how to make cat back pipe wider?
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From: Cheshire, CT
how to make cat back pipe wider? apparantly when the guy that installed my catback put it on, the tip of the catback where it hooked up with my stock y pipe was crushed to 2 3/4" and not kept at 3"...the problem i have is the lpp y pipe is a 3" ypipe and at the part that is supposed to hook up to the catback, it is crush to fit into the 3" catback. anyway to make the pipe wider?
go to autozone and rent a pipe expander, they should have one up to like 4 something....then when your done take it back and get your money back....they are pretty self explanatory to use..oh and they are like 30 bucks and if you want to keep it you can, you dont have to take it back
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
go to autozone and rent a pipe expander, they should have one up to like 4 something....then when your done take it back and get your money back....they are pretty self explanatory to use..oh and they are like 30 bucks and if you want to keep it you can, you dont have to take it back
I'd go for the cutting off the bad part and welding on a new piece of 3"
The kind you screw in a bolt and it expands a bunch of 'fingers'? Those things are junk -_- They work crappy, on a good day lol If you could keep even heat all around the pipe while using one of those, with an impact gun, it might work a bit better. But good luck on the heat part!
I'd go for the cutting off the bad part and welding on a new piece of 3"
I'd go for the cutting off the bad part and welding on a new piece of 3"
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
While it might be cost effective, that's only if it works. If it doesn't and he doesn't have a welder (which would suck), he has to bandage it up and drive it to somewhere that'll do the exhaust work heh
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The finger type Autozone tool is awesome and very well worth it for restoring a pipe to round if it has crimps and dings from the u-bolt type clamp. Makes re-inserting pipes back together a breeze with no cussing. It is useless for actually enlarging a pipe.
The muffler shop has the hydraulic machine that can easily enlarge a pipe for a few bucks.
The muffler shop has the hydraulic machine that can easily enlarge a pipe for a few bucks.
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 636
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From: Cheshire, CT
i ended up buying the 3" pipe expander from harbor freight. worked like a charm, got it expanded and popped the y pipe in.
now i have to just figure out how to get this steering linkage to clear the headers...grrrr
now i have to just figure out how to get this steering linkage to clear the headers...grrrr
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
Hell hath frozen.Anyways, I'd almost rather use the pound-in cone shape expander over the finger type. They work fine for removing the clamp indents, sure, but that's only a small surface area needing to be 'enlarged' (see: restored to original size). Making a larger surface area either enlarged or restored-to-round I feel would be a little harder to do w/o breaking the tool (been there, don't that). I just don't think it's worth the time and frustration.
If anything, remove all the exhaust (if you can) and just bring it to the exhaust shop to make round again with their hydraulic setup.
