Is it feasible to construct a temporary exhaust system?

[DuckRyder]

Sorry, I missed your follow up questions.

Yes, header mufflers would qualify as not open headers.

There is an old wives tale that open headers will cause valves to burn, while it would have to be pretty extreme to do that, they will affect the mixture due to decreased back pressure and it could go lean which is not something you want on a new engine in particular.

Dragsters and the like that run open headers are tuned to do so!

[HillbillyDelux]

But I'll bet they'll still be pretty darn loud!

dern right its still gonna be loud esp in the cab prolly pretty close to where the mufflers will end. u can expect some real bassy noise in the truck

[rjewkes]

cherry bombs with the flexible tail pipe repair hoses they sell.

Yuo could always donate or sell the cherry bombs to someone neeeding/wanting them. a friend or nephew or something.

[70_F100]

The only problem with muffler clamps is that once you tighten them and distort that metal it's a pain in the a$$ to get that joint back apart. That's why I screwed mine when I did it.

Good observation, Fomocoguy, and I agree, to a point.

If the clamps are positioned correctly, i.e., over the slots in the pipe, and not overtightened, it's not a problem to get the pipe back off.

The problem is that most times, people either position the clamp wrong or tighten the h@!! out of them, distorting both the inner and outer pipe, making it nearly impossible to separate the joint. This happens most frequently on new pipes/mufflers, because the new metal hasn't been tempered by heat from the exhaust so it's still very soft and malleable.

Muffler clamps should actually be torqued like any other bolt, but most people just tighten them until they can't tighten them any more, or they use an impact wrench.

[cep62]

The only problem with muffler clamps is that once you tighten them and distort that metal it's a pain in the a$$ to get that joint back apart. That's why I screwed mine when I did it.

My Dad would always lightly clamp the pipes to seal them, then put a screw in to keep it from twisting.
Some other techs made fun of that . But my Dad kept cars for a long time and always planned on making future repairs easier by doing things like greasing bolts before installing them so they wouldn't rust tight.

[Skifu]

Straight pipe,all the way out the back!1

[robroy]

Now that the headers are on, here's how it looks under the truck:



Based on the attitude of the header outlets, I can tell that it won't be feasible to bolt a straight, glasspack muffler directly on, unless the ball joint offers more flexibility than I think it does.

Is the best strategy to attach glasspacks with some flexible, metal tubing so that they pass through areas "A," or areas "B?" Regular dual exhaust goes down areas "A" only, right? Or does anybody use "B?"

Thanks very much!
Robroy

[70_F100]

All of the glasspacks I've ever seen have a slight bend between the inlet pipe and the body of the muffler. They have the same bend on the outlet end. This is so that they can be used as direct replacements for stock mufflers. The opposing bends emulate the offset in the pipes on the stock mufflers.

Go ahead and get your mufflers, install the collectors and slip the mufflers in place. If they go through "A", the outlet bend will tend to direct the exhaust straight toward the rear. Same with "B".

If they won't attach, THEN worry about how to route them past the tranny.

Don't sweat the petty stuff, and don't pet the sweaty stuff!!!!!!!!!

[robroy]

Hey 70_F100 thanks for replying!

I didn't know about glasspacks having built in offsets--they could help.

And I LOVE the "don't pet the sweaty stuff" part.

Thanks again,
Robroy

[DuckRyder]

In light of that, why not just have a roll back take it to the exhaust shop prior to firing it off?

Seems you are going to spend more time and money fabing up a temporary system than a short wrecker ride would cost...

[70_F100]

DuckRyder, not a bad recommendation, but he stated in a previous post that he wanted to run the engine without p!$$ing off his neighbors before he had the exhaust installed.

[DuckRyder]

Just throwing it out there...

They do make flexable exhaust tubing so perhaps it is still doable, I don't remember how much it is ...

[robroy]

They do make flexable exhaust tubing so perhaps it is still doable, I don't remember how much it is ...

Excellent, thanks! I'll check in to this.

And I appreciate you mentioning the tow truck idea very much--I don't think of all kinds of things that seem obvious once somebody else points them out!

Thanks again,
Robroy

[rjewkes]

DuckRyder, not a bad recommendation, but he stated in a previous post that he wanted to run the engine without p!$$ing off his neighbors before he had the exhaust installed.

reread Robert suggest a rollback(flatbed tow truck) to carry to the exhuast shop with one of his free tows to save the expense of the extra exhuast build. don't see thye neigbors being pissy over using a tow truck.

oops i just reread yours and you was simply stating he wants to run it once or twice before the exhuast to hear it run.

[robroy]

Good afternoon! Thanks for all the ultra fantastic replies!

After rummaging around in the stuff that came with the headers, I found what I believe are ball and socket joint parts, and I put them on the collectors. Now it looks like this (the driver's side is on the left):



This seems to adapt the outlet of the headers to a regular, 2.5" pipe. This simplifies things a lot! I think I no longer need special Header Mufflers for my temporary setup, if I use these adapters.

I have a few new questions about this:

1. Are these adapters designed to be used in this fashion (I know this might seem obvious, but I thought I'd check).
2. These ball and socket couplings seem to allow me to swivel the coupling outlet around quite a bit, which could help me get a correct angle for clamping some mufflers directly on to the pipe. Is this type of connection designed to seal correctly at a variety of angles? Or does it really have to be dead-on, with very little angle involved?
3. How tight should I make those bolts that hold the ball and socket couplings together? Does the pipe actually crush a little bit to make the seal?
4. I notice that the pipe on the outlet of the couplings (the straight, 2.5" pipe) is neither squashed nor enlarged, so it's not clear to me how they intend me to slip a muffler right over the pipe. Maybe they didn't intend this at all! What's the deal? Do I need to somehow enlarge the inlet on the mufflers I use to fit over that pipe? Or do they come that way?

Thanks very much for all the patient, generous and valuable guidance!
Robroy