H pipe hangs low
 

I recently bought a used h-pipe from someone because my old h-pipe had clogged cats. It was from an 89 GT and I have an 88 GT. Since then, I havn't had a chance to drive it because the h-pipe hangs so low to the ground. When I removed the old one, it sat a few inches above my tranny, now that I installed this one, it hangs an inch off the ground. I've replaced the rubber bushings that hold it up, but it is still hanging near the ground. Also, I have flowmaster mufflers on it and they sit at an angle. Are they supposed to hang at an angle or are they supposed to hang flat? If anyone knows a solution to this, let me know. Thanks, Keith

BTW: I have stock headers and a stock h pipe.

ttt
 

Anyone.....? I have no idea why the flanges on the h-pipe and the flowtubes hang so low to the ground with a new (used) h-pipe. Do I have to bend the hooks that mount the h-pipe to hang higher? Thanks, Keith

You need to get under there and loosen the header bolts. Cut off those hangers. You don't really need them. If you're worried about not having them, just get some generic, adjustable replacements. Use a jack to support the H-pipe as high as you can and then tighten the header bolts. That should lock the h-pipe in a higher position.

If you only clamped the Flowmasters on with the u-bolts, loosen the u-bolts and rotate the muffler until it is flat. Make sure that the tail pipe doesn't get repositioned too close to the fuel lines when you do this. You may need to loosen the clamps on both sides of the muffler to make sure you have full adjustability.

If you had them welded, there's not much you can do about the mufflers.

Double check the black piece that mounts under the tranny and make sure that the openings (w/rubber 'bushings' inside) for the hangers are facing up, not down towards the ground. I accidently installed this piece upside down once and quickly realized that the H-pipe was hanging way too low.

Just a thought.

E

Which hangers do I cut off?
 

I am confused about which hangers I should cut off. There are two flanges that are at the end of each header, and two flanges that are on the h-pipe (actually there are four, two connect to the flowtubes.) Are you saying I should cut the flanges? If so, how would I bolt the two together? Also, I don't recall having U-bolts holding anything under my car. Where are they supposed to bolt up, so I could check to see if that might be the problem. My mufflers aren't welded in place, they are supported by a rubber bushing and are bolted to the h-pipe. Also, I have some new tailpipes laying around, but I cant weld them to the mufflers because the car sits too low, so that isn't really an issue right now.

H-pipes for '86 - '93 are identical. It sounds like the bracket that your h-pipe hangers slide into (on your tranny mount) is upside down. Flip it back over and everything should line up right.

you guys