YotaCody

I'm trying to buy a house, so most of my money is going towards that, but I need to get my truck back on the road. Long story short, exhaust leaks are tricking my O2 sensor into telling the ECU to flood the engine after it enters closed loop mode. Once the engine reaches operating temp, it dies and won't idle, and the power is junk. I verified this diagnosis by reading the voltage output across the Vf and E1 connectors on the DLC. AFM also gave bogus resistance values, so I replaced that with one that read good, and TPS gave good numbers.

So, I am trying to put an exhaust together for cheap. Does anybody have good tips or tricks on doing this? Any templates out there to bend the tubing up? This is my first time doing this kind of work and really digging into my truck, so all help and advice is appreciated. Thanks!

vasinvictor

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like about $40 of exhaust work at an exhaust shop...

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Best template is the old one, cheapest source for a new one is the salvage yard.

You might be better served by ordering the ready made forward pipe from someplace like rockauto. Just a guess but if you had the equipment to bend pipes you likely wouldn't be asking about how to template them

Bender, Expander, Cutter That'll put you about 50-60$ over the cost from rockauto, and doesn't account for flanges or sensor bung.

yotasavg

This is the situation where I take it to an exhaust shop and tell them exactly what to do and that I'm paying cash and I'm on a budget of x.xx dollars. How can we make this happen?

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

where is your exhaust leaking?


i dunno what kind of exhaust shops they have in your area, but in CA $40 won't even get your rig up on the rack at most shops, lol. i called a dozen shops to have my swiss-cheese exhaust redone and all of them were well over $300 for just a CAT-back replacement.

assuming you have a 22re, i would look into the Bosal exhaust kit for a stock setup, and possibly look at the Dave'z Offroad exhaust if you're planning to upgrade size and upgrade t-case crossmember. i just bought a welder and contemplated DIY exhaust, but i think for the ease of things i'd much rather get something pre-fabbed, and those two brands are the cheapest i've found so far. if anything, i'll DIY a larger diameter downpipe (since nobody makes one) and then stick an aftermarket cat-back on there.

YotaCody

It's leaking in multiple places between manifold and cat.

That's what I was thinking. I do have the 22re, thanks for those suggestions.

And thanks for all of the suggestions here; my first option was to try and find a salvage exhaust, but either the trucks are picked clean or it's crap.

I don't have access to fab tools, like a bender, but I have a buddy with a welder. I was thinking if worst comes to worst, I could just make something by cutting up 180° bends. However, with the price for that Bosal OEM at $106, it's not going to get much cheaper or easier.

YotaCody

I like this idea. I may try this first if I can't find something in the next week or so.

yotasavg

It's always worth a shot. Not many customers come up telling you how much they want to pay, I find I get some respect that way. Ask around others in your area. They guy that did my exhaust for dirt cheap was recommended to me by a complete stranger. I saw his truck had a nice exhaust setup, I asked where he got it done and what his name was. Then I went to the shop and did a little name and vehicle dropping and left $75.00 poorer with my brand new cat back with my own supplied muffler. He fixed 3 pretty good pre-cat leaks too...

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

if it's leaking between the header/manifold and cat, then you've got a leak on your downpipe/"y-pipe". aside from a long-tube header that reaches to your CAT, I think the Bosal downpipe replacement will be one of your only options vs repairing the holes yourself. my truck had a leak in the crotch of the "Y" on the downpipe a few years ago and I had my neighbor patch it up for me with his welder.

i've read an old discussion regarding the "best" exhaust for a 22re (before replacing with aftermarket tri-y header) actually being the stock manifold followed by a 2" downpipe (since this is also a tri-y setup), then a 2.25" CAT/back. The justification was that the downpipe is actually where it necks down in diameter. I thought I'd call up some shops to see about having this piece re-made for me in a larger diameter....from all the shops i called, this particular exhaust part was the one that NONE of them said they would touch due to the intricate bends and proximity to trans for stock mounting position. the only shop that would do it was the custom exhaust shop that makes headers and whatnot - but it was cheaper to buy a thorley header than have them make one.

i bet the "I have $XXX cash to pay" line would actually work quite well these days.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

WALKER Part # 45410 Front Pipe, or maybe, BOSAL Part # 790235 Front Pipe, there are about 6 different options of type and brand not sure which you'd need.

Both those priced under 80$, for me shipping is 14-17$.

Rockauto exhaust 94 22re link