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Driving with only exhaust manifolds?

colbystephens

colbystephens

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I bought a new catalytic converter and was going to weld it in today. So I cut the old one out. And then I decided I just want to have a shop weld the new one in for me. :doah:

Will I hurt anything on my '90 TBI 350 if I drive it to a muffler shop within 5 miles with the exhaust removed, but the manifolds still bolted in place? The O2 sensor is mounted in the manifold. The engine is brand new - only about 500 miles on it. Don't want to screw anything up.

:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
I'd be more afraid of the heat and flames setting something on fire,like the starter wiring or maybe the jute carpet padding, if it heated the firewall up enough on that long a ride..

I doubt that long a ride would harm the engine or sensors,but I'm no expert on EFI stuff...

I drove my '72 K5 for a week with only short pipes off the manifolds long enough to keep and heat and flames away from anything that could start on fire,till I got up the cash to have a dual exhaust setup made for it..the only ill effects was I got pulled over twice for excessive noise,luckily both cops let me off with a verbal warning when I showed them the new mufflers lying in the bed ,that I "just bought"...:whistle:
 
I'd agree, only potential damage is anything that is near the outlet of the manifolds. If you drive easily, no flames are going to be coming out, it's just going to be very, very hot.

Moving forward at a decent speed, a lot of heat is removed from under the hood.
 
No worries, i've done it a million times. Also there wont be any flames and the exhaust wont be very hot since there is no restriction.
 
I did it with headers. Biggest risk is probably a noise ticket...but you are on the way to have it fixed after all. Drive it very easy - like just off idle and there won't be a ton of heat. Just for fun, report that you "suspect an exhaust leak" and maybe start it up when a technician sticks their head underneath.
 
Bring some ear muffs.

I was recently in the same situation but I decided to tow it so I didn't piss off my neighbors at 6:30 am :rolleyes:
 
I pulled the ECM fuses, and for some reason the truck wouldn't start:whistle:

Had AAA tow it to the muffler shop to get it fixed up right :haha:

I love loud motors, but y pipe only is LOUD. It probably won't hurt anything, but i'd at least toss the y pipe back on.

Also, if you are going to a shop, have them install the whole setup, including y pipe. I can never get past the leaks like a muffler shop can.
 
dhcomp said:
I pulled the ECM fuses, and for some reason the truck wouldn't start:whistle:

Had AAA tow it to the muffler shop to get it fixed up right :haha:

I love loud motors, but y pipe only is LOUD. It probably won't hurt anything, but i'd at least toss the y pipe back on.

Also, if you are going to a shop, have them install the whole setup, including y pipe. I can never get past the leaks like a muffler shop can.
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Bingo! (if you have AAA of course) or have a buddy flat tow it via the ol' chain/strap method.
 
Well, I put the y-pipe back on and drove it down to Meineke with no problems. Kind of embarrassing to be so loud.

Not real impressed with their work. They sleeved one end of the cat to weld it up to the tail pipe. Lame. Welds aren't real impressive, but functional. They must have rotated the tail end of it a bit because the tail pipe hangs lower and is bound to get crushed at some point.

And they left my truck unlocked, and some fool got in there and went through my center console and threw everything around. :angry1: And they broke top off the locking push-button thing on my door.

But it's done. And it works. So I think I'm just going to get over it.
 
When I was younger I drove my Monte SS from my house, about 6 blocks away to the muffler shop to have a new crossover welded on w/ my headers. Car burnt a valve and lost all its power after that, or so I suspected.

Not sure if it was because the motor as out of balance with only one header open or what but I was quite broke at the time and wound up having a sweet sounding monte that was really really slow. Got rid of it not to long after that.
 
colbystephens said:
Well, I put the y-pipe back on and drove it down to Meineke with no problems. Kind of embarrassing to be so loud.

Not real impressed with their work. They sleeved one end of the cat to weld it up to the tail pipe. Lame. Welds aren't real impressive, but functional. They must have rotated the tail end of it a bit because the tail pipe hangs lower and is bound to get crushed at some point.

And they left my truck unlocked, and some fool got in there and went through my center console and threw everything around. :angry1: And they broke top off the locking push-button thing on my door.

But it's done. And it works. So I think I'm just going to get over it.
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that's a lot of grief for what should be a simple exhaust job.
 
I NEVER leav a muffler shop unattended while they do any work on my vehicles, muffler shops are the biggest hacks if they aren't being watched.
 
4X4HIGH said:
I NEVER leav a muffler shop unattended while they do any work on my vehicles, muffler shops are the biggest hacks if they aren't being watched.
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Definitely with you there. The muff shops seem to bring heavy doses of meth induced welding/fab work.


skunked said:
that's a lot of grief for what should be a simple exhaust job.
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Word. I have open headers right now too. The kids around my block love it lol. Luckily theres a really good shop near me so I may have them fix it. There slogan is no muff to tuff...seems legit :haha:
 
Yeah, once you get away from stock exhaust configuration, you sometimes have to hit up the more questionable type of shops to get the work done. Sometimes they have some good welders, but it seems like there's always at least one shifty-lookin dude not even trusted enough to weld on stuff. Look at his yellow eyes and you can believe he'd rather have the cash from your car tonight than his job there tomorrow.
 
4X4HIGH said:
I NEVER leav a muffler shop unattended while they do any work on my vehicles, muffler shops are the biggest hacks if they aren't being watched.
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Scott drove over to the exhaust shop when my truck was there and I couldn't be. He's serious.

And it came out great!

Thanks again Scott.
 
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