On Mon, 6 Nov 2000, Andy Levy wrote:
> Well, now you've got me thinking, Ron. I was planning on doing a
> cat-back and headers next summer, but this weekend got to thinking about
> a high-flow cat as well (hell, why not!?). I was hoping to do it as a
> driveway bolt-on myself (with some extra hands to help), but with the
> number of cuts/connections that would be made, clamps could be a big
> problem.
>
> What will a weld-job cost me? Should I try to find a friend who can
> weld and has the equipment at his disposal? I'd really like to do as
> much as I can in terms of mods myself, but...
Its true that a welded system can provide for a more leak-free
install, but I don't think its a nescessity. A part of that
derives from my obsession to try to keep my mods as reverseable
as possible.
I've got a 3" Gibson single cat-back on my Dak, and its just
held together with clamps; its not going anywhere. (Actually,
if you use clamps, be careful not to crimp down *too* hard on
the exhaust, or you will bend both pipes and permanently hook
them together just as strongly as if you had welded them. Just
clamp down hard enough to hold the pipes together. You can
also use the "band" style clamp (available from Summit).
Those can help to seal the leaks even better, and don't
exhert as much force in one place as a standard muffler clamp.
Plus, if you decide you want to weld up your system later,
that's as easy to do then as it is now. IMHO, I'd want to
live with the system for a while just to be sure I'm happy with
it and no changes need to be done, before committing to a
welded setup. If you ever decide you want to have it welded up,
I'd be happy to MIG weld it for you at a DML bbq or something, but
I think you'll want to let me get some more practice first. :-)
FYI: If you do have it welded up, be sure to remove the oxygen
sensors from the pipes first!!! O2 sensors don't like welding
torches. :-)
-Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ----- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@twistedbits.net ------.
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`------------------------------ http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ----'
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