I installed it yesterday. You are right, it was a bitch. I first put my oil change ramps in front of my rear tires and drove up on them. That gave me plenty of clearance. I borrowed a 5" grinder from my welder neighbor and cut the pipes in front of and behind the exhaust. In order to remove the hangers I squirted WD-40 I the holes are used a flat screwdriver to pry them off. I then installed the muffler and went from there. I did weld the last hangers instead of bolting them. That turned out to be the worst thing to do because of the frame undercoating. And last but not least I spot welded some chrome tips in place.
The only thing I don't like is how close the pipe is to the spare tire. I hope it won't matter. And I forgot to mention that I drove it around the block without any muffler. I don't see how anyone can do that without getting a ticket.
Rickey
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Lowe [SMTP:Slow@Primenet.Com]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 1997 4:13 PM
To: Rickey Bell
Subject: Re: Gibson Exhaust
On Thu, 15 May 1997 16:49:06 -0400, you wrote:
>I gust got mine today. I probably won't get it installed until Saturday. The box is heavy (70Lbs) so we might both need someone to help in the installation.
>
Rickey,
Mine came today. I started installing it at 3:00 and finished
at 7:00 by myself. It was a bitch. The factory pipes just wound not
come off. Here's what you'll need....
15MM Deep socket
9/16" Deep socket
Some kind of spray lube
Jack and two jack stands
Here's how I did mine....
Mine is a 4X4 so it made it much easier due to higher ground
clearance. Jack up the rear pass side only, get it as high as you can,
and put a jack stand under the frame next to the cat, this will give
you the most room.
The factory rubber hangers are a bitch too. Get a 13MM socket and
unbolt them from the body, two bolts each, and let them hang on the
pipes as you unbolt the factory system, put another jack stand under
the factory muffler.
Now, soak the hell out of the joints on the pipes with the lube, and
wait. Soak some more than wait. Once again. Now comes the fun part. It
took me over an hour and a half to get the pipes to separate. Be
careful not to break the manifolds on the engine by pulling on the
pipes.
Follow the directions and put the new system up. Mine is a kick in the
ass to drive now, it has more low end power and tons on top!!!
Have fun,
Steve
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:41 EDT