Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
Re: Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
Next time those fail, I have spare pypes tailpipes for that thing in my basement.
Re: Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
I'll use this thread to document the exhaust thing.
I got under the car and sure enough both hangers were completely rusted away at both mufflers. The fix was basically remove those, remove the U clamps, install new hanger and U clamps.
But before I did I decided to repair my shop light that I mentioned in the STS headlight thread. Glad I didn't throw it away. I just did a careful tape job. First I taped each individual wire with the broken insulation, then I taped over the whole thing. It seems pretty solid.
I got under the car and sure enough both hangers were completely rusted away at both mufflers. The fix was basically remove those, remove the U clamps, install new hanger and U clamps.
But before I did I decided to repair my shop light that I mentioned in the STS headlight thread. Glad I didn't throw it away. I just did a careful tape job. First I taped each individual wire with the broken insulation, then I taped over the whole thing. It seems pretty solid.
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Re: Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
Anyway, check out how awesome this rust is.
Reciprocating saw took care of the U clamps. Two cuts and they were off.
The new hangers had holes that were too narrow for the 2.5" clamp so I had to narrow each clamp in a vice with a torch. Then I had trouble getting it around the pipe, which expanded it, which made it hard (again) to get into the hanger. I bashed and did stuff until it worked. Now it is super solid. On the driver's side I did have to loosen one of the mount nuts/bolts because by design it pinches the hanger tongue. Well I must have chosen good hardware back in 2004 because the nut loosened as if I put it on yesterday. No shit - that is a miracle when you consider how crusty the back of this car really is. Yes, these over the axle pipes are on their way out. Again. I am not sure this car is going to be on the road long enough for that to happen. Did I say that? Check the new suspension thread.
My gas tank heat shield was banging on the exhaust so I drilled two holes and wrapped a zip tie around a tank strap. Bam. I thought I was free and clear....
In any event, the exhaust is now super solid and mounted properly.
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Re: Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
Exhaust looks good. Do you think those zip ties are heat rated to handle the exhaust?
Re: Caprice exhaust pipe hanging
I don't know what their melting point is, but this tie isn't holding very much load at all. Almost nothing really. It is many inches from the actual pipe so with that kind of an air gap it will probably be fine.
Of course this is hardly a concern now. When I pulled the car out of the garage and the rear tires bumped down onto the driveway, I heard that clunk and was like....oh crap.
The rear shocks on this car are what hold the rear axle up if you put the car up on a lift. So if I even brought this in for inspection right now (or jacked the back up to remove wheels, the right side would droop way down. The spring could possibly fall out. Or it could put an extra load on the left shock and rip that out of the frame the other way.
The solution is to jack the back end up from the axle. Of course, I bet the springs will work their way through the frame next. Yeah....this car is kind of done.
Of course this is hardly a concern now. When I pulled the car out of the garage and the rear tires bumped down onto the driveway, I heard that clunk and was like....oh crap.
The rear shocks on this car are what hold the rear axle up if you put the car up on a lift. So if I even brought this in for inspection right now (or jacked the back up to remove wheels, the right side would droop way down. The spring could possibly fall out. Or it could put an extra load on the left shock and rip that out of the frame the other way.
The solution is to jack the back end up from the axle. Of course, I bet the springs will work their way through the frame next. Yeah....this car is kind of done.