[Rick Lee]

What a rare painless project this was today. Of course, my exhaust bolts and gaskets are only 2 mos. old, so they came out with no problem. Amazingly, my O2 sensor (84k miles old) came out with no problem. I used just a crescent wrench, breaker bar and hammer, while holding the cat between my knees. I used anti-seize goop on the bolts again, tightened her real snug, got the O2 sensor in there and went for a very spirited test drive.

I immediately liked the lower growl in my exhaust note. Once I was at op. temp., I took her to 6000 rpms in gears 1-4 and I must say it was quite a boost. I have a chip and K&N too, so I guess the pipe completed the circuit. I'm happy now and hereby give up my boost addiction/search - well until I sell my house and use some equity for a 3.6 conversion.

I notice a little popping noise, though, when pushing in my clutch to upshift. The pop I used to get going from 3rd to 2nd is now gone, but replaced by these new pops. I assume they are small exhaust leaks. They're not too loud or frequent. Any cause for concern?