flowmaster axleback installation
 

Hi all,

I just installed a flowmaster axleback pipe on my V6 the other day and noticed that it kinda hangs a little lower than the stock exhaust does.

Is this just the way its supposed to be or did I mess something up? I've attached all three mounting brackets to the exhaust (the two metal ones on the front and back of the muffler and the rubber one thats on the link pipe)

I also noticed that the car kinda stumbles under very light acceleration from stand still. Would a loose clamp (exhaust leak) cause this? I'm using the clamp that came with the flowmaster pipe.

Thanks for any feedback.

I'm not sure on the height but it should only go on one way. The stumble shouldn't be related to what you've done and a loose clamp won't cause that to happen.

I will agree with Chad on this 100%

Hey guys thanks for the replies.

I checked out some other installation pics and I think the flowmaster AT just hangs a few inches lower than the stock item so I'm fine with that.

With regards to my other issue, maybe stumble isn't the right word. It doesn't feel gutless or down on power at low revs but at around 500rpms above idle (say 900-1100) with the car in gear there seems to be alot of vibration coming from the back of the car and the sound gets louder/harsher.

I wonder if its because there's no ballast weight on the flowmaster?

I am thinking a couple of inches lower is a little much, does it look ok when you stand behing the car? How many kilometres on your car?

I probably should have mentioned it but my car is a 06 Automatic V6. It almost has 85,000kms on it.

Here are some pics of the installed muffler:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...0/IMAG2407.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...0/IMAG2409.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...0/IMAG2408.jpg

I noticed that I get the same vibration/sound when I'm in gear and turn my steering wheel. I googled that problem and it turns out a dirty throttle body (which mine almost certainly is) could be the culprit. I guess the new muffler amplified the effects that were there with the stock pipe but I just didn't notice!

The throttle body looks pretty simple to take off. Are there gaskets and stuff I have to be aware of? (don't want to take it all apart and then not be able to put it back together) Can carb cleaner be used to clean the throttle bodies?

The throttle body is sealed with an O-ring, so no gasket to worry about. I'd get a specific throttle body spray...some carb cleaners have chemicals in them that aren't great for 02 sensors. You can raise the muffler up easily enough, it just takes a bit of time. Pulling the muffler off and bending the rods (that slide into the mounts) down towards the muffler will raise where the muffler sits under the car. A large box end wrench works good for this. Then test fit the muffler, and repeat until you get it where you want it. It takes some time, but it is worth it when you get it "just so". The mount on the link pipe isn't needed...the V8 cars (and mufflers) don't even have them. A common place for noises/vibrations with a new exhaust on these cars is the rearmost hanger. Take a look under the car, and make sure the rod that goes through the rearmost mount isn't going through too far. If it is, it will contact body metal just ahead of the bumper. I had this problem after converting to dual exhaust and test fitting a pair of Corsa axle backs. It would only make noise over certain bumps, and it took me a while to find it.

Great advice Roddy

Thanks Robby good to know I don't need a gasket :)

seems like an easy fix and the exhaust seems to be sitting fine

Ok so the vibrations was getting worse. At certain rpms there was a VERY audible rattle coming from the back of the car. Today I crawled under there and found this:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...0/IMAG2410.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...0/IMAG2411.jpg

It looks like the third hanger from the tail pipe is scraping right up against the frame of the car. I'm not sure how I missed that when I was installing the pipe but there you have it.

I took a breaker bar and used the leverage to bend it away from the frame. Funny thing is the hanger didn't actually bend but the section of pipe where the hanger is welded on actaully caved in a bit :( The concave section isn't huge and the hanger is now a good distance away from the frame so I'm happy.

Still need to clean the throttle body

Yes that would do it for sure

Ok so I just cleaned out my throttle body. Dirty as hell. It was idling funny afterwards so I disconnected the battery and followed the factory manual's idle relearning procedure. Still have to drive it for ~20 kms in order for it to fully learn its idle apparently.

Here are some pics of my throttle body cleaning:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...0/IMAG2436.jpg
Before

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...0/IMAG2444.jpg
A few minutes into the cleaning

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...0/IMAG2446.jpg
Finished! Looks much better. Hopefully will cure my shitty idle and roll on

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...0/IMAG2447.jpg
Other Side of the throttle body

The whole job took around an hour

I thought that might be the problem with the exhaust. Glad it was an easy fix.

Edit: now that I take a closer look (and read), I see which hanger that is... I had a similar problem, but it was the hanger on the opposite end of the muffler.

I'm glad I installed the pipe it because making the car louder uncovered some other issues that have gone un-noticed and neglected. I'm going to clean my MAF and injectors next week.

I'm going to just take the MAF sensor out and spray it with cleaner but how do I go about cleaning the injectors? Are they hard to take off? Does anyone have suggestions as to how I can clean the injectors?

Also should I make the car re-learn to idle after each one of these cleaning jobs?

holy very nice job on the tb +1