Ok, so I may have brought this up before but I can't find it in any search results...
I put a bbk catted H made for an 89 mustang on my 88 'bird when I did the 5.0 swap. Problem is it hangs WAY to low. Way lower than I've ever seen h-pipes on a mustang. It wasn't a problem for a while (just a visual problem) but now that I've moved, I have several speed bumps I have to go over everyday, to and from work. The cats drag on each one and I'm afraid that before long I will have massive holes! ANyone else have these issues with a mustang spec h-pipe? Do some tuck up better than others or do I need to go custom? oh, and yes, it is in the proper place, I did not skip the tran x-mem hangers...
I would just get some wood and jack it up a couple of inches with your floor jack. If that doesn't work than take off the pipe and and bend the hangers in alittle with a pipe (slip pipe over hanger and bend it in). I think your problem is that you should have bent the hangers and fitted it some before installing it.
That makes sense. I guess I forget that the h-pipe can rotate on the ball and socket joints. I'll loosen them up and then use the jack. Thanks
?? I'm not sure we're on the same page. The hangers that slide in the tranny exhaust mounts need to be bent toward the pipe to make it fit tighter. By jacking up the pipe with it installed you will be bending the hangers inward
Actually, by jacking under the h-pipe, the weight of the car should push down on the hangers and bend them down/back and the h-pipe should tuck closer to the x-member. And I said I'd loosen the ball/socket connection so the h-pipe can pivot upward without putting to much pressure on the header bolts. I think this makes sense, right? Even jut as a temp solution...?
I think you putting too much thought into it. The hangers need to be adjusted alittle, by jacking up the whole section you will accomplish that. Or take it apart and bend them by hand and reinstall. I always jacked up my hpipes to tweak them and get them to fit right.
LOL, or maybe you're reading into my reply to much :D I just plan on putting the jack under the h-pipe and jacking up. That's what you mean, right?
My X-Pipe from Pype's didn't even have hangers.I have never needed them and the exhaust is tight and high.Cut the hangers off.
So you just rely on the h-pipe to header bolts and the ler hangers to keep you system up?
They are stronger than you think.The ler hangers are very strong,the tailpipes have hangers in the back,the X-Pipe is only like 4 feet long and weighs next to nothing.I've had the X-pipe like that for nearly two years without ever having any problems at all.No rattling,no no sagging,no nothing.It's very solid.When the Bird had the catted exhaust,it didn't have hangers holding that heavy up near the floor.
New motor mounts will push the engine upward and give you the clearance you probably need. Do you have the ChuckW mounts, or did you use stock rubber pieces?
Also, some people have to dimple the pipe on the driver's side to clear the shifter cable bracket (or some people chop the bracket LOL). Is that an issue with your car too?
I'm using stock replacement Sport mounts. I'd like Chuck W mounts but I'm not sure how long I'll have this motor setup so I'm going to stick with what I have. As far as clearance, my car is a manual so, I guess to answer your question; not an issue! :D
OK, I'm just trying to help eliminate some typical things, that's all. If the motor mounts you're using have new rubber then that's about all the height you're going to get.
It might be possible to flip over the H-pipe hanger...that could help.
Otherwise, I've not see a problem that great before with an aftermarket H-pipe, although every one seems to be different. It's possible that that particular H-pipe is just bent a little "wrong" for your car. Maybe taking it to an exhaust shop might net you some info. They may be able to dimple up the pipe to get the correct angles. I had to do that once.
You're not alone, my bbk h-pipe w/ cats also hangs down low. But since my car hasn't been lowered yet it hasn't presented any problems. Eventually I'll be going off road since my heads nor my intake are emissions legal so I'm not to worried about it.
my bbk h pipe hangs low as hell
and it was in a cougar(kitz's car)
Maybe he can give u some info as to if it hung low in his car or not. I had a HELL of a time getting it in
your X has no cats his does whats the wieght differnce.
my BBK X offroad i cut them off
my cats were gutted
h pipe weighed 55 pounds with gutted cats
You got a mac H pipe.
Like Eric said maybe flip the mount,could be on upside down?.what headers are you using?.Only problem I had was the lers hung low the ones daboss got now,whitch I fixed with magnaflows.Tweek the mounts to raise it.
ah shoot thats right
im tired lol
and hahah the back is up fine, mine sits low up front, and my car is slanted fowards
It's in your sig!!
I'd be very surprised if my X-Pipe weighed more than 20 pounds.
this is exactly what I had to do to get mine to tuck up under the car better. be sure you loosen everthing,jack it up and tighten everything.......................worked for me.
bbk headers as well. And yes, that hanger bracket may be upside down. The h-pipe I had when I assembled my 5.0 parts didn't have hangers so I probably just threw it on there...
Vinny my bbk probably weighs the same. The stock H w/the 4 cats was pretty heavy though.
His is aftermarket so I don’t know its weight I’m sure its less then stock
That's the problem I ran into with mine. I cut off the excess part of the bracket but that only help's so much. I really didn't feel like hammering on the h-pipe so I pretty much deal with it for now.
I just talked to a guy at a car show this past weekend who said that he had a BBK 4-cat H-pipe on his '89 Mustang. I asked him if it hung too low and he asked me how I knew that. ;) I then checked it out and indeed it seems to have the same problem mentioned thoughout the thread. So the problem would have to be with the BBK manufacturing process...it's not the cars.
Nice! thanks Eric! That's funny, "how'd you know that?" LOL Guess I'll keep that in mind next time I buy an h-pipe.
I recently helped install a jegs h pipe on a 88 tbird.. the hangers at the tailshaft were actually welded on backwards. the long legs that should have been going into the hanger were welded to the pipe. we had to cut them off.
woah, dang... thats some high quality work! Yet another thing to remember when buying an h-pipe