Hey all, the exhaust on my car doesn't have a flex pipe or spring bolts which led to my pipe cracking due to exhaust moving up and down when I bottom out, I've fixed the pipe now but I want to prevent it from happening again. Has anyone used spring bolts on a normal flat joint (Aka, not a flared donut flange)? I realize it would probably leak when it moves which doesn't bother me because bottoming out is relatively rare I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't leak all the time. I know a flex pipe would be ideal but my exhaust is a PITA to get off to get it welded and shops keep turning me away because they don't want to bother with it! (Lazy bums lol).

 

Raise the car, install a bellows or flex joint and forget it?

Seems easy and functional.

I don't work on people's junk if they aren't willing to fix it properly. I don't blame the exhaust shops for turning you away. They don't want the headache when it comes back cracked, again.

 

I was willing to fix it properly, the shops turned it away because they needed to pull the exhaust off and it's tight spaces to the downpipe, I was wanting to do the flex pipe and everything but all three didn't want to bother. They were lazy, it wasn't a matter of me asking them to do sub par work or something. Anyway that's beside the point, I just wanted to know if anyone tried this as an easier method rather than pull the exhaust off and welding, seemed like a decent idea but wanted to know if anyone tried it.

 

To answer your question. Your idea won't work very long. Those gaskets are not designed to be in motion or separated after being crushed. It will leak all of the time. Carbon monoxide poisoning is no joke.

Engines move quite a lot in normal operation. There needs to be a flex point or the exhaust will just continue to crack and be an issue.

The shoestring and bubble gum repair mentality around here is tiresome.

 

Agreed, but OP said multiple times that he was willing to and tried to get a shop to weld in a flex joint. He was just asking a question, for valid reasons, and it's not the dumbest thing in the world to worry about.

Ryan is correct though, it would always have at least somewhat of a leak, and it still wouldn't provide the movement you're really looking for. I can relate, unfortunately, 110% to what you're saying about shops just being completely unwilling to work on anything these days that isn't the most ****-easy, straightforward job possible for them. I don't know what's changed over the last 3-4 years, call it just nationwide demoralization, but finding anyone willing to actually put effort into things is difficult and frustrating as absolute hell.

You may need to remove the downpipe yourself, mark exactly where you want the flex pipe welded in, and then just take them the pipes. Make it baby easy for them. The exhausts on these cars are very easy to work on since it's mostly just a straight shot from the engine back until the rear suspension, they could just weld in a straight flex pipe - you'd just need to measure distances properly.

 

Yeah I think you're right, and honestly at this point I might just buy a little welder and do it myself if I go that far, probably wouldn't be too much more money at that point and just do away with needing a shop altogether, good excuse to buy more tools. It's interesting that you've noticed the same trend, this has happened so many times to not only me but friends needing car work done that I just say screw it and try to do everything myself.

 

Is that what you thought it was? I have a do it well mentality but with shops not wanting to do it and me not having a welder (yet) I was seeing if anyone knew of another easier method of achieving flex. So many times in my life I've gone the long route of 'conventional wisdom' only to learn there is another equivalent way to do it that is twice as easy and half the price so I like to ask the community first!

 

Yep, like I said it's legitimately a nationwide problem. It really goes beyond even that, global economy has been in downturn for some time now. /ramble

I'm literally needing to do the same thing as you - I have a flux core welder for very basic things, but I need to invest in both a MIG and TIG for bigger projects, and learn to use them. It's borderline impossible to find people who will accept labor requests now, and when you finally do there's a 50% chance they bungle it up.

Very true.

 

I stand corrected. Not the typical H-T user.

Not really any way around needing a welder and some parts. Stainless flex bellows and stainless vbands would be my recommendation. Not really any shortcut to exhaust unfortunately.

Agreed, labor shortages and sky high labor rates. Hard to find anyone to do the work. Doesn't take a genius to look at shops charging $200/hr but paying techs $20/hr to figure out why we have a labor shortage.

 

Ok thank you, ill look into those.

 

(Semi-Related) I'll be paying a suspension shop $200/hour in a few weeks to weld in subframe braces to the Mustang. I'm estimating to pay about $1000 just for the install.

 

Hell of a deal for specialist work. That's the going rate here if you take your car to a dealership for regular service. Not taking fancy stuff, Ford and Honda.

 

Dang, well That 1000 would probably buy a pretty good Tig setup that you've wanted, just a thought! Of course you would have to practice a little before doing your sub frame but you already have some welding experience, I bet you would learn fast. Just imagine being able to do aluminum welding projects and everything, man that would be the dream!