The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Running the exhaust question

OK. So I've read most of the other threads about running dual exhaust, and I've decided to do it before the rest of the cab/bed is on. One reason is so when I do start it I would like to be able to listen to the motor and be able to hear anything that might not be right. (clinking or tapping) That might be hard when it is so loud every neighbor comes out their door to see what the racket is. (that would be fun). And I want to do it myself because well, its a hobby now. Nobody is going to pay someone to go golfing for them. I'm not going to pay someone to do the fun stuff like the exhaust or rebuild the motor. So to the Questions. When I buy the bends (planning on getting Stainless) does everything usually fit inside the next piece of pipe and then weld it? or is all pieces going to be flush with the next and have to clamp them to hold them, then weld?

And the important question is about the stuff being in the way. By looking at pictures it looks like its a pretty clear shot. The only real obstacle is over the rear axle. So how far above the axle should I go? When I put the cab and bed on it will probably drop about an inch I'm guessing. I guess I'm just looking for inputs to make things go smoothly. Thanks.

I think you'll find most of the vendors sell pipe that has to be butt welded.Rather than the slip joints you mention.I used to use a similar size radiator hose clamp with a slot cut in it to hold the pipes 'square' while I tack welded them.Remove the clamp then fully weld.
It keeps everything nice and neat!
As far as going over the axle is concerned you need to allow room for full compression of the suspension and obviously clearance for the underside of bed/floor.
There should have been a heat shield on the bed wood where the original exhaust passed over the rear axle. If you still have this it can be re-used.
Good luck.
Jock

What I'm thinking right now is going with patricks SS exhaust. Have them subtract their 2 in 2 out muffler, because I'd rather have 2 mufflers and a X pipe. I will have to to some mods up front because it says it is for fenton headers. I have Clifford headers. Are the fenton headers shorter? what is the difference?

You may want to consider braided stainless steel flex couplers hooked in somewhere close to the headers. They are not cheap, but help keep the headers tight, allow for engine flex, and stop a lot of exhaust ticking.

I did everything on my truck except for the exhaust, bad cuts and mistakes can be costly in stainless let alone time consuming.

Wilbur: I agree with you. I've done a lot of engine/driveline/conversion jobs in my life and learned long ago that exhaust work is not my bag. But if Davidn wants to take it on, maybe he can do it and learn something at the same time. One thing I learned was that if you take it to an ordinary muffler shop, they will more than likely foul it up. You need someone or a shop that is experienced in custom exhaust jobs, and pay the $$$'s they want.

I'm with davidn, exhaust work IS fun!! I don't get the stainless exhaust system on a 'bolt though unless you're building a show truck.

I went the cheapo route. I bought straight tubing and bends (all alluminized) from JC Whitney (can you believe that?). Some of the joints slipped together, some I butt welded. I painted the welds with Eastwoods exhaust paint. The system is 3 years old now, looks like new and I'm totally happy with it.

Just another idea that might save you some serious $$$.

Was the JC Whitney specific for your truck?

Is that question for me? If so, the answer is no. I just figured out how many 90 degree bends, how many 45 degree bends, and how much straight pipe it would take, how many clamps and hangers I'd need, then built the system from the Fenton headers back using 26" Smitty's.

Face it. Stovebolts attract attention and people are going to look under there. Do the research and locate the talented bender that lives near you. Much cleaner to farm out that step IMO.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/curt160/exhaust/?action=view&current=000_0017.jpg

i sure like the look and ease of just a one piece pipe with no welds. i understand if you want to do it yourself though. i don't know if you can use a exaust pipe expander to make the slip joints where there are none on stainless or not, it might be a option so you don't have to butt weld. i sure think the slip in ones are easier to weld. i have put several together and spliced pieces in old and new and i agree with the "not my bag" statement. just getting it 1/2" too long or short, or it not wanting to slide in all the way is a little frustrating. few things make me cuss louder than laying on my back or belly under a tight fit truck or car trying to get a good weld on the exaust. again not trying to talk you out of it, but i wouldn't play golf if you paid me. good luck, hr

First, I was warned, when I thought I wanted to install my exhaust while the cab and bed were off, that it would be better for the guys bending to be able to do the job knowing how much room they had to move the pipe.

Second, if you insist on doing it yourself see if you can buy the different bends (45,90,etc.) locally. That way you can buy extra and return those you don't need.
Good Luck!

Edit: Wow, this is longer that I thought it would be...

I recently completed the exhaust on my truck, for pictures start with this one, then go forward for about a dozen or so:
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2994241080080251109TJKoNS

I didn't want to make mine either, as I didn't figure it would be much fun.. So I called around to see who could mandrel bend 4 and 5 inch pipe, with no luck within a few hundred miles. Even the few places who could do it didn't want to fit it to the truck, they wanted a drawing only.

I really wanted stainless at least for he first 4' or so of 4 inch tube from the turbo back to the back of the cab. Then it stepped up to 5", and I would have liked to have stainless there too.

