Flex Pipe Installation Cost - $175?

[bkkrehbiel]

I just put an APN header on my 98 XJ and wanted to add a short piece of flex pipe (6") to reduce stress and the potential for a crack on the new header.

Chuck at Discount Muffler quoted me $175 for the part & labor. He said that was for installation of the flex pipe and a brace to the transmission right before the flex point. Chuck also said no gain from a new downpipe removing the driveshaft dent. Anyone else have a counter argument?

Bud's Muffler said the starting point would be $160 for parts and labor depending on where it was installed.


Do those prices seem reasonable? Sound real high given the limited amount of work.

 

[goodburbon]

That's a lot of dosh for 30 min of work and $10 in parts.

 

[DJManche]

Shops have overhead and employes with mouths to feed , taxes to pay and insurance to stay open .

I was quoted 500 dollars to install my exhaust manifold , pricy sure but I'll probably just install it myself . I don't think its unfair to charge what needs to be charged but if you can't afford it thats not the shops problem , just install it yourself then see how much time it took you , times that by 75.00$
an hour and thats what a shop would charge to keep their doors open .

A flex pipe shouldn't be a big deal but most shops have a minimum charge for working on anything even just the smallest jobs partly to pay for the cost and upkeep of their fancy equipment .

One of my good friends has a weld shop , he has been charging 45-50 bucks a weld for quite some time now , sure most of the jobs he does only takes about an hour but he's got a 5,000 k $ Miller
mig tig and stick welder , his modo is if you don't like the price go buy your own 5,000 k welder ...

My shop sits at about 65-75 $ an hour so thats pretty standard across the board .

 

[bkkrehbiel]

Anyone used clamps to install the flex pipe vs. welding?

 

[rocknxj]

Sorry to post in your chapter, but I have I installed an APN header on my '99 last summer and have info you might be able to use.

After header installation, I drove for a week with no problems, then I went to a local exhaust shop for a Magnaflow muffler, new downpipe, and flex pipe, as you have described. The shop screwed up the down pipe and flex pipe installation and I resulted in an annoying whisle and much less exhaust roar that I had wanted. On top of that, I paid a good amount for the mistreatment. I ended up going back to the shop and having a new flex pipe installed and had the guy attempt to fix his crappy welds. The poor job also cost me a new intake manifold, as well as flange ring and exhaust gasket, and many hours wasted that I did not have.

Zooming forward, I decided to have my botched downpipe fixed by a better shop. The new shop built me a fantastic mandrel-bent down pipe and cut out the failed flex pipe, which the guys claims, had ZERO benefit to vibrations (due to short 6" length) and responsible for ALL of the noise/whistle I was hearing. The guy charged me 100 bucks and he did an amazing and fast job.

The XJ-loving guy was so confident in his job that he never revved the engine nor listened for leaks. He simply handed me the keys. I drove away happy and full of engine pep, no exhaust whislte, and digging the sound of the Magnaflow muffler. Many weeks later, I claim better mileage, power, and sound.

Bottom line, skip the flex pipe unless it is 12" or longer. Go to a reputable shop. Get a good muffler, and have the downpipe dent removed for max flow. I have detailed most of this on the Frog Blog over the months.

 

[PartyXJ]

Hello rocknxj would you mind saying where the shop was located and the name of it? Name of the xjloving dude? I know its been a looong time but its worth a shot asking as Im planning on having my exhaust redone and also live in Socal.

Thank you.

 

[old_man]

As far as the dent in the exhaust pipe, There was a thread on here that linked to a video that showed them bashing the hell out of a header while it was on a dyno and there was almost no change at all.

I would have thought otherwise, but I was wrong.

 

[eflores]

As far as the dent in the exhaust pipe, There was a thread on here that linked to a video that showed them bashing the hell out of a header while it was on a dyno and there was almost no change at all.

I would have thought otherwise, but I was wrong.

pretty sure david freiburger and steve dulcich proved that too. ive had both with and without the dent. i cant tell a difference