wrapping DP/UP 2 years AFTER install?

About 2 years ago, I went stage 2 with an Invidia catted DP. At the time, I didn't think I'd need wrap... but in the last 2 years, I've noticed that the engine bay is extremely hot after a drive, especially since I sit in traffic in NYC frequently. Heatsoak sucks!

Anyways, I'm sure eventually my VF40's going to kick the bucket, and I figured when that happens, it'd be a good time to remove the DP and UP and wrap them.

Is it too late to wrap the pipes then? I'm worried that corrosion will get trapped inside. Should I not do it?

If it's okay to do, what steps should I take to prepare the pipes? Scrub them down with a cleaner? (Bar Keeper's Friend worked on my polished stainless tips, maybe use the same stuff here?)

Thanks.

I wouldn't do anything to the DP. May be have the catless UP ceramic coated.

Do you change your oil at 3000-3500 miles ? I think that is more important.

But I'm no expert

If and when the turbo dies, it wouldn't hurt to wrap both. However it wouldn't be totally necessary. It does lower the heat coming out of my engine bay a bit with my dp wrapped. I will most likely be wrapping any after market header and up combo I get eventually. I have not seen any rust or corrosion forming on my pipe.

If you are really worried about corrosion and heat soak, I would do what Max Capacity suggested and have your pipes media blasted and ceramic coated. Then if you want to wrap them again you would have the corrosion front covered.

I have had my pipes wrapped on both my 06 and now my 08. If I had the money and patience I would get them ceramic coated as well. This is all rather overkill in my opinion btw, but still its the small things.

I've been thinking I should wrap my UP, but it's a total pain to take out. Still, I'm worried about killing my VC gasket on that side with the heat. The DP is easy peasy to take off, so I will probably wrap that eventually to save my axle boot. I just need to be able to afford the good wrap.

I would never run any aftermarket exhaust parts in the engine bay without heat wrap. Makes a major difference in underhood temps. Minor improvement in throttle response, boost threshold, etc.

My UP is stainless from Invidia. Seems kind of like...a waste to blast that and coat it. Pulling these pieces out right now would be a pain so anything I do would be when the turbo dies since everything would be out anyway....

The DP is a catted Invidia and being that I'm in NYC, all of the exhaust has probably seen salt and other crap on it throughout the last few years.

Do I need to media blast it to clean off everything before wrapping? More importantly, if the pipes are media blasted, do I HAVE TO now have it ceramic coated? Or is the media blasting just for cleaning?

Do you think scrubbing everything with fine steel wool and/or Bar Keeper's Friend will suffice?

Thanks for the responses so far!

Originally Posted by thefultonhow

I've been thinking I should wrap my UP, but it's a total pain to take out.

I took it out the top this past weekend, not bad at all. I think it's easier to just take the turbo out.

I just wrapped my UP last night- I would personally take steel wool to the pipe, wrap, then seal the whole thing with the DEI high temp sealant. From what I can tell, these wraps are fairly similar to a fiberglass install, and the high temp coating should prevent any further corrosion. Just my 2cents.

Question for you- any advice on the UP / DP install? I'm doing those as well as a turbo blanket on saturday, and since this is my daily driver, I'm stuck at the shop until I finish the install. In order to prevent my better half from killing me for taking all day, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the install.

Take a piece of a 4x4 and place it under the passenger aide head and slightly lift up on it with a floor jack. This will allow a little more room to rip the pipe out of its home. If not you might have remove the left side manifold. After the old pipe is out, the new pipe will be cake to put in.

You're better off taking out the turbo also. It really isn't that hard. Take the front half of the downpipe off first, then stick your head where the DP used to be so you can see the oil drain tube. That's the hardest part of removing the turbo and with the downpipe out of the way, it becomes easy.

+1 The Up is a bit tricky to pull out from bottom because of the tight quarters. I've never used Brprs's method but it sounds like it would work. You only really need a few mm of clearance.

1) When removing the old UP. Be sure to remove the 02 sensor FIRST before trying to pull it out.
2) when removing the UP, it will be tight with little clearance. Try your best to be gentle and try your best not to force it out. You could end up nicking a gasket and creating a oil leak. (a number of people have mentioned this as a caution, but I've never seen where I could ruin a gasket trying to pull out the UP.
3) If you are re-installing the sensor into the new UP, be sure to install the 02 sensor LAST.

From my past experience and the handful of times I've gone through the above steps... It's better to try and move the turbo out of the way and pull it out from up top then through the bottom.

I use an engine hoist in place of the wood...

And how would you change the UP without removing the turbo?

these fools want to remove the exhaust manifold like a bunch of noobs. Costs less to take the turbo out.

I don't think I took off the exhaust manifold when I pulled the UP out the first time I did the install. But that's a memory from 2006

I thought it's always a good idea to wrap it to keep the CV boots from ripping/cracking