exhaust knock

[nickmatteri]

Afternoon all ,fitted a new sportex exhaust with 3" rear outs,but theyre uptight against the body and the klonkin is drivin me nutso.I cant lower them on the rubbers cos the pipework before the rear box will hit the leaf spring.Does this mean cutting a semicircle out of the rear valance above the pipe to give some clearance?
Cheers Nick M

[Fordoholic Nick]

Hi Nick,

I don't have a 2.8i but hearing what you said if the leaf springs are in the way then surely there is nowhere for the exhaust to go if lowered any more than it is now ? Reckon your self diagnosis is probably what needs to be done to make it fit better tail ends, but am sure someone here will know better. I will keep a keen eye here to see what the 2.8i guys say.

Hope you get it sorted, any sort of troublesome noise is a pain but a knocking noise must be driving you mad

Good Luck fixing it mate

All the best

Nick

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi Nick,
Sportex exhausts are well known for knocking on everything in sight! Are you sure that it's not the pipe clonking on the leaf springs when you go over a bump, as there is not very much clearance at that point. My Sportex suffered from this problem. I solved it by raising the joint in the upright section between the tail and middle sections. This raised the exhaust by around 15mm at the critical point near the springs and mostly solved the problem. Also, check the hanger rubbers are in good condition or fit poly ones instead.
Hope this helps,
Andrew.

[Big Mike]

Hi Nick,

I have the same system and the same issues as you and Andrew. I've done everything Andrew has advised, (great advice as ever Andrew) plus I've fastened squares of rubber to the inside of the rear leaf springs with cable ties as a final measure. This has really done the job.

Strangely the driver's side always seemed worse than the other, but then I'm a bit of a chubber so that may have something to do with it!

Mike.

[sheff]

If it makes you Chaps feel any better the Janspeed system isn't a perfect fit either. I had to remove some of the pipe at the join to allow a reasonable gap between the exhaust and the underside of the car.
I guess with all aftermarket exhaust there's going to be a bit of fettling required, especially if you've got a 3 inch tail pipe.
If my memory serves me right the 2.8's came originally came with a one piece exhaust, fitted before the axle was assembled to the car. This had to be removed by cutting it off and even the Ford replacement was a nightmare to fit.

Good luck
Neil

[Andrew 2.8i]

If it makes you Chaps feel any better the Janspeed system isn't a perfect fit either.

Neil,

Thanks for that info. I'm surprised at that, I was led to believe that the Janspeed was of extremely high quality and fitted perfectly. Perhaps the way to go is a custom-made system, which can be bought for the same sort of money as the Janspeed.
More decisions to be made...
Andrew.

[andyd]

Hi All,
Garage fitted my 280 Janspeeds all fine, did my 3.0 Ghia ones myself and apart from Elongating the holes
to match Downpipes, again all ok... So Janspeeds are in my experience

I used these Guys for my XR3i http://www.ccw-tools.com/Stainless-Stee ... 1461-1472/
Really good Quality and Fit made to O/E Spec


Andy

[Hollyoak]

Thanks for that info. I'm surprised at that,
More decisions to be made...
Andrew.[/quote]

Andrew, Don't be put off the the Janspeed, I fitted a system and manifolds and I'm pleased with it,sounds much better than the s/s system I took off, as said it's not a perfect fit where it goes over the axle it's close to the underside of the car but it doesn't take a lot of sorting, the main problem I found was working with the car on 4 axle stands it makes an easy Job hard work, kwik fit would have done it for 2 hours labour, if I was to do it again that's where it would go,

Dave.

[Andrew 2.8i]

the main problem I found was working with the car on 4 axle stands it makes an easy Job hard work, kwik fit would have done it for 2 hours labour, if I was to do it again that's where it would go,

Dave,
Thanks for your advice, When I get my system, I was toying with fitting it myself on stands, but don't think I'll bother now. I was thinking that perhaps a lot of space is needed to fit the tail section over the axle.

All the best,
Andrew.

[andyd]

Hi Andrew,
It's do able on Axle Stands but you have to take the rear wheels off to get the right angle to fit rear boxes,
easier with a mate helping you, but for a couple hours Garage labour it makes sense, that's what I will be
doing when the time arrives..

Andy

[Hollyoak]

Dave

[Hollyoak]

Dave,
Thanks for your advice, When I get my system, I was toying with fitting it myself on stands, but don't think I'll bother now. I was thinking that perhaps a lot of space is needed to fit the tail section over the axle.

All the best,
Andrew.

Don't know about you but I forget that Im not 30 anymore,

Dave.[/quote]

[nickmatteri]

Afternoon all,thanks for the info,some of you have clearly had the same prob.Thats the beauty of this forum.The rubber on the leaf spring has gone some way to help ,I used a couple of rubber heels off a knackered pair shoes!!.However I met a guy at the NEC restoration show from the bend shop/customchrome in Nuneaton,he recognised the prob and reckons he can cure it with by raising the rear pipe to get it away from the leaf spring and putting a small "S"bend before the rear box to lower the tailends.
Cheers all Nick M

[Andrew 2.8i]

he can cure it with by raising the rear pipe to get it away from the leaf spring and putting a small "S"bend before the rear box to lower the tailends.

Hi Nick,
Did he mention how much we can expect to pay for such work? Given that it seems to be a common fault with aftermarket exhausts, it might be worth the rest of us seeking out a local company with a hydraulic pipe bending machine. It would be nice to have a benchmark cost for comparison.

All the best,
Andrew.

[nickmatteri]

Hi Andrew ,unless it throws up any unforseen probs he reckons £30-50.I,m good with that cos I saved over £100 on the price and it will be worth it cos its drivin me nuts.Anyway good idea of yours
Nick

[nickmatteri]

Ok got it sorted.but cost £75.We found the angle of the uppipe at the back of the middle box was wrong slightly so angle grind a wedge out,re weld re-fit, raise middle box as far as you dare which in turn pushes back box up away from leaf spring and tilts tail end down away from rear valance.Am I chuffed the noise was drivin me spare.
Cheers Nick M

[stevemarl]

so angle grind a wedge out,re weld re-fit, raise middle box as far as you dare which in turn pushes back box up away from leaf spring

It`s pretty outrageous that it`s such a poor fit it requires that amount of re-working. Your bog standard parts, Bosal, Klarius etc just slot straight in with plenty of clearance - so should these, there`s no excuse! That sounds worthy of Trading Standards?

[andyd]

Had my Janspeeds fitted today took the Guy 3 hours

Had the same problem with it touching the bottom of the car where it goes over the axle, managed
to sort it but a lot of messing about, good job I took it to a garage that cuts and welds Stainless Steel.

Well worth the hassle though

Andy

[Arya2.0S]

Not only do they knock but they also rub up against the rear wheel too if you aren't careful!
Mine was knocking on the leaf spring and touching the wheel so he cut out a section, made a new bend which bent away from the wheel so it no longer touches and with lots of fiddling managed to get it away from the leaf spring too.
Required multiple cuts and re-welds but got there in the end.
Bloody stupid they cost so much then they dont bloody fit! Still i cant complain too much i got my system for free.