Stupid,Stupid,Stupid,Stupid Questions

I have a really stupid question but you dont find out what you dont ask..so here we go.

Do you need a welder to put in a new muffler. I would like to upgrade my muffler but i dont know how to weld. I only assume that you do need to weld it all together.

Now please...dont all laugh at once!!!

Cheers

Nope.

You can use muffler clamps to hold it up there and everything should be just fine. If you really want after you get it up there that it to an exhaust shop and usually they'll weld it up for next to nothing.

Wont exhaust leak around the clamps??

K2XJ said:

Wont exhaust leak around the clamps??

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It shouldn't if clamped properly with the right parts. Like I said before, if your really worried about it put it on and take it to a shop and they'll weld it for almost nothing. The second option is to completely give-up and have the shop do everything.

Personally, I think you'll be fine with clamps. Mabye someone else will chime in with their input.

I've got two exhaust systems held together by clamps, in daily use.

I find it slightly helpful to "notch" the pipe that slips on the outside - three slots, equally spaced, about 1/2" long (or whatever 2/3 of the slip length is, if it's less.) That will allow the outer pipe to "crush" more to seal against the inner pipe.

It also helps to have all the slip joints "in the right direction" - gas should flow OUT of the smaller pipe and INTO the larger one. This isn't critical - just helpful.

Nothin' wrong with using clamps...

5-90

Why not use clamps like these.

NAPA, JC Whitney and Summit Racing carry them. About $10.00 each. Don't have leaks, don't have to notch pipes. Since they don't crunch pipes, it makes them easier to disassemble next time. They are ideal for steel or stainless steel exhaust systems. Most cases, they are reusable.

Sweet...good to know...thanks everyone

If you order the Dynomax Super Turbo cat-back kit from Summit Racing (about $100 shipped), it will come with all of the pipes and clamps you will need. I installed mine in about 20 minutes and there's no leaks. Also has a great sound (no droneing) and a slight increase in power.

rstarch345 said:

Why not use clamps like these.

NAPA, JC Whitney and Summit Racing carry them. About $10.00 each. Don't have leaks, don't have to notch pipes. Since they don't crunch pipes, it makes them easier to disassemble next time. They are ideal for steel or stainless steel exhaust systems. Most cases, they are reusable.

Click to expand...

Those are nice clamps, but most exhaust pipes are designed to be a pretty loose slide-on fit when new and soft, and be crunched a bit by the clamp. It looks as if those clamps are meant for a butt joint. I don't see how those clamps would fit well over an overlapping joint.

By the way, K2XJ, back in the 50's and 60's Mercedes exhausts were either brazed or welded, without clamps. It was quite a job to get a new muffler on a Merc. I don't know when they stopped doing, that, but at least it isn't unheard of.

These clamps are 3" long. ALL of my pipes freely slide in and out. It works on the same concept plumbers use for joing pipes of different sizes and they don't leak. They work especially well when the pipes don't fit tite as they draw down and "band" the two together. Unlike a U-Bolt where frequently one pipe would rotate until you finally got it tight enough, these have a larger clamping surface and don't rely on a crush fitting.

If you ever got into a custom stainless system, they are the only way to go. Stainless doesn't crunch the way the thin steel does.

If you have the stock muffler the tail pipe is welded to the muffler output...or at least it was on my 99 XJ. I torched it off (carefully) and still had issues getting the tailpipe to mount into the new muffler. The tube was a bit on the oval side near the bend over the axle. I clamped the input just as it was stock. As mentioned above a local shop welded it up for about 5 bucks, maybe not even that much. I would recommend getting a kit that includes the tail pipe if doing the install yourself......IMO.

Same here with my 98'. Original muffler was on it until this fall (172Kmiles). I took a cutoff wheel as close to the muffler as possible, then cut off the outer pipe with said cutoff tool and ground off the weld. I used standard clamps.

Sure they leak a tiny bit as it seems I didn't quite get it lined up with the original clamp in the Cat side.

Word of caution about muffler choice. If you plan on Off-Roading it, put a "OEM style" reverse flow or a Super Trap on. Don't use a straight through "muffler" like a Cherry Bomb.
This is because the reverse flow and Super Trap baffle mufflers are Spark Arresting. A legal requirement if you visit our National, State, or County Forests.

I would NOT weld up an exhaust system, unless you've got problems that can only be solved by welding. Perhaps if the parts were Stainless Steel and will last the life of the car, or at least a decade, you will just have a tougher time repairing the exhaust later, when other pipes rust out.

If you are putting together a SS exhaust system, that will last for a decade or more, yea, I can see welding it all up and making it totally trouble free for that amount of time. In a decade, the clamp joint is more likely to fail than the rest of the exhaust.

The key element of exhaust work is what shape the end of the other pipes your joining the new pipe, and how well do they fit. If they have been severerly crushed by the last clamping together, they will be difficult to get apart, and can damage them taking them apart, meaning you have to get more pipes. You may need to reshape/repair the old pipes, there are tools to reshape the end of the old pipes back their original shape. You can rent/borrow the tools from places like auto-zone.

The big flat collar clamp? I think it would be superior, IF THE PIPES WERE DESIGNED TO USE IT, or at least they are perfectly straight, tight fitting and/or soft enough to be crushed in all directions. It would seal 360° around, and not make big crimps in the pipe, like the typical "U" Clamp. It would be a big advantage for hi-performance exhaust, because it would NOT create the big crimps in the pipe that could interfer with exhaust flow. Many companies use this type of clamp as OEM, but the pipes were designed to use them.

The "U" bolt clamps crush down one side of the outer pipe, forcing the inner pipe against one side and the crushed crimp on the other, to make a tight fit. If your pipes are real loose, pretty mangled up, etc, the "U" bolt clamp is probably going to make a better seal than the Big Collar Clamp.