Nuts, bolts, etc., for exhaust - brass instead of steel?

[King_V]

Exhaust system update...

Ho'kay, so the weather was good, and I got off my lazy ass and got to work.

Roll car out of garage, get ready to start it and ride it up the ramps, and, whoops, battery's dead. Trying to jump it doesn't help, so I grumble, and re-hook the battery-trickle charger to it. That thing works WAY better when I actually remember to connect it to the car!

So, I figure I'll at least do the H-pipe - there seems to be enough clearance. Myself, some wrenches, ratchets, etc., and the H-pipe and gaskets.

Ok, first replaced the broken parking-brake handle. No worries there. On to the H-pipe. I decided to pass on reinstalling the vibration dampeners.

Hmm, I am not 100% impressed with Walker's exact-fit fit. Seems like I had to shove on the H-pipe hard after attaching one side to the cats to get the other side to fit.

Oh well, finally after finagling, get it on. Now to put the factory-type muffler hanger for the driver's side on.

Uh, the hole to hang it from is not threaded? This is a self-tapping arrangement? UGH!

Mufflers look nicer than the H-pipe . . H-pipe had the appearance that it was sitting for a long time - some slight bits of surface rust here and there.

Get muffler, try to slide it on driver's side. Goes on mostly trouble-free. Uh, the "factory style" bracket on the muffler is, I guess, semi-universal? A lot of holes, and one of them kinda lines up. I also appear to be missing two of the bolts that hold these things on - whoops, bad planning. So, each muffler's getting one tapered bolt to hold its bracket on to the hanger.

Also, it seems like the H-pipe might've been, I dunno, half an inch short or so? Had to slide the muffler back and flex the hanger's end forward a bit - made putting in the self-tapping tapered bolt (oh, did I mention the holes in the bracket on the muffler are also not threaded?) very awkward, but I got one in.

Hmm, is the edge of the muffler SUPPOSED to be pressing against the parking brake cable? I guess that's what that 2 or so inch section of thick rubber around that part of the parking brake cable sheath is for....

On to the passenger side - ugh, the muffler does NOT want to slip onto the end of the H-pipe. But, a little grease eventually solved that problem.

Again, positioning seems a little off, but I manage to get one of the tapered bolts in to hang the thing.

This took longer than expected, and I'm losing daylight. Gonna have to put the tailpipes on tomorrow.

I did NOT use any clamps yet. Standard 2-inch generic muffler clamps. Want to have everything slip-fit on and positioned properly before I tighten things up.

Battery is charged, so I start it up to roll up the driveway closer to the garage. It's actually quieter than I expect, despite the fact that the mufflers are just dumping out ahead of the axle. From inside and outside, just a hint of aggression. Interestingly, not the slightest hint of exhaust leak, even when I revved it a little, despite the mufflers not being clamped on.

Interesting to see what it sounds like once I get the tailpipes attached, then tighten everything up.

After the tailpipes, I will try to find GOOD lugnuts. Then have the wheel balance and alignment checked. Then, eventually, the odd issue with the power mirror on the driver's side.

But, first thing's first. Tailpipes. Oh, then inspection. It failed a few months back due to lack of tailpipe (they couldn't stick the probe in the muffler). Then the other stuff.

Then a good wash, wax, polish, etc etc.

[gadget73]

The original bolts are a thread forming type. They have a long pointy cone tip with a groove cut in there to make the threads as the bolt is run in.

[johnunit]

Ugh. The self-threading bolts. Those got lost in transit or something for my frame braces and I cannot find them locally. What a pravneet.

[King_V]

Tailpipes today, and completely attached the muffler hangers.

Huh, the driver's tailpipe is misshapen where it's supposed to go into the muffler. Dammit. I can either wait forever to see if I can get an exchange from Amazon, or I can use a tailpipe expander to try and shape it.

Autozone is nearby. The expanders in the Loan-A-Tool section on the website show only a single measurement, and I don't know if that's the minimum or maximum size the expander handles.

Phone call, I'm assured they're all there in stock, but they don't know if the size listed is minimum or maximum, and even the box won't say. I plan to rent them all out to have my bases covered.

Losing daylight, so I send the girlfriend along, whilst I get the passenger side pipe in, along with hanger No problem on that front.

When my girlfriend returns, it turns out that Autozone, despite what their website and the person on the phone said, has only one of the three - the second one was NOT there, and the third one wasn't a loan tool, despite being listed in Loan-A-Tool.

And, the one they had is not only too big, but also damaged. Not only that, but the box said in HUGE BOLD CHARACTERS what the range of minimum to maximum pipe size was.

Grumble grumble.... Eh, I reshape the pipe with vice grips, getting it round and hoping I didn't expand it more than needed. A moment of panic as it seemed the tailpipe did NOT want to slip into the muffler, but it eventually goes in.

Alright, so EVERYTHING is now hooked up. Uh, except the muffler clamps. I want to later make sure everything's rotated right, etc. when I have more daylight and time - and let's face it, I was getting lazy.

Still, I started it, drove up the block and back, and pulled into the garage.

What do I think of the SoundFX mufflers?

I'm disappointed.

The "exact fit" is more like "almost exact fit", as it required some uncomfortable bending/flexing of the pipes, hangers, etc. Maybe that's normal with replacement exhausts, but I didn't expect it in "exact fit"

At idle, standing behind the car, there's a SLIGHT hint of maybe being more aggressive than stock. Aside from that, it seems inside and out, it sounds, if not exactly, then almost, like factory quiet. I'll need to take a longer drive, or pull away with someone standing behind the car, to be sure.

Yeah, I drove a very short distance without the muffler clamps. Interestingly, not the slightest leak or sputter.


Of course, I'd've been upset had it been too loud or drone-y, but with the claim of being more aggressive than stock, I did not expect to be unable to tell the difference between stock and the SoundFX mufflers.

Ah well, live and learn.

Next... in order - clamps, inspection, PCV valve, lugnuts. Then a good cleaning.