Easiest exhaust pipe replacement ever!

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: ClydesdaleKevin  (Original Message)
Sent: 4/29/2005 9:53 PM

Ever have one of those jobs in front of you that you KNEW was going to be a pain in the arse, and then it goes so smoothly you wonder what happened?...lol.

I inspected my entire exhaust system from front to back, and it was all solid (a bit rusty, but solid) except a 54" long peice of pipe that goes from the muffler to the rear tailpipe that bends up over the differential.  THAT peice of pipe had more holes than a flute!

Anyhow, it was attached to both the tailpipe and muffler by slipping into them, and being clamped down with muffler clamps.  No welds involved.

So, the first thing I did (after running down to Napa to get a new peice of pipe and clamps) was break the bolts off the muffler clamps in front and back.  I say break, because that is what they did....SNAP.  Ok, so far so good.  The night before I sprayed the bejesus out of the slip fittings with penetrating oil, but figured the rust would have virtually welded the pipes together.

Next, I cut the pipe right in two with a hack saw.  I figured it would take forever, but this pipe was so rusted I had it cut in two in about 2 minutes.  Wow!  This is going easy!

I then twisted both pipes, and they came right out of the muffler and the tailpipe with no problem!

I took a wire wheel and my drill and cleaned out the insides of the slip fittings.  Another two minutes.  A little grease in the slip fittings, and the new pipe was ready to be put in place.

I slid the muffler end in first, and it slid right home, all the way in.

I couldn't push the tailpipe back far enough to get the new pipe in, so I had to do what I was dreading:  Remove one of the hangers.  I was SURE it would snap right off.

Nope!  The bolts came right out!  The tailpipe moved back just enough, the new pipe slid right in, and I was ready to put on the new clamps!

Clamped it up in no time.

So, I crawl out from under the Ark, check my watch, and about 15 minutes had passed from the time I STARTED the project.  What the...

I just stood there a moment, looking at my watch, and at my newly repaired exhaust.

Sometimes, just once in a while, on very rare occasions, these things CAN go smoothly...lmao.

Kev and Patti Smith



From: poppinjohnnies
Sent: 4/29/2005 11:39 PM

That's great!  I wasn't as lucky as you.  Mine was so bad that I just drove it to the muffler shop and had them bend all new pipes from the "y" pipe to the stern.  I posted some pictures of the new exhaust.  It wasn't cheap, but I'm happy with it.



From: mightybooboo
Sent: 5/7/2005 8:22 PM

How much did those all new pipes cost you at the muffler place?

BooBoo



From: poppinjohnnies
Sent: 5/8/2005 10:05 AM

I bought a nice used stainless steel ultra flo muffler on Ebay for about $20.  The muffler shop work cost $185. .



From: Elksnoutmtman
Sent: 5/8/2005 4:52 PM

Has anyone ever tried "TUNEING" the exhaust? For better gas milage?



From: Elksnoutmtman
Sent: 5/8/2005 4:54 PM

BOY! These keyboards SUCK at spelling!



From: poppinjohnnies
Sent: 5/8/2005 5:03 PM

My keyboard does that sometimes.  I don't know what gets into it. 
I think you would have to install a set of equal length headers to REALLY tune the exhaust.  There's a ton of variabes there.



From: Elksnoutmtman
Sent: 5/8/2005 5:42 PM

Have you had any experience with doing it?
I've heard it is a cheap way to go and improve the milage...



From: poppinjohnnies
Sent: 5/9/2005 11:14 AM

Back when I used to drag race, we experimented with different headers and collector pipes.  We could shave a couple of tenths of a sec. off our times by adjusting the collector length.  if I remember correctly, the best setup we had was when we cut the collector off about 2 inches behind the point where the metal pipe turned blue (from the heat).  On a camper, it's a whole new ball game.  You've got a lot of pipe to deal with.  Headers and large pipes coupled to flowmaster mufflers would definitely help with torque and mileage.  You should probably talk to a reputable exhaust shop, preferably one that does custom performance work.   
I didn't opt for headers because I didn't want to fight leaky gaskets.  You can check out my pics to see what I did.  I'm anxious to take her on a trip to see if the mileage improves.