Checked on the price of stainless bends, $50-65 per bend.. ouch.
I wasn't confidant enough that I could get it done right the first time without any mistakes, at $50-65 per mistake. So I stepped back to aluminized steel at $20-25 per bend. I had already scrounged enough 5" bends that I only needed some straight pipe for that part.

Another downside to the stainless is there were only a few bend radiuses available, and no one place had a good selection or good prices, and if I wanted anything I had to order it.

The regular pipe was in stock at my favorite truck parts place in three different bend radiuses and a bunch of different bend angles.
One trip to a truck show when I had the truck on the trailer I stopped by and we picked a bushel of likely 4" bends, with he agreement that I could return or exchange any I didn't need.

When I finally got to cutting and welding it wasn't so bad, I started at the turbo and worked back one bend at a time. Taking careful measurements and trimming the legs off the bends a little at a time if needed to get it just right. Then tack it together and move on to the next.

I only needed to return one pipe and order a few more. Having the variety on hand, and the catalog of all possibilities was very helpful in determining what I needed next. For the bends I didn't have I still had something close, then looking at the available choices in the catalog with a different bend radius or angle I could pick what I needed.

It's very hard to pick the right bend radius and angle and leg lengths without having something in hand first to compare to.

I cut most of them on the un-bent (straight) portion with a portable hand held bandsaw, the ones where I had to change the angle I used a vertical band saw and a miter gauge to ensure the cuts were at the desired angle and radial to the bend. Once all tack welded and fit I butt welded all the pipe/bends together with the TIG welder.

I did use the flat stainless steel clamps that stretch and form to the joint for both the flex pipe and the muffler, these joints were slip fit. This allows for a great seal that's not impossible to disassemble later.

Also made/assembled my own hangers with stainless U-bolt clamps so the exhaust is easy to install and replace and the hangers should outlast many exhaust systems.

Looking back I should have tried to find (and pay for) the stainless bends from the start, as it wasn't that difficult to get right the first time, but it was a lot of work and I don't want to do it again...

Grigg

It would be great if there was some way to mock up the exhaust system before you start. I'm reminded of how I ran lawn edging in a pretty curve around the lawn last summer. I first strung out the garden hose in the circuitous design mama wanted and then bent the edging to match. If there was something perhaps PVC pipe that could be adjusted to fit then copied in steel...

One could use flex pipe.

Flex pipe might not mimic the real stuff enough to be a good pattern. At least the stainless steel flex pipe I used wouldn't. I did use an 18" section to separate the front portion of the exhaust that hangs from the engine and transmission from the last of it that hangs from the frame, I only asked it to make about a 3 degree bend although it will do more. It is "flex" pipe, but nothing like the 4" or 6" centerline radius bends I used for the rest of the 4" exhaust.

I suppose you could use some PVC bends to get an idea of the different bend angles available, but if they aren't the same centerline bend radius as what you eventually use it may just frustrate your mock-up to real life transition.

If you make it from pre made bends just buy a bunch and return the rest. If you have very little room there is no substitute for the real thing.

Grigg

Someone recently posted this link to a commercial header pattern concept.

Here's a list of sources for exhaust pipe bends, and also some sources for aluminum for air inlet plumbing.
I just added the above link, they have some good stuff.
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6362

Grigg

Hoyt
That's a great invention and something I might use if I wanted to DIY. I would think it might work on exhaust pipes as well. I don't know if like Grigg said, the pvc might not mirror the results you want.

After reading these threads ,

I think I'll probably install my engine and then run flex pipe until the body work is done,then have a pipe shop run the system.

That way they know what to clear.

Why not run the pipes all the way to the mufflers and finish it over the rear axle later? That way you can at least run it and not do anything over. Just finish it when the time comes.

That's actually something I was considering. Or even using band clams where I'm unsure of the clearances. Then I could unclamp and weld later.

Finally finished with the exhaust. I had to take a 2 week brake because my China made welder broke down and I had to send it back under warranty. It was very frustrating at times. Especially since SS is not cheap and I wanted to minimize the waste. But I finally got the clearances and appearance to a point where I'm happy with it. Here are some pics.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602053.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602093.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602122.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602155.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602187.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602213.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602265.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602296.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602330.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602359.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602393.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1268/5055721/20931166/366602472.jpg

very nice!
What is that bender in pic #53?


Leon

OK now David, you've crossed the line here on the Bolt. You are guilty of WTC in the third degree. That is, workshop too clean.
Nice looking welds and good looking exhaust system.

I got the pipe bender off of ebay. (prolineparts is the name of the company) It worked pretty good. I just had to use the 1.5" die for 2" pipe. What they had labled as the 2" die was too wide and the pipe would kink.

davidn,

The reason you had do use the "wrong size" die is because they are pipe sizes. 1 1/2" pipe is 1 15/16 OD and 2" pipe is 2 3/8 OD.

davidn....Just checked your pics, you do nice work.

I look forward to seeing the finished article!

I stumbled across this link today.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200342933_200342933
Looks like a really good clamp for holding exhaust tubing for welding. Not too costly, either.

regards,
Leon

Pretty neat if your doing a lot of tube/pipework.

I actually got one, and northern tool is where I bought it. It works great. I could have used two.