Scenario: New exhaust is being put on, from the muffler back. We get the vehicle back and we see a few things: 1. The dual 2.5" pipes come directly over the rear differential....within 1" of the top of the pumpkin. (The vehicle has approx. 4" of travel in the rear suspension) 2. We plainly see the beginnings of a drilled hole in the 2nd to last rear cross-member on the frame. They stopped before drilling all the way through. The pipe routing over the diff. is just plain silly in my book. It takes away from the amount of suspension travel available. It's also dangerous in this instance due to its proximity to the rear brake lines and the e-brake cable. Proper routing would have been over the axle portion of the rear end, using the OEM hangars on the pass. side of the frame. The gentleman told us that the drill hole attempt wasn't that bad. They would fill it with a weld, sand it flush and re-finish it. He said that they have been drilling holes in frames to hang exhaust pipes since the 60's. I've been a guest a "frame replacement after someone drilled a hole in it" party. The FNG (not me) drilled a hole in the frame to mount an antenna. Unfortunately, this wasn't a $100,000 car; it was a LMC-3700 grooming machine. I've always been told/taught that drilling a hole in a frame compromises it's structural integrity. Comments welcome. Corrections are even more welcome.
I would have researched the chop .... sorry, SHOP... a little better.... OR (even better) BEEN there while they were performing the work. If the dude that is fitting your exhaust doesn't want you there.... Take it somewhere else. :bigwink:
WHOA....slow down there. The vehicle in the scenario is NOT my truck. The shop is a national chain. It was not possible to watch the work take place. The shop has that "no customers in the bays" rule/BS.
The one bright spot for the guy is that the chain is going to replace the exhaust.....at a different store location. The owner will not only wait with his vehicle this time, but also have complete instructions and drawings to show the technician how to do it properly and eliminate any confusion or mistakes. I think the guy will be less pissed when he finally gets his vehicle back, with the correct exhaust on it. If I can score before & after pics, I'll post 'em here.
One of my rules...if it is my vehicle, I will watch if I want, if he wants my money...most will comply willingly...if not...their concern is insurance not your satisfaction...
You are correct Kevan, that drilling holes in a frame is not something you want to do without a full understanding of the ramifications. It's not as bad in the flange of the frame, but if in the web, it could lead to a fatigue fracture in the future. I'm not even sure that I like the weld and fill idea. The best thing to do would be to complete the drilled hole, deburr it, and then fill it with a rivet. Now the rivet would have to be between .0005 and .0015 larger than the hole, and be driven in. Then it's further expanded when it's bucked. This kind of cold works the hole to prevent stress fractures. Chances are this place will not have the slightest idea what you are talking about if you request this however. You have not mentioned what kind of vehicle this is. Is it a performance vehicle that will be subjecting the frame to high stress loads, or just a nice luxury car?
Thanks John! I'm so glad you posted. I value your word when it comes to this stuff. The vehicle is an '05 Dodge Ram pickup truck (but, again: NOT MINE). It is a daily driver and *does* carry loads occassionally. The "drill attempt" is on the last cross member in the rear, where the spare tire winch assembly is installed. The 'drill attempt' was started on the face of the cross member, traveling from rear to front. I was absolutely floored when I saw the divot. Since the drilling didn't quite make it through (it's about 1/2 way), I'm tempted to tell the guy to instruct them to leave it the hell alone and just touch it up with some anti-rust paint. I'm not hot on the weld/sand/paint idea. When I get a chance, I'll take pics. The routing of the exhaust is pretty damn shocking.
Sorry Kevan, I missed in your first post that it was in a cross member. I thought it was in the main frame rail. I would go with your plan of just painting it.
Thanks John! The information has been passed along to the guy. Now, anyone heard about drilling into frames to hang exhaust? Anyone been doing it since the 60's?
You're welcome to come over and clean ours, Roy! I'll bet your daily driver looks quite similar at this stage of winter. :grin:
I am afraid to look under the Volvo...there are probably dead deer, and other bits and pieces of road kill there. But I do clean it too after the salt is gone. I hate snow.
Great pics Kev.... This is some story, I'd be on an anti-anxiety med by now! (and Prof, I clean the underside of my vehicles) Yesterday I hosed down the Yukon because of the recent snow and subsequent sand and salt that gets everywhere. I have a hose bib inside my basement to feed water from and even blend in a very small amount of warm water. I wash off everywhere I can reach.
I am somewhat relieved to hear that there are others that clean the under-carriage. During the driving months, my wheels come off weekly so that I can clean the front end and get the wheel wells completely. The painted calipers are also much more accessible. I knew Joe would chime in...I think he and I are genetically related. He got the brains, I got the...the...the... Well he got the brains. Roy
I don't wash the underside of the wife's Jeep SRT-8, or my daily driver. I do however detail the underside of the Cobra. While under the Cobra I found that the drive shaft connection to the pumpkin was only held with one tight bolt. The other 3 were loose. :shout::sad:
Yep, it certainly pays to get under your vehicle every now and then. :blush: I usually crawl around under the truck and make sure to look around every time I change the oil.
Yes. It was a custom job, but even then there are major clearance/safety issues going on there. I'll talk with a few professionals (and maybe John will post up here) and see what they think about frame/cross member integrity. Once the snow stops, we're going to have a big undercarriage cleaning party at someone's house. :grin:
