Exhaust replacement- anyone do it without welding?

[CalSgt]

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]

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]

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]

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]

That Summit kit looks nice! Nice looking frame, BTW.

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

Thanks, Just realized I lied to you. It's a flowmaster pipe kit I bought from Summit
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLO-15935

Thats a stock crossmember for an SM465 4 Speed, It hangs pretty low.

 

[hogdaddy]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[TPISly-C10]

just did mine myself ...and i'm not a welder but its ok and save me lot of $$$

 

[ChuckN]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

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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Great shopping on CL too. Little homeowner welders go pretty cheap, used.