Exhaust Replacement - Labour Only...

[Spinal]

I need to get the back box/muffler changed on one of my cars, and was planning to do it myself...

So I geared up with a new unit, a gasket, some fire cement and a breaker bar...

Try as hard as I may, I couldn't get the old unit off! So, I called a few garages (chains) near me to do the work...

I can't believe that none of them are interested in doing the work unless they supply the exhaust themselves!

Going to try a few smaller places next...

M.

 

[219]

They probably don't want the blame if it doesn't fit , or to warranty something bought elsewhere . There will be an element of sour grapes too .

 

[grober]

Try a small cheepo angle grinder? [ plus safety glasses and some decent cutting discs of course!] Titan TTB281GRD 4½" Angle Grinder 230-240V | 115-125mm Grinders | Screwfix.com

 

[Howard]

If they chop the old one off ( more than likely , exhausts never just come off ) and you have bought the wrong one , then their ramp is out of action with a car with no exhaust on it.

Not worth the risk or hassle to them. Understandable really with rents what they are , they need to keep all ramps working at all times.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

None of the chains will typically touch anything like this. What you need is an indy or a "backstreet garage". May be worth having a wonder down the Uxbridge Road (between Uxbridge & Hayes) and trying one of the places along there?

 

[Howard]

Do you not have a 'usual' garage ?

My local place will fit stuff I supply , but only because they know me and know I get the right stuff off the bat.

 

[219]

If they chop the old one off ( more than likely , exhausts never just come off ) and you have bought the wrong one , then their ramp is out of action with a car with no exhaust on it.

Not worth the risk or hassle to them. Understandable really with rents what they are , they need to keep all ramps working at all times.

TBH , if a back box didn't fit , the car would just be started up without it ( albeit noisily ) and shoved outside , until the situation was resolved with the owner .

Even if it couldn't be started , cars can generally be pushed off ramps and moved out of the way .

Most places , however , don't want the hassle when they've already been done out of a few pounds profit on supplying something .

 

[Howard]

All aggro they can do without , someone wanting to give em 1/2 hours labour to fit a back box becomes a problem.

Get it off the ramp , find somewhere for it to go etc etc

 

[219]

No argument .

 

[Giantvanman]

Have you got a heat gun/paint stripper or flame gun to heat up the outer sleeve?
There's always Penetrating Oil (or paraffin wax) if you take the exhaust of its hanger further up to get a downward pitch to let the fluid do its thing.
Or hacksaw the muffler off (missing the inner pipe) and cut along the length of the outer sleeve allowing you to get a chisel in to widen the outer pipe/break the bond.

 

[Spinal]

Do you not have a 'usual' garage ?

My local place will fit stuff I supply , but only because they know me and know I get the right stuff off the bat.

I do - but it's a self service one (pit start). Already went there, and realised how weak I am, even when assisted by the longest breaker bar they had...

I've covered the joint in WD40 and then sealed off with white grease... Going to try driving to a few small places over the weekend...
M.

 

[219]

Have you got a heat gun/paint stripper or flame gun to heat up the outer sleeve?
There's always Penetrating Oil (or paraffin wax) if you take the exhaust of its hanger further up to get a downward pitch to let the fluid do its thing.
Or hacksaw the muffler off (missing the inner pipe) and cut along the length of the outer sleeve allowing you to get a chisel in to widen the outer pipe/break the bond.

Don't disagree with anything above .

Another possibility is , if there's a flange join further forwards , take the rear two sections of the exhaust off the car together . Flange join usually has either two or three bolts which can easily be hacksawed if they won't undo , and the join will then easily separate . I did exactly this on the E250 I had a couple of years back , made the job so much easier as the rotten back box had been welded to the mid section ( and had to be ground off all around the join ) .

With both bits removed , you have better access to separate them , either using heat , a grinder , hacksaw , or even a good old fashioned 'big hammer' .

 

[hotrodder]

Pretty much all been said but FWIW i never even bother trying to seperate slip joints when replacing an exhaust section or i need to drop the exhaust to get at something for example when i dropped the subframe and petrol tank out of the w124 i took the exhaust off at the flanged joint to the cat. If i was just replacing the back box i'd reach straight for the angle grinder... cut the U clamp off as they're usually seized and are too cheap to bother wasting time trying to salvage anyway. Then slit the scrap section lengthwise where it's expanded. With luck the two slots cut into it for the U clamp to squeeze are positioned in a way that adding one or two more lets you disect the thing in no time using a bit of brute force and ignorance. As said sometimes it can still be faster to split the exhaust at a flanged joint first

 

[def90cars]

Can you believe I bought myself a burger and bun from the market but when I rang McDonald's up they refused to let me bring it in for them to cook for me........
They insisted I could only buy the ones they supplied.

etc.etc.etc.

 

[Spinal]

Can you believe I bought myself a burger and bun from the market but when I rang McDonald's up they refused to let me bring it in for them to cook for me........
They insisted I could only buy the ones they supplied.

etc.etc.etc.

McDonalds offer a product, while a mechanic offers a service - very different worlds.

How many restaurants allow you to bring your own wine, and charge a corkage fee?

 

[wemorgan]

I've supplied parts for garages to fit in the past. What Spinal is requesting is uncommon but not exceptional.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I've supplied parts for garages to fit in the past. What Spinal is requesting is uncommon but not exceptional.

+1 however, I can say almost all large chains will have a policy that forbids it. You need a local independent mechanic / garage. As Spinal has stated they're providing a service (their time and expertise).

Large garage networks / fast fit centres won't do this kind of work as it eats into their profit on both sides of the deal and naturally the liability issues etc. I know this from my experience in trying to get a part worn tyre fitted to a spare wheel rim. For what it's worth I've had a back box replaced by an independent garage with my own part. In my situation I had a Jetex sport exhaust fitted to a VW years ago. The back box has managed to rot within the 2 year warranty period, Jetex replaced that under the warranty but shipped just the part for me to get fitted. I couldn't go back to the original fitter at the time (2 hrs away) so I just set off and found the first decent looking independent garage I could find. Job done...

 

[Spinal]

Emailed a few local garages yesterday, and got a prompt reply from one. (the others asked me to call them, which I found funny...)

£30+vat for the fitting + the cost of 2 bolts if they need to cut them, and potentially the rubber mountings if these need replacing. They're happy to tell me if they think either need replacing before carrying out any work.

TBH - it's a lot less than I was expecting to pay! I had budgetted £100 or so for the work, and the car's booked in tomorrow.

M.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Good stuff - I have built a relationship with a couple of local garages for precisely this reason, given the cars I own they are more than happy for me to source the parts for them and they like working on them. They also save me lots of time as they know old fashioned auto electricians etc who can diagnose issues on older cars that modern techs tend to be stumped by.

 

[Spinal]

All sorted. The garage was quite a bit larger than expected (9ish bays, 2 car lifts, one oil pit) but still a little family run thing.

They swapped my exhaust out for £30+vat, and while I was there, I asked them to have a look at my tyres, which needed balancing (and one had a slow leak). So in the end I spent a lot more with them, but I'm still happy.

One quiet car again, and just in time for the White Hat Rally (which is the raison d'etre for the car at the moment!)
M