Steve Young

Hi all,

This may be a dumb question but I settled into the garage last weekend to fit a MBRP cat-back off-road exhaust to the 2-door. I figured that would be maybe a 2 hour job if everything went well but had the whole day...

After about 4 hours I had completed the evap can relo It took a while but I was really happy with the result.

On to the exhaust. So I removed the OEM transmission plate easily enough and then started grappling with the muffler.

So here's the question: Is there a trick or technicque to getting the original exhaust off. I got the clamps undone easily enough (after I had soaked them in penetrating oil overnight) but I couldn't seem to get the rubber mounts off the hangers.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks

Steve

Robar

I heard that Windex works really good for removing the hangers from the rubber mounts, but honestly that sucks too. I just install my MBRP yesterday and I used a sawzall to cut off the little metal nipples on the hangers and they just slid out.

Steve Young

O.K. Thanks - I will try the windex but I'm really unenthusiastic about cutting off the retaining nipples on the hangers - I can see how it would make the install go easier but I'd wonder if it compromised the security of your exhaust (increased the chance of it vibrating loose off road).

I'm sort of thinking of it like the old door strap retainers (pre-JK wranglers) which were just posts and the retaining strap used to come off them fairly frequently.

I could take a torch to the rubber mounts and just replace them but I figured there must be an easier way to get things apart..

Thanks,

Steve

MightyJoe

Spray penitrating fluid on them and use chanel lock pliers to pull the rubber off the exhaust

Robar

I cut off the nipples on the old exhaust. I have no intention of ever reusing it, so I had no problems with it. The MBRP exhaust doesn't have the little nipples on the hangers, but they are a little longer than the stock ones.

Steve Young

When I read your first post I assumed you meant cut the nipples off the hangers mounted on the Jeep but cutting the old exhaust makes a lot more sense - I don't have any problem with that.

I might try Mighty Joes approach first in case it's easier but if that doesn't go quickly I'll pull out the sawzall.

Thanks both,

Steve

Robar

Oh. Yeah I was talking about the hangers on the exhaust pipe and muffler.

dpoelstra

Not to stir things up, but what exactly does a full cat back system get you that a good muffler does not. Unless you are relocating the muffler, why change a bunch of pipe that is being replaced with a bunch of pipe?

Robar

My MBRP kit relocated my muffler. That was a big reason for getting it. You could have a shop replace a muffler for you and probably for less, but this is what I wanted.

Steve Young

The object of this exercise for me was to relocate the muffler. I haven't decided what to do with the space yet but there are four possibilities.

1. Use the space from the OEM muffler with a skid plate to mount an air tank
2. Use the space from the old muffler to increase the size of the cubby hole using Woods kit
3. See if the increased departure angle is useful ...
4. Because my Jeep fun is 50% wrenching and 50% wheeling

#4 is the main driver. However I started down this path with a view to achieving #3. The idea was to fit the Tuffy security deck -(all done and awesome) and use the top deck to mount the spare inside. I'd have to do a bit of work on the rear bumper and raise the tow hitch to get the full benefit of removing the big OEM muffler.

Turns out that the security deck in it's stock form is not big enough to flat mount a 35" inside the Jeep so I'm thinking other possibilities are:-

a) Work out a way of fabbing a mount for the 35" wheel inside the Jeep above the security deck
b) Explore the possibility of mounting the tire vertically in front of the deck and behind the front seats
c) Do #1 or #2

Where was I oh yeah - it's just one more excuse to wrench on my Jeep...

Steve