Magnaflow install help????

[SRTINCT]

Anybody with experience installing the Magnaflow catback, can you give me an idea of how you got the stock exhaust off. What a pain. I've loosened all the band clamps, spread them out and the pipes are just frozen onto each other. Any other suggestions besides a hammer and flat blade screw driver to wedge between the pipes? Been at this for awhile with little progress. Don't want to cut the exhaust off because it will have to go back on later for emmissions testing. Thanks for the help if you can.

 

[mjpmattox]

I'm not sure how many miles you have on your truck but I did mine like 2 weeks ago and just used lots of pb blaster to try to ease the rip out.:dontknow:

 

[Kevan]

I used almost 1/2 a can of WD-40 on all the clamps and rubber hangers.
Kicked back with my neighbor for a beer or three as the WD-40 worked itself into the threads/clamp faces, then went back to the project.

We used a hard rubber mallet and pounded the snot out of the clamps until they spun.
I found out later that they were tack-welded into place. You'll need to break that weld on the original clamps.
The rubber hangers are a little easier once you get the WD-40 on them.

I *can* be a one-person job, but 2 certainly makes it easier.

 

[SRTINCT]

05 with only 2K on the odometer. Bought new this past March.

 

[Sharpimage]

I used almost 1/2 a can of WD-40 on all the clamps and rubber hangers.
Kicked back with my neighbor for a beer or three as the WD-40 worked itself into the threads/clamp faces, then went back to the project.

We used a hard rubber mallet and pounded the snot out of the clamps until they spun.
The rubber hangers are a little easier once you get the WD-40 on them.

I *can* be a one-person job, but 2 certainly makes it easier.

all to true i just used some WD-40 to get mine off.. worked like a
charm.. i think PB would work better if you have any :rock::rock:

Sharpi

 

[SRTINCT]

I used almost 1/2 a can of WD-40 on all the clamps and rubber hangers.
Kicked back with my neighbor for a beer or three as the WD-40 worked itself into the threads/clamp faces, then went back to the project.

We used a hard rubber mallet and pounded the snot out of the clamps until they spun.
I found out later that they were tack-welded into place. You'll need to break that weld on the original clamps.
The rubber hangers are a little easier once you get the WD-40 on them.

I *can* be a one-person job, but 2 certainly makes it easier.

Clamps are spread wide open, the pipes seem seized on each other at the slip joints. Can't even get a flat blade screwdriver between the pipes at the slip joints. More beer, more wd40????:dontknow: ?

 

[Sharpimage]

what i did was take alot of WD-40 and use a hammer to just "knock" the pipes
a bit.. you can hit them but don't dent them... that usually does the trick
for me :dontknow:

Sharpi

 

[Kevan]

Clamps are spread wide open, the pipes seem seized on each other at the slip joints. Can't even get a flat blade screwdriver between the pipes at the slip joints. More beer, more wd40????:dontknow: ?

Make sure all the clamps are loosened.
Take off the rubber hangers.
'twist' the stock exhaust assembly until it comes loose.
Leverage is the key.

Don't yank it all the way off or it will clunk to the ground and probably dent the pipes. Get some padding (towels, t-shirts, etc.) or stack some 2x4 pieces by the front edge where it will drop down.

 

[mmmmtorque]

Need to take off the rubber hangers but if you take them all of then the tension adds to the headache of sliding the exhaust off.

I used a 2x4 and butted it up against the muffler and hammered on the other end with a mallet. While you are beating on the 2x4, have someone move the exhaust back and forth.

With a little 'persuasion' it will come off.

 

[SRTINCT]

Exhaust is off from the cats back. Got late so couldn't tackle the cats and the wonderful tabs I've heard about. Start again tomorrow to put the catless mids on

PB Buster was the trick. Soaked all the pipe joins and hangers, took a rubber mallet abd started wailing away from the back forward.

Anything I need to look out for when I remove the cats?

Props again to the site and the brotherhood for helping out with the tips. :cheers:

 

[mjpmattox]

All I can hope for is someone know a trick to seperate the mids from the manifolds, I have no pointers for you because it took me like 3 maybe 4 hours to get mine seperated. Just don't forget to take the O2 sensors off.:rock:

 

[Kevan]

Am I the only one who had the clamps tack-welded in place?

 

[sirhc76]

when removing the cats you need plenty of patience, Im not a drinking man but almost was that day. A few pointers: read this post,

http://www.vtcoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8590

You may want to check with your local Dodge parts dealer for O2 sensors. I had one that broke loose and left all the threads in. I have to swap my mids out for inspection and have 4 sensors ready to go in so that I can leave the 4 in my catless mids. The bolts on the stock mids to the manifolds suck and will be a pain in the ass. I now have a compressor with some balls and that will be a big plus. It hard to work a ratchet in that tight space and a wrench takes forever. An air ratchet will make the removal a lot less painful. You will find a mess of posts of you search for catless + mids.

Chris

 

[mauiSRT/10]

Patience is what you need for those POS midpipe bolts. I paid somebody myself and he hated me for it!!!!

Good luck, but you will love it when installed. The tone is awesome!!

patrick

 

[Muzzy]

If I remember correctly a 17mm open end wrench will fit over the square nuts that connect the manifolds to the mid-pipes. Those crappy little metal retainers on nuts just bend allowing the nut to spin when you are trying to loosen it.

On the Magnaflow...They called for 60 ft/lbs of torque on the band clamps they provide. You will strip out the bolts if you torque them to that. I stripped two before I looked up the actual torque spec on a 3/8 grade 8 fastener (45 dry and 35 oiled for a 16 pitch thread). It is not 60 ft/lbs. I had to run to the local hardware and I replaced them all with grade 8 since I was not sure what was on the Magnaflow provided clamps.

-Muzzy

 

[Deibs]

After a few beers you start to realize it's pretty stupid setup and then you end up like me,, grab a grinding wheel and off they go.

Same as the exhaust i beat the living,,, *$#& out of it to get it apart, then again i wasn't worried about keeping anything after the fact.