Help! Can't get exhaust pipes seperated.

[Mark]

help can't get exhaust pipes seperated mark i'm replacing the exhaust pipes and mufflers on my ' lt and i can't get the exhaust pipe seperated from the header pipe i'm trying to save the header pipes because they are the original swedged design does anyone have a backyard secret or do i need to take it to an exhaust shop thanks for any help received

[Tom Buddie]

Low Budget Answer

low budget answer tom buddie the only thing that ever worked for me is heat lots of it you have to insulate the underside of the car extremely well or you'll ruin the floor pans etc and maybe burn your house down i use oxy acetylene or tips alternately heat spray with penetrating oil and tap with a body hammer this can be tricky if the penetrating oil lights up you have to develop a technique propane might not be hot enough but it's worth a try usually the joint has to be red hot before it breaks lose if you're uncomfortable with fire then best not to mess with heat a mechanical method such as hammer and cold chisel might work but unless the pipes have recently been removed or replaced it probably won't come apart without ruining the exhaust pipe one other suggestion if you can remove the pipes from the car and get them out in the open the job will be much safer easier since you're trashing the center section anyways just cut them off with a hack saw a few inches from the exhaust pipe this should help you get the pipes off the car to a place where you can have your way with them in this case you'll have to replace the gaskets do nuts etc at the exhaust manifolds when you re install no magic just elbow grease

[Gary Schisler]

Re: Help! Can't get exhaust pipes seperated.

re help can't get exhaust pipes seperated gary schisler i assume that you don't mind taking the pipes off of the car after painting my i couldn't stand the fact the pipes did not exit from the center of the exhaust bezel so i decided to re align all the exhaust system i took everything off of the car and took it all down to my local muffler shop as the other posting said the secret is heat much more than you can do with a propane torch and probably more than you would want to expose the underside of your car to for he separated all of the pipes by using his cutting torch he had to get everything red hot to remove it best i have spent as far as energy saved good luck gary