I used regular hand tools. Removing the studs is the hard part.

Stryker420 · Mar 29, 2019

TheFang said: ↑

I used regular hand tools. Removing the studs is the hard part.
Click to expand...

I got the drivers side 6 off, the Right Top Rear and Right Bottom Rear off. Right top middle is rounded off so I'm dealing with that issue now.

TheFang · Mar 29, 2019

Stryker420 said: ↑

I got the drivers side 6 off, the Right Top Rear and Right Bottom Rear off. Right top middle is rounded off so I'm dealing with that issue now.
Click to expand...

Get two of the nuts that fit on the stud. Screw them both on, and then tighten them against each other. Then using the bottom nut, turn it counterclockwise, or off. It should turn the stud out with it.

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How-To: 2012 complete DTLT // URD y-pipe install

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How-To: 2012 complete DTLT // URD y-pipe install

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