Welding the collector (exhaust)

[Steelawork'n]

I just got done putting new gaskets that joing the collectors to the pipes. Only took about 20 minutes but why can't a guy just weld 'em together for crying out loud? I've just heard it's not a good idea but why not?

Has anyone just gone and done it...I mean welding it?

[matthufham]

it sucks when you need to remove part of the pipe. my friend had a camaro where it was a single pipe ran from the manifolds because it was welded. i had to replace his muffler, but i couldn't drop down just the pipe in front of the muffler to weld it to the muffler so i had to get my welder in a tight spot on top of the pipe, but i couldn't see what i was welding. i needed to weld it on a bench.

[Longhorn Man]

Why not just buy good gaskets? The dead soft alluminum ones will NEVER blow out.
Welding the pipes to the header is an act of valdalizm as far as some ppl are concerned

[chevyboy55]

I had exhaust put on a car before I sold it & the muffler shop(a hot rod shop none the less) cut the collector flange's off & then welded the pipe to it.
If I had not been selling it I would have gone in there & gone ballastic!!!

[LUV2XCLR8]

I agree with Andy, or ................................... if you have the funds,
upgrade your headers, I have ball flange headers on "GQ" and no leaks.

[69CvyPickup4x]

I just took my truck down to the exhaust shop to have them cut the collector and re-weld the collector angled up and away from the front drive shaft because the collector flange was just barely up against the shaft and the guy said oh yeah no problem so i told him to just bend me some pipe so it can be ran through the cross member and on back, he made it sound like it was no problem so i gave him my truck with faith that he would do what i wanted (mind u these were brand new doug thorley headers which costed me $500 bucks about) and i came back to pick up my truck and he had cut off both collectors and welded the pipe straight to the headers...uh i was pretty pissed off, but what can i do now.. so i just bit the bullet and appreciated his effort and took off...

[Steelawork'n]

Ball flange headers? Now that's an awesome idea. What brands and who carries them?????

[Longhorn Man]

he wouldn't have gotten much money from me after that.
I can be a real pr!ck about that kinda stuff... I went to get some tires mounted last week, I told them what I wanted, and the guy sent his kids to go pull the wheels. (the kids all looked like convicts or canival freaks) After they ruined 2 of my stainless trim rings I had to go and pop them off for them, I guess it was too much trouble to pop them off before popping the hub caps off. Then, when they came back, one of them rolled a tire over one of my hub caps totally ruinging it too... then they broke a stud, and on top of it all, they only mounted one tire the way I wanted them, the rest were bass ackwards.
The guy came up, told me the total, I pointed out what hapopened, and said "I'll be leaving now"... he said "I don't blame you"

[matthufham]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

he wouldn't have gotten much money from me after that.
I can be a real pr!ck about that kinda stuff... I went to get some tires mounted last week, I told them what I wanted, and the guy sent his kids to go pull the wheels. (the kids all looked like convicts or canival freaks) After they ruined 2 of my stainless trim rings I had to go and pop them off for them, I guess it was too much trouble to pop them off before popping the hub caps off. Then, when they came back, one of them rolled a tire over one of my hub caps totally ruinging it too... then they broke a stud, and on top of it all, they only mounted one tire the way I wanted them, the rest were bass ackwards.
The guy came up, told me the total, I pointed out what hapopened, and said "I'll be leaving now"... he said "I don't blame you"

that's more than 1 or 2 things, i think anyone would be mad. i'm mad and it's not even my truck.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by Steelawork'n

Ball flange headers? Now that's an awesome idea. What brands and who carries them?????

Pic's in siggy under my 4WD linky, pages 13-15 I think? Mine are Hedman
Elite Ceramic coated headers, they were like $275 to my door, very nice
fit & finish, but they didn't look like the pic's, they're actually 3/4 length.

[rage'nrat638]

here you go luv...SWEEEEEEEEEEET

[Steelawork'n]

That is cool. I like'm.

[Steelawork'n]

Why don't they all go to that? The gasket thing is totally whacked, to say the least.

[corn]

I think they make them now to replace the exhaust pipe reducer & bolt to a standard header collector. Ive always just used hi temp silicone on the gaskets with no problems. Let it dry a day or so before you bolt them together.

[409biscayne]

Nothing worse in my opinion than a dumbass muffler man , i'm with Longhorn i woluldn't paid him . I just had flowmasters and pipes installed on the 68 , absolutely perfect . No leaks at the collector flange , pipes bent exactly as i wanted . If your in my area and want exhaust work call me and i'll get ya his phone number .
( oh yeah , the muffler dude is a 67-72 fan , owns a bunch ).
Later ............................................ 409

[1972]

I'm obviously in the minority here, but I love the idea of welding the pipes to the collectors. This trick works real well on my 4x4 trucks that see a lot of frame twisting during off-roading and deep water crossings. I also use exhaust manifold gaskets at the head for a trouble-free seal.

I have a rusty old truck that had the wrong manifolds put on it by a previous owner and the exhaust was rotting off the truck. I'm not going to spend more for headers than what my truck is worth. I used some $79 (when new) headers from my '79 K20 (R.I.P) on my '72 C10 and had my exhaust guy weld the pipes to the flanges for a leak-free permanent seal. The entire exhaust system is welded all the way to the rear (because I hate muffler clamps). He spaces the pipes far enough apart to allow the transmission to be dropped. I've never had to remove any pipe that he has welded on any of my vehicles in the last 10 years... and if I ever would need to remove one, I would cut it off and have him reweld it.

If I had a nicer truck, I may try the ball and gasket type of connection... although I have heard from some people that they leak also.

[Steelawork'n]

Nice pick...looks like very little airflow restriction on that set of pipes. You got me beat...I think I spent $89 for mine. I put the copper on top but couldn't make myself put the copper on the bottom...so I replace the bottoms every 6-9 months.

[1972]

Mine may have been $89... I've slept since then... but I do know that with tax they were under a hundred bucks. I like the welded idea because I'm all about maintence-free and cheap.

[lilpup69chevy]

i had my collectors welded on my 85 i use to have never had a problem with it leaking ever!!! lol but i also never had to do anything with my exhaust never had any problems when doing an engine or trans swap either

[corn]

Im with 1972 on the exhaust manifold gaskets at the head. Ive been doing them that way for years with ZERO leaks.

[classicchev]

I originnally had supercomps with flanges, Used 2 copper gasket with high temp silicone. NEVER leaked in 6 years of DAILY driving. I have now changed those collectors to the ball flange available from Flowmaster. They are being coated, or Id post a pic.

Why do people weld there exhaust together???????????????????????

[1972]

Originally Posted by classicchev

Why do people weld there exhaust together???????????????????????

Because they don't like leaks?

Here is a welded muffler shot...











I have tried collector gaskets and clamps for the mufflers, but with the way I have used my trucks in the past, they don't last long before they leak or break.

Here are some pics of my old K20 (R.I.P). The frame flex in the ditch and the driving with the exhaust under water will kill clamps and gaskets. A fully welded exhaust system is the only thing that has held up to my abuse.

[Longhorn Man]

I haven't seen anything listed here that dead soft alluminum (installed dry) wouldn't hold up to, nor, anything I didn't do.


Oh yeah, and I took mine apart many times, and even transfered to another truck and another set of headers... and they still sealed.