Exhaust replacement- anyone do it without welding?

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CalSgt

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Nothing wrong with clamp together exhaust, I ran a hooker 2.25” dual kit with hooker turbo mufflers for over 10 years when my square was my daily driver. It was held together with U clamps and never had an issue.

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It fit fairly tucked considering it was a cheap clamp together kit. I think it took me a few evenings rolling around on the creeper when I was 17 to get everything fitting just right. With the adult patience and skills I have now I could have probably tucked it up tighter.

The Summit kit I put on this time around would not have fit near this nice without welding. I had to alter a few of their pipes to route things how I wanted. It’s definitely a great kit for the price though.
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GTX63

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It is mostly just preference. I have had great success with clamps only. I have also used a $150 flux core harbor freight welder and loved it. A great place to learn how to weld is beneath your truck where nobody can see your newbie welds. If you need to drop a transmission you simply cut and redo.
 

ChuckN

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It is mostly just preference. I have had great success with clamps only. I have also used a $150 flux core harbor freight welder and loved it. A great place to learn how to weld is beneath your truck where nobody can see your newbie welds. If you need to drop a transmission you simply cut and redo.
Funny you should say- my buddy Jesse and I were talking about getting a cheap welder and some metal stock to start to learn- maybe it’s that time!
 

ChuckN

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Nothing wrong with clamp together exhaust, I ran a hooker 2.25” dual kit with hooker turbo mufflers for over 10 years when my square was my daily driver. It was held together with U clamps and never had an issue.

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It fit fairly tucked considering it was a cheap clamp together kit. I think it took me a few evenings rolling around on the creeper when I was 17 to get everything fitting just right. With the adult patience and skills I have now I could have probably tucked it up tighter.

The Summit kit I put on this time around would not have fit near this nice without welding. I had to alter a few of their pipes to route things how I wanted. It’s definitely a great kit for the price though.
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That Summit kit looks nice! Nice looking frame, BTW.

Did you use the stock crossmember for the trans or go aftermarket?
 

CalSgt

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hogdaddy

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I made 2 cuts with my cold saw and re-welded the piece shaped like pic.
Of course, it was rounded corners.
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TFerguson

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FWIW, I was recently considering the same thing. I had basically a stock exhaust with a kinda bashed-up y-pipe and a borderline obnoxious turbo muffler. I priced out some kits, but ended up finding a local shop to do the work. They did a great job and put in a true dual setup w/ twin spun stainless cats and stainless Magnaflows, replacing everything from the manifolds back. Sounds perfect, compared to the old exhaust. The guy clamped everything, which did surprise me a little, but he also explained the prefers using clamps since he's had better results, compared to welding. Ultimately, I'm glad he did, since I am planning to eventually remove the body lift and install a suspension lift, which I think may require some slight movement of the exhaust.

I like to do as much work on the Blazer myself as I can, but if I can find a good service at a fair price, I'm good with that too. Google Maps reviews are a huge part of my decision - it's hard to hide bad service there. This shop did the work for $1k, on the nose, which was probably pretty close to what I would have paid for a kit from Summit or wherever. Not to mention I didn't have to crawl around on the garage floor in a shower of rust and sparks. :)
 

ChuckN

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FWIW, I was recently considering the same thing. I had basically a stock exhaust with a kinda bashed-up y-pipe and a borderline obnoxious turbo muffler. I priced out some kits, but ended up finding a local shop to do the work. They did a great job and put in a true dual setup w/ twin spun stainless cats and stainless Magnaflows, replacing everything from the manifolds back. Sounds perfect, compared to the old exhaust. The guy clamped everything, which did surprise me a little, but he also explained the prefers using clamps since he's had better results, compared to welding. Ultimately, I'm glad he did, since I am planning to eventually remove the body lift and install a suspension lift, which I think may require some slight movement of the exhaust.

I like to do as much work on the Blazer myself as I can, but if I can find a good service at a fair price, I'm good with that too. Google Maps reviews are a huge part of my decision - it's hard to hide bad service there. This shop did the work for $1k, on the nose, which was probably pretty close to what I would have paid for a kit from Summit or wherever. Not to mention I didn't have to crawl around on the garage floor in a shower of rust and sparks. :)
Yeah, I’m on the fence. I just got off the phone with my local trusted shop, they quoted me 800-1000 with flowmasters. Not sure if the 25% upcharge over doing it myself is worth it. The main thing is when I get an aftermarket trans crossmember, they might do a really good job with Custom bending the pipes, so they tuck up really tight against the crossmember and give me more ground clearance after I lower it.
 

TFerguson

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Yeah, I’m on the fence. I just got off the phone with my local trusted shop, they quoted me 800-1000 with flowmasters. Not sure if the 25% upcharge over doing it myself is worth it. The main thing is when I get an aftermarket trans crossmember, they might do a really good job with Custom bending the pipes, so they tuck up really tight against the crossmember and give me more ground clearance after I lower it.
Yep - once I saw how nicely the guy tucked up the pipes on mine, especially over the axle, it made me feel a bit better about the extra cash.
 

ChuckN

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just did mine myself ...and i'm not a welder but its ok and save me lot of $$$ :)
Nice, I like how the tips are only poking out under the fenders. The exhaust I have now terminates after the mufflers just before the rear axle. Probably keep it that way.
 

GTX63

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Funny you should say- my buddy Jesse and I were talking about getting a cheap welder and some metal stock to start to learn- maybe it’s that time!
Lots of folks out there just can't drop 1-2k on exhaust, but a cheap welder will keep paying for itself, and sometimes it might even pay you.
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Catbox

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Lots of folks out there just can't drop 1-2k on exhaust, but a cheap welder will keep paying for itself, and sometimes it might even pay you.
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This is true.
I bought Junior a $500 welder from Harbor Freight and it has been used to make many different exhaust setups in the year that we have had it.
Here he is putting together a new 3 inch tail pipe section together with the new muffler.
Its basically him welding for the second time ever.
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All done here with his buddy lifting his Cherokee in the background.
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Also a tip for you.
If you want your headers to tuck up in the frame rails, use a set from a car.
They tuck way up in the frame.
My 2wd truck has a set from a 1968-72 Nova on the big block and you can see here how high up in there they are.
This photo is looking straight on at the chassis.
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To see the collector, you have to really want to see it up in there.
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And yes, this is a temporary exhaust in the photo.
I am going to buy an aftermarket transmission crossmember that has the clearance built into it before I put the 3 inch exhaust under there.
The flex pipe is a simple way to make the transition from header to pipe without to much expense.
 

Grit dog

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@ChuckN
It’s a drive but I gotta little wire feed Lincoln buzz box if you want to use it to weld some stuff up. Idk how often you get down this a way.

And fwiw, the vast majority of old cars and trucks back in the land ‘o rust I never welded anything up, unless necessary.
But there, usually you could clamp together for about a year and then remove the clamps and they’d stay rusted together forever!
 

Grit dog

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Lots of folks out there just can't drop 1-2k on exhaust, but a cheap welder will keep paying for itself, and sometimes it might even pay you.
You must be registered for see images attach
Great shopping on CL too. Little homeowner welders go pretty cheap, used.
 

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