exhaust bent up badly.... wut now

well my exhaust is bent/dented decently.. what should i do? the tube right below the header's is bent in almost 1/2 way.... what is that tube called? and the tube directly after my muffler is bent in 1/3 of the way as well... how much would the stealership charge me if i would have it replaced by them? and how much would aftermarket cost? like borla, banks, gibson, flowmaster (muffler only)??? and will it fit on a 98???

Well how did you bend them first off? Most factory XJ's come like that, the pipes are'nt mandrel bent, they are crush bent. You sure you bent it on a rock or something, or did it just come that way? anyway you can get a replacement walker stock system for about $80-90 for the tailpipe and muffler, or ya could get an aftermarket with a dynomax or flowmaster muffler for like $110-130? borla and gibsons are not worth all the money in my opinion, its only an exhaust for crying out loud! As for the front pipe you could get a replacement for not to much at a dealer, or maybe local auto store even would be cheaper, or ya could have a shop custom bend ya one for a decent price.

Eric

well i dont exactly know how i bent it.. i know its bent because
well the entire exhaust system is COVERED with caked on mud.. except 1 nice shiny area where it is bent in 1/2 way....

I took a die grinder to mine, and cut out a nice big hole.
Then I started it and WOW! Very loud.

I ran it like this for about 2 months untill I got sick of setting off every car alarm in a .5mile radius.

Plus you gotta worry about dirt clogging up stuff.

Okay if you did bend it then you have to think, do you actually notice any difference in performance or how it runs? if so then by all means fix it, if not though then i'd just let it be.

Eric

The tube right below the header on mine is bent also. It looks like it is dented almost halfway in. It was like that when I bought it. It doesn't look like damage it looks like it was made that way.

Yes, they are made that way. It is for driveshaft clearance at full stuff.
Every one of them rolled out of the factory with the exhauset crimped halfway shut right there below the header.

uhhh... wouldnt that just kill performance?

my 97 xj is the same way, it looks like its bent 1/2 way in. and it runs great i would just leave it alone if it runs fine

since when does the factory care about performance? Except maybe in the sales brochure ,but definatly not on the car.