Post by ES_97Sport on Oct 2, 2014 17:34:27 GMT -5
On my last trip to UT I managed to get lost between Meeker, Steamboat and Rifle. I finally ended up coming down some canyon 4WD trail north of Rifle. I didn't bother to drop into Lo anything at the trail head. It was obviously a trail and not a road, but it was nice and smooth and in good repair, so I just turned onto the trail still in 1st gear 2WD. At the head of the trail doing about 5 MPH just around a short, tight curve I ran head first into a boggy, dugout collection of flooded holes big enough to swallow a Dodge 3500 king cab. After clawing my way out while experimenting with randomly rearranging all my gear by bouncing it all over the interior of my vehicle and checking everything for damage, I continued on my way. Slower. 
I didn't think too much of it 'till I got maybe about 1/3 to 1/2 way between Grand Junction, CO and Green River, UT. The exhaust started sounding a little loud but not much and it was hard to tell at 70 MPH with the wind blowing so I figured my existing little leak had gotten slightly worse with the bouncing and crashing so I continued on my way.
About 10-12 miles from Green River I suddenly lost power and everything got REAL loud. I was on the down hill stretch heading into Green River and practically coasting by then so I limped it to the hotel and parked figuring I'd deal with it in the morning. By this time it was running like hell, spitting, sputtering and idling horribly.
I got up the next morning, had breakfast and headed to the truck stop across the road to gas up and talk to the shop there figuring I just needed to have a pipe re-welded. Some advice? NEVER break down in UT. EVER. After four shops - none of which either had a welder or someone who could run one if they did, I decided to do what I SHOULD have done in the first place which was crawl underneath and see what the problem really was instead of making assumptions.
Lo and behold, I'd managed to blow a hole through the flex joint where the down pipes transition to the exhaust pipe, CAT, etc. That's the braided steel sausage looking thing in the picture below. Not just a hole, but a hole the size of a 50 cent piece - right in front of the forward O2 sensor, which explained why it was running the way it was running. Finding the hole made further running around pointless 'cause I don't carry a spare for THAT and I wasn't about to wait around to have Napa air drop one in via carrier pigeon in three or five days. I couldn't drive it in this shape any distance either, so ....
Exhaust y-pipe with flex joint
While sitting in the parking lot cussing fate, it occurred to me that one of my handy 3" wide stainless exhaust band clamps for my 'Bird exhaust would be really handy right about now. Unfortunately, all of those were at home. Napa was only a few buildings to the west so I figured I'd limp over and see if they even knew what I was talking about. I figured all they could do was tell me they didn't carry them but maybe they'd know were I could get one. Surprise, surprise, they actually keep them in stock! They even had a 3" diameter one which is the exact diameter of my flex joint. It took about five minutes to install with a socket wrench and boxed end wrench and as soon as I started the vehicle everything was back to normal. Cheap, fast $10 patch which I will take any day.
Exhaust Clamp, 3"; Easy Seal Flat Strap Band Clamp, Stainless Steel
The bad part about this 'fix' is that it pretty much means no wheeling until the problem is really fixed by either replacing the y-pipe which includes the joint or by having a new joint welded in. If the joint is in bad enough shape to do this in the first place, it'll never stand up to having a clamp wrapped around it and then having the vehicle flex off road. Having that clamp wrapped around the middle of the flex joint is going to create even more stress on what's still exposed so unless you have no choice and you're trying to get back to civilization from the middle of some trail in BFE Nowhere, call it a day and head home or somewhere you can get the problem fixed for real.
BTW, for reference, the pipe is 2", and exhaust shops usually keep the flex joints in stock. I'm not keen on just replacing just the joint. My preference is to replace the entire y-pipe. The factory y-pipe is designed like a header. The internal pipe has a left/right bank divider that runs all the way to the flex joint. Chopping the pipe and installing a new flex joint cuts probably 3-4" out of that so it goes to both banks dumping into the pipe sooner than normal. I know what affect this is supposed to have, but I don't know if its even noticeable or measurable without a dynometer.
Keep in mind that a giant leak in front of a/the primary O2 sensor will cause a lean reading at the O2 sensor which will result in the ECM/PCM increasing fuel. In my case, A LOT of fuel. Which will result in burning out the CAT if that goes on for too long - and 'too long' ain't that long.
As a test after installing the clamp, I did take the truck for a 30-40 mile spin west of Goblin Valley in the San Rafael Swell on a not very smooth county gravel road to make sure it'd actually last long enough to get me back to Denver and had no problems. This was a road, however, not a trail and it WASN'T very rough.
So, I guess a couple of these need to be added to my spares/emergency box. A 3" for the flex joint, a 2 1/4" for my after CAT pipe and a 2" for the stock sized pipe would probably be prudent. The good thing is these are light and come in a flat package so they take up very little room. Dump them in the underfloor storage and I'm done.
