Exhaust help

[mhdsummers]

My exhaust is in pretty bad shape. The manifold seems to seal fine but the rest of the exhaust is rusted and leaking. I do not have pipe bending tools/skills or welding tools/skills so I may need to take my 40 to someone else for the first time
Can someone recommend a good shop to do this work for me. Or should I just drive it around with an exhaust leak until I can afford the tools I need and the time to learn to use them.
How much should I pay for work like this.

Thanks.

 

[Rzeppa]

The muffler with tailpipe is still available, try Stevinson with our club discount. SOR is listing them for only $120, not much more than a quality aftermarket unit. The down pipe and mid pipe are discontinued, so it looks like you'll need a muffler shop to bend you up new ones. I recently tried out a new place in Evergreen that made up a new tail pipe for my 1978 FJ45 for about $80, they did it while I waited in about an hour. Name of the place is Evergreen Auto Works, 30746 Bryant Dr. #312 Evergreen, CO 80439 303-674-7706.

A lot of the hanger hardware is still available new, I recently purchased all new hardware for my 1976 FJ40 from Stevinson.

The problem for this vintage (assuming your 1978) is if you need a new down pipe. Factory is double wall. You may be able to get a single wall down pipe made up, and they can cut off your old flanges and weld them up to the new pipe. What condition are your down pipe and mid pipes? My down pipe wasn't too bad, so I sand blasted it and painted it with silver exhaust paint (1400°F rating).

 

[Uncle Ben]

If you want custom work done and also get that low hanging pipe ABOVE the skid plate here is what I found in the Denver area....Exhaust shops

Good luck!

 

[bh4rnnr]

A&A performance muffler. They do really good work and are quik. Did a whole exhaust on Jason truck (headers back) for the new 3.4, had it done in a day. Dropped it off the night before and picked it up the next afternoon.

 

[mhdsummers]

Well, things have changed.
I now have a MIG welder (Hobart 175 220V) and a desire to do this work on my own.
I plan on keeping my downpipe. It looks OK. I would like to replace everything from the downpipe back.
A couple of questions:
- Where can I get the piping I need?
- Can I MIG weld the pipe or is it too thin? My experience is obviously limited.


Thanks guys.

 

[Rzeppa]

Well, things have changed.
I now have a MIG welder (Hobart 175 220V) and a desire to do this work on my own.
I plan on keeping my downpipe. It looks OK. I would like to replace everything from the downpipe back.
A couple of questions:
- Where can I get the piping I need?
- Can I MIG weld the pipe or is it too thin? My experience is obviously limited.


Thanks guys.

When I had a new tail pipe bent for my 1978 FJ45, I welded it directly to the stub that stuck out from the muffler, so yes, you can weld it with your MIG. I suggest cutting off your old flanges instead of welding the downpipe/midpipe and midpipe/muffler. That way you retain the bolt-together ability of the exhaust system. As I mentioned above, factory muffler with integral tailpipe is still available for inexpensive.

If I were you, I'd take my midpipe to a muffler shop and simply have them bend you up a new one just like it. Cut off the flanges and weld them to the new midpipe. Buy a new muffler/tailpipe and bolt it up. I did have to fab up some hangers both for my 76 and my 78, but that was pretty straightforward to copy the factory design. On the flanges, instead of high-heat paint I used zinc galvanizing paint. It's holding up quite nicely over a year later.

Click on the link in my sig line, then go to "tech tips" to see the exhaust project I did on my 78. The 76 exhaust should be somewhere in the later pages of the restoration series. Good luck and happy cruisin'!