TIP: How I got the metal sleeve out
I just plugged mine w/Raven's plug and wanted to share a couple tips about how I got the pesky metal sleeve out. I read quite a bit about the difficulty people were having getting the sleeve out. While I found a few tips here and there, I didn't find anything that put it all together, so I wanted to share what worked for me. In all, I spent a couple hours, start-to-finish and in the end, I felt lucky that I was able to get that sleeve out. Before getting to that, I will say that this was an extremely worthwhile mod. The interior is significantly quieter -- and the noise you do hear is probably what most people would probably prefer to hear (the engine and turbo) -- not a fake hollow sound from the noise pipe. The throttle response is also definitely improved. In fact, it actually seems like the car doesn't stall/hesitate as much from a stop when you first give it the gas.
Ok, so here's how I got the metal sleeve out...
Once I unscrewed the hose clamp and removed the pipe from where it connects below the airbox, I could see the metal sleeve. But it seemed like the sleeve continued far down into the pipe. I started to wonder if my car had something different than the simple metal sleeve everyone else was talking about. Alas, I took a flashlight and could see that the sleeve was less than a couple inches long. I sprayed a little WD40 at the tip of the sleeve, but wondered how it could ever saturate behind the sleeve -- it just seemed to be in there so tight. I let the car warm up (as suggested by others) for 10-15 minutes before trying to pull it out. The only tool I could find that would have a remote chance of getting this out was a copper pin extractor tool I picked up at Home Depot. It has a sharp tip and I hoped it could grab onto the base of the sleeve, allowing me to pull it out. I had low expectations for my ability to get this thing out without some professional tools. There just wasn't much to grab onto -- the bottom of the sleeve met flush with plastic of the pipe! I wondered, what could possibly grip this sleeve, especially now that I've got WD40 on it? I placed the copper pin extractor at the bottom of the sleeve and tried to get a grip. I couldn't really get it to grip, so I pressed it against the base harder and pulled. It just didn't budge. Feeling pathetic, I put everything back together and drove down the street to an Exxon service center and had them look at it. (Someone had mentioned in this thread or another thread that their service center quickly pulled it out with a "reverse pliers" tool.) I have no idea what that is, and it's certainly not something you can go to Depot or a hardware store to buy so I explained all of this to the Exxon shop. They shook their heads and said they didn't have anything that could get it out. They suggested I try a transmission shop -- that they would probably have a "snap ring pliers" that could pull it out. Being a Saturday, I couldn't find any other shops that were open near me. Deflated, I drove home and planned to put this away for another day. Before doing that, I decided to give it another try with the cotter pin extractor. Again, pressing the tip of the tool firmly at the base of the sleeve, there was just enough grip (maybe a micron!) to give it a final try -- I pulled very firmly and strongly and the sleeve slid right out.
So, I think the trick is to really let the car warm up -- drive it for a couple miles -- don't just let it sit idle for 10-15 minutes. Also, don't forget the WD40. Honestly, I don't know if that helped, but it certainly didn't hurt. And last, just get one of these copper pin extractor tools (or similar) to grab ahold of the sleeve. They're $5 at Home Depot. You won't think you're getting a good enough grip, but as long as the tool has a strong sharp tip, you should be able to pull the sleeve out.