If you're planning the same, and I strongly recommend this, measure the flex joint diameter. Mine came in at EXACTLY 3" but it's an aftermarket piece. I haven't measured the ones on my stock '97 or my '03 - they might be a different diameter. These clamps are not adjustable - they're made for an exact diameter - so you can't just get one and call it good. If you have a 3" and it turns out that you need a 2 3/4" you're SOL.
Edward
I didn't think too much of it 'till I got maybe about 1/3 to 1/2 way between Grand Junction, CO and Green River, UT. The exhaust started sounding a little loud but not much and it was hard to tell at 70 MPH with the wind blowing so I figured my existing little leak had gotten slightly worse with the bouncing and crashing so I continued on my way.
About 10-12 miles from Green River I suddenly lost power and everything got REAL loud. I was on the down hill stretch heading into Green River and practically coasting by then so I limped it to the hotel and parked figuring I'd deal with it in the morning. By this time it was running like hell, spitting, sputtering and idling horribly.
I got up the next morning, had breakfast and headed to the truck stop across the road to gas up and talk to the shop there figuring I just needed to have a pipe re-welded. Some advice? NEVER break down in UT. EVER. After four shops - none of which either had a welder or someone who could run one if they did, I decided to do what I SHOULD have done in the first place which was crawl underneath and see what the problem really was instead of making assumptions.
Lo and behold, I'd managed to blow a hole through the flex joint where the down pipes transition to the exhaust pipe, CAT, etc. That's the braided steel sausage looking thing in the picture below. Not just a hole, but a hole the size of a 50 cent piece - right in front of the forward O2 sensor, which explained why it was running the way it was running. Finding the hole made further running around pointless 'cause I don't carry a spare for THAT and I wasn't about to wait around to have Napa air drop one in via carrier pigeon in three or five days. I couldn't drive it in this shape any distance either, so ....
Exhaust y-pipe with flex joint
While sitting in the parking lot cussing fate, it occurred to me that one of my handy 3" wide stainless exhaust band clamps for my 'Bird exhaust would be really handy right about now. Unfortunately, all of those were at home. Napa was only a few buildings to the west so I figured I'd limp over and see if they even knew what I was talking about. I figured all they could do was tell me they didn't carry them but maybe they'd know were I could get one. Surprise, surprise, they actually keep them in stock! They even had a 3" diameter one which is the exact diameter of my flex joint. It took about five minutes to install with a socket wrench and boxed end wrench and as soon as I started the vehicle everything was back to normal. Cheap, fast $10 patch which I will take any day.
Exhaust Clamp, 3"; Easy Seal Flat Strap Band Clamp, Stainless Steel
The bad part about this 'fix' is that it pretty much means no wheeling until the problem is really fixed by either replacing the y-pipe which includes the joint or by having a new joint welded in. If the joint is in bad enough shape to do this in the first place, it'll never stand up to having a clamp wrapped around it and then having the vehicle flex off road. Having that clamp wrapped around the middle of the flex joint is going to create even more stress on what's still exposed so unless you have no choice and you're trying to get back to civilization from the middle of some trail in BFE Nowhere, call it a day and head home or somewhere you can get the problem fixed for real.
BTW, for reference, the pipe is 2", and exhaust shops usually keep the flex joints in stock. I'm not keen on just replacing just the joint. My preference is to replace the entire y-pipe. The factory y-pipe is designed like a header. The internal pipe has a left/right bank divider that runs all the way to the flex joint. Chopping the pipe and installing a new flex joint cuts probably 3-4" out of that so it goes to both banks dumping into the pipe sooner than normal. I know what affect this is supposed to have, but I don't know if its even noticeable or measurable without a dynometer.
Keep in mind that a giant leak in front of a/the primary O2 sensor will cause a lean reading at the O2 sensor which will result in the ECM/PCM increasing fuel. In my case, A LOT of fuel. Which will result in burning out the CAT if that goes on for too long - and 'too long' ain't that long.
As a test after installing the clamp, I did take the truck for a 30-40 mile spin west of Goblin Valley in the San Rafael Swell on a not very smooth county gravel road to make sure it'd actually last long enough to get me back to Denver and had no problems. This was a road, however, not a trail and it WASN'T very rough.
So, I guess a couple of these need to be added to my spares/emergency box. A 3" for the flex joint, a 2 1/4" for my after CAT pipe and a 2" for the stock sized pipe would probably be prudent. The good thing is these are light and come in a flat package so they take up very little room. Dump them in the underfloor storage and I'm done.
If you're planning the same, and I strongly recommend this, measure the flex joint diameter. Mine came in at EXACTLY 3" but it's an aftermarket piece. I haven't measured the ones on my stock '97 or my '03 - they might be a different diameter. These clamps are not adjustable - they're made for an exact diameter - so you can't just get one and call it good. If you have a 3" and it turns out that you need a 2 3/4" you're SOL.
Edward
