holes in crossmember

[cstm68]

if i cut the holes in the crossmember for the exhaust to run through like lots of guiys here have done do i NEED to weld a pipe in there or is that just extra?

also would it be a bad idea to do a square hole ?

[Hart_Rod]

It helps to maintain the integrity of the crossmember. Round or square doesn't matter. Some would argue that round looks better.

R/

[cstm68]

ok thanks, i agree the round looks better, but the square is easier

[Tx Firefighter]

For what it's worth, the first time I did one, I just cut the holes and didn't weld anything around where I cut. That's been since 1993 and the truck is still driving all over the place with no signs of cracking or other issues.