Exhaust install difficulty?

I've ordered a Magnaflow catback for my '89 GT. Is this something I can bolt on myself with some basic tools and a set of jackstands, or will it require a welder and/or a knowledgeable shop to put it on? Thanks!

Sweet. It's coming in today and I don't want to a) have to pay a shop to do it if I can do it myself or b) wait for a shop to have a free appt for me to get the car in.

Anyone else?

Well, I got my catback on. I started around 3PM and finished up around 10ish. Wow, I never thought it would take THAT long. Getting the stock exhaust off was pretty easy. It wasn't rusted at all and none of the bolts were siezed. I ended up cutting the old pipes where they went over the axle so I could get them out more easily.

Getting the new exhaust in was MUCH harder than I thought. I figured, everything is in individual pieces--it should be a piece of cake to get it in. Noooes.. It probably took me two hours to get everything mounted. Then it took me another hour of taking it apart and putting it back together to get everything to fit together properly. And then I probably spent another hour trying to get the exhaust tips to exit at the same location. (Yeah, they're turndowns so you don't really see them, but it would still bug me if they were off.)

The exhaust sounds like I expected it to. It's barely louder than stock at idle and if I putt-putt around town, it sounds docile. But when I get into it at low revs, it's noisy and burbly, and at higher revs, the note climbs significantly and it practically wails. I think I'm pretty happy with it.

dj14901 said:

Any helpful hints? I'll soon be doing the same on my '92 GT and was wondering if you had any advice from your experience...

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I've only driven the car a couple of miles (home from my buddy's house) since putting the exhaust on, but I'll be driving it around today. I'll letcha know more of what I think of it tonight.

As far as hints go:

I didn't have any problem getting the stock exhaust unbolted. My car only has 74K miles on it and the underbody was VERY clean. I gave up on trying to get the stock exhaust off in one piece without having the car up on a lift (I used jackstands) so I got out the hacksaw and cut it near the over-the-axle bends. The steel is surprisingly soft, and I was through each side in under 5 minutes.

As far as the installation goes, don't follow the instructions. They recommend starting from the H-pipe and going straight back. The pipes that come off the H-pipe determine how the entire rest of the system is going to angle. Get the mufflers attached to the over-the-axle-pipes, then get them attached to the replacement hangers, and then bolt the hanger into place. The rubber mounts will let you move the mufflers and pipes around enough to get the pre-muffler pipes squeezed into place. Before you squeeze them in, figure out what angle they need to go in to make the rest of the exhaust aim the right way.

Try not to push any of the parts together too tightly until you're sure that they are aiming the way you want them to. I had to take things apart a couple of times when I had everything together too tight and couldn't them to twist enough.

And of course, don't bother with the clamps until you've got everything lined up properly.

When working with the rubber exhaust mounts, a little WD40 does wonders for getting them on and off intact. Don't cut them, because you will need to reuse two of them with the Magnaflow kit.

Also, it helps if you take the rear wheels off so that you have a bit more room to move around under the car.

xplo89gt said:

Good job. Still aren't you glad you did it and didnt have to pay someone else to do it? More money for future mods

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Absolutely! I just ordered my MM chassis stiffening kit this morning. I figure if it took me 7 hours, it would probably take a shop about 2 hours, so I saved about $100. And it's not like I was going to do anything productive yesterday evening anyway.

Damn, my whole upper body is pretty sore, and I do lift weights pretty regularly!

Whytry91 said:

And reset the computer when your done!!!

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Ahhh, I didn't do that. Which probably explains why I had a check engine light for a couple minutes when I started the car this morning, and why it flickered on and off a bunch of times on the 20-mile drive home tonight.

I just yank the ground cable from the battery for 10-15 minutes to reset the computer, right?

GNN60GT500 said:

Hey guys.....
Well, I have the Magnaflow catted X and Magnaflow catback with turndowns......on a 90 GT......
There is pretty much no drone with the tail pipes, but I get a little with the turndowns.....

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I haven't run it without the turndowns, but I get some drone in the 1700-2100rpm range (roughly). It's not annoying IMO.