Invidia O2 housing FTL!

housedj · Aug 29, 2009, 11:18 PM

it was a miserable install on a part that shouldn't have been.
now the only reason i went ahead & tried to install the O2 housing on thurs night is i had to drive the car to work fri morning & it had been running rough due to the old O2 giving out.
Shoutout to MA Performance for the prompt delivery as i got the item sooner than expected... especially the free shipping part

now for the thorn in my foot:

i removed the old stock O2 housing which was rusted with a stripped O2 sensor ruined from my use of leaded gas. no prob, housing was out in around 30min. pushed the invidia housing in from the bottom only to realize that the provision for the stock housing brace doesn't line up at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

since i was pressed for time & needed a running car, i had to continue with the install instead of sending it back for an exchange/refund. now the 1st that sucked is that the OUTER shape of the housing practically prevents you from using any sockets or box wrenches whatsoever because the side wall is almost pressed up against the bolts/nuts. took over an hour to get the 2 nuts on the bottom back onto the studs. the top center & back bolts went in fine but the front top bolt (closest to radiator) couldn't be fully tightened as i had the same problem as the bottom 2 nuts. i was only able to FINGER tighten that nut until the next day when i got off work & was able to get some crow's feet wrenches from Autozone. so once the housing was in place a new issue became present. since the bottom of the housing was larger in diameter than stock (70mm vs 55mm) and uses a metal donut gasket, it pulled my downpipe about a 1/2 inch FORWARD which now made it almost impossible to reconnect my exhaust!!!! it's not like u can just "stretch" a turboback a 1/2 inch. so what i had to do is loosen all the testpipe bolts on both sides & work them opposite of each other until i could get the pipes together all without crimping or abnormally crushing my gaskets causing an exhaust leak. now for the final PITA: the angle of the O2 bung made the cable 2" too short so it wouldn't even reach the plug!!!! so after cutting electrical tape on the plug (it can't move far attached behind the valve cover) i got everything stretched unnaturally to plug in so the O2 cable is resting against the outside of the O2 housing. hopefully the heat won't destroy the O2 cable which BTW, evo O2 sensors r hard to find these days.

after 5 hours of fighting it i got it together & car started without sounding like a good ole' boy's pickup. it didn't help that i was in a weakend state from food poisoning eating sushi the day before & had been pissing out my butt all day

. so it seemed like a big waste of time & the car really doesn't "feel" any faster. there's maybe a slight earlier spool by about 200rpm but that's it. it does run smooth as it did b4 the old O2 had went. as soon as i find a used O2 with a brace support or if i have to get a new one i will man up the cost but overall i'm thoroughly disappointed in Invidia's design. Maybe i got a Friday housing or their design is crappy. i would have to see pics of other evo's using the housing to see if their install looks the same or if i got a lemon piece.

now b4 any internet gangsters start bashing, 1 of the main reasons i went with the invidia over some of the other O2 housings is i wanted a housing that bolted to the stock brace for support so i can run a nice new shiny exhaust manifold later on without any cracking issues. my 3 other options for a housing were: Works-$477 out of stock, Mine's Japan-$530 (who knows when i would get that), Tomei-$630 but comes with a downpipe which i didn't need + also being JDM it's the same scenario as the Mine's piece short of flying to Japan & hand carrying one back...

if anyone parts out their car & has an O2 like the one's mentioned above let me know...

boostedwrx · Aug 29, 2009, 11:26 PM

Looks like you planned to fail from the get go dude. Always allow yourself enough time and have the right tools to do the right job. Should of done a Megan/Ebay O2 or Titek and called it a day.

still*boostn · Aug 29, 2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boostedwrx

Looks like you planned to fail from the get go dude. Always allow yourself enough time and have the right tools to do the right job. Should of done a Megan/Ebay O2 or Titek and called it a day.

+1 ebay FTW.

the invidia one looks sweet though.

GRNCT9A · Aug 29, 2009, 11:32 PM

Mine fit perfect on both the stock turbo and FP Green.

whoang40 · Aug 29, 2009, 11:36 PM

Sorry for all the troubles, but I had bought an Megan Racing ceramic coated O2 housing for $100 shipped from PPI. Of course it was much easier install for me since I was upgrading the turbo/exhaust manifold the same time on my old 8. I couldn't break the old O2 sensor out, so I replaced the O2 sensor for $42.99 (http://www.oxygensensors.com/catalog.php?&pkey=1431371), cut, soldered and spliced the old plug back on. My only advice is don't try to hurry when removing/replacing exhaust parts. I replaced the turbo/header/O2 housing in about 8hrs of work. That included removing the radiator. You don't need the bracket for the O2 housing because the engine naturally flexes with the exhaust hanger mounts including engine mounts. Also the header is bolted to the head, so nothing is going to come off.

scumrat · Aug 29, 2009, 11:42 PM

you are not very smart if you were gonna spend $600+ ona effin o2 housing. Really? like it would have given more power then something cheaper? that would have been a waste

housedj · Aug 30, 2009, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scumrat

you are not very smart if you were gonna spend $600+ ona effin o2 housing. Really? like it would have given more power then something cheaper? that would have been a waste

apparently u missed a few things. (1) i wasn't looking to spend $600 on an O2 housing ( i spent $200 shipped) & the tomei is over $600bcuz IT INCLUDES A DOWNPIPE, & (2) i wanted OEM bolt up for 0 issues. yes i understand peeps are running housings without the brace used but if the manufacturer put it there it must have been for a reason...

KenMasters · Aug 30, 2009, 08:18 AM

Why didn't you undo the V=band and the mani to turbo bolts? your life would have been easier. Pull the whole turbine housing off. Everything Invidia makes fits perfect in my experience. Good luck with it.

boostedwrx · Aug 30, 2009, 12:29 PM

^or instead of risk damaging the turbo if you dont know what your doing, take the entire manifold/turbo/o2 assembly out as one.

o-townFLA · Aug 30, 2009, 02:54 PM

and you could have easily unwrapped the o2 sensor wire from the injector/misc wire loom and wrapped it clockwise around the engine...

JohnDoe1984 · Aug 30, 2009, 05:05 PM

I've been eying the buchar SS fab'd O2 housing for $200

https://secure.buschurracing.com/cat...1b3ef63ac92b37

denver · Aug 30, 2009, 07:36 PM

I have one on my car.... I took the whole hot side off and put it together on the bench like suggested from someone earlier. I did move my o2 bung so that the cable would fit better. I also have an old buschur downpipe that did not have provisions for the donut gasket... so it didnt fit the invidia housing.... I ended up taking my down pipe to the machine shop and milling my own donut flange into it so everything would fit and seal...... the whole ordeal was a pita, but the fitment of the o2 housing to the turbo was fine for me....