Exhaust crossmember
08-21-12, 10:54 AM
#6
Thanks Brian!
Start this project with your car cold. You're working with exhaust components which can get extremely hot. I burnt my arm pretty bad while doing this over the weekend. Wear good gloves and overalls. Shorts and flip flops are not appropriate attire as it turns out. Anyways, here it goes:
1. Remove the cross member (4x12mm bolts), clean it off with a wire brush and heat it with a blowtorch.
2. Wrap the bar with the tape and give it a once over with your torch to heat and activate the epoxy.
3. Run your car for a couple minutes so it's just a bit warmer than ambient.
4. Wrap the mid pipe where it's hitting with the tape. There will probably be some scuffs where you need to wrap.
5. Install the cross member again, then wrap the two together VERY TIGHTLY in a figure eight pattern.
6. Let the car run for a good 45 min or so to let the epoxies bake. Go for a drive to let it heat up nice.
7. Let the car cool off for a few hours to let the header tape set.
The wrapping can also be a bit of a PITA if you're in a tight space. I found that using a lighter to heat the tape to set it temporarily worked well while you're trying to pull the tape in and around the drive shaft and heat shields. Since you're going to be tugging pretty hard on the tape while wrapping it tightly, make sure your car is jacked up securely. Once you're done and out driving to set the tape, you will smell some burning for a bit, this is normal. It's the epoxy residues burning off. It goes away after a couple hours of drive time. This should sort out the problem that some of us have had with the pipe banging.
Start this project with your car cold. You're working with exhaust components which can get extremely hot. I burnt my arm pretty bad while doing this over the weekend. Wear good gloves and overalls. Shorts and flip flops are not appropriate attire as it turns out. Anyways, here it goes:
1. Remove the cross member (4x12mm bolts), clean it off with a wire brush and heat it with a blowtorch.
2. Wrap the bar with the tape and give it a once over with your torch to heat and activate the epoxy.
3. Run your car for a couple minutes so it's just a bit warmer than ambient.
4. Wrap the mid pipe where it's hitting with the tape. There will probably be some scuffs where you need to wrap.
5. Install the cross member again, then wrap the two together VERY TIGHTLY in a figure eight pattern.
6. Let the car run for a good 45 min or so to let the epoxies bake. Go for a drive to let it heat up nice.
7. Let the car cool off for a few hours to let the header tape set.
The wrapping can also be a bit of a PITA if you're in a tight space. I found that using a lighter to heat the tape to set it temporarily worked well while you're trying to pull the tape in and around the drive shaft and heat shields. Since you're going to be tugging pretty hard on the tape while wrapping it tightly, make sure your car is jacked up securely. Once you're done and out driving to set the tape, you will smell some burning for a bit, this is normal. It's the epoxy residues burning off. It goes away after a couple hours of drive time. This should sort out the problem that some of us have had with the pipe banging.
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08-24-12, 06:47 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
I jacked mine up when I got home today. Found that the driver's side pipe was much closer than the passenger side. I put three washers on the left side of the brace and two washers on the right side. Took a test drive down a VERY bumpy road and had no more annoying clank from the exhaust hitting the brace. Total cost about $3.00. Problem solved. The bolts are more than long enough to allow for the additional washers.
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