Hey guys, I just ordered a Flowmaster 17233 American Thunder cat-back to replace my stock exhaust. I was just wondering if there are gonna be any difficulties i should prepare for in installing it or removing the stock one. I read the pdf instructions on the Flowmaster site and it seemed pretty straightforward except for the part of cutting the original exhaust to remove it. Did anyone really have to do this in removing the stock exhaust?

should be good to go...86-91 3" single cat application right?

next on the list: hooker 2055's! highly recommend, look into it.

any pics of the z? I have a soft spot for 87's...

yeah i need to wait for some more funds before i get the hooker 2055s which i plan on getting. Sorry no pictures yet, after the exhaust i plan on getting it painted (bought it with a few scratches and fading), then i'll have some pics.

I bought this car a few weeks ago but i plan on doing as much as i can to it throughout the summer.

The stock intermediate pipe, starting from behind the catalytic converter, running over the rear axle. This needs to be cut (as it's one piece), unless you have access to a lift, that is. If you don't, simply use a hacksaw and cut the intermediate pipe near the rear axle. A sawzall would be ideal if you can obtain one...

has anybody had any issues with the slip fit connections? has anybody gotten it welded?

if your car is real low you better make sure the bolts for the slip fits are to the side or above the pipe. my friend ripped his over axle pipe off going over a raised area in the road with a grate on it and it bent the pipe around the rear axle so that was fun to fix in the middle of the road...

a hacksaw sucks when your workin with smaller jack stands

get a sawzall. it makes it sooo much easier to cut that pipe out.

the only other thing you gotta look out for is the bolts to the cat. those could be rusted out and hard to move.. so PB blaster them before hand.

and make sure you clamp those clamps down VERY tight. i had mine tight but the back muffler fell off one day after driving for about a few weeks. i thought it was on their good and was just waiting to go get it welded up. clamps kinda suck so get it welded up eventually. it seals all the pipes so no leaks too! lol

and for more sound get a high flow cat. it does sound soo much better with high flow cat or no cat.

"Just bought a Flowmaster Cat-back."

I'm sorry




In answer to your question, don't slip fit it, weld it. Less leaks, stronger.

would it really leak bad enough for me to fail emissions, because i gotta get that passed by the end of the month? And how much would the welding of the slip fits range in cost?

Sorry to interrupt,

I opted to go with a pair of Hedman 68481's, what's the
diffrence between the 2055's? and the 68481's?

I saw the charts that ThirdGen.org has posted, but all flows
looked fairly identical...

I went with the Hedman's because the quality, ease of install
and the performance, but I was just curious about the
Hooker 2055's


Thanks

-TPI
----------

Definately listen to waht he said

Somewhere between free and $50. If you installed it and u just want them to weld it, it won't cost much of anything - at least around here.

hey i dont know how good your local votech is but i know the one from where i just graduated from welded preety dern good ... i put on a flowmaster exhaust also they do the work for free around here as long as you buy the parts.... now if and when you have it done at a votech make sure you tell them to clamp your cat in (for easy removal) and weld the rest only untill you get through inspection then take out your cat and weld in a straght pipe..... thats what i did and its sounds great

cool. thanks for all the suggestions. I'll get it welded after i install it.

just want to clarify, could the slip fit connections be welded while the exhuast is already installed?

yes, i had my flowmaster clamped together for about a month.... and then had it welded. the guy charged me 100 bucks, which i thought was very high. but it was a nice job.

the damn muffler fell off one day while i was driving around. those clamps dont work well. so i decided to get it welded.

and just yesterday my new exhaust setup fell off cuz it was clamped... and waiting to be welded...left me stranded on the side of the road for over an hour while i tryed to get the muffler taken off so i could drive home. thank god i was near sears, and could get a wrench to take off the other clamp! lol

after reading that, I'll definetly weld it ASAP. as for the $100, I was hoping it wouldnt be more than $50.

Don't laugh.. the american thunder is one AWESOME sounding exhuast - it is not even remotely close to the sound of the flowmaster we all love to hate... trust me... on my friends car, it is a very DEEP rumble that it makes... overall, and i hate flowmasters, but the american thunder sounds great... trust me

i checked with two shops around here and they both told me the same thing. They cant weld the connections if the system is already installed. They wont be able to weld the top part of the exhaust.

My whole exhaust has been clamped for the last 5 years. Nice and tight, never had a problem.

well the exhaust will eventually have to be installed and welded... if they take out the pipe to weld it, how they gonna get it back in? one of the pieces has to be in there during the weld, probly the over the axle system. the pipe going into the muffler has to be welded up durin the install somehow.

i dont know how they did mine, but it was all welded up, all around the pipes.. they did a nice job but charged me 100 bucks... i thought that was very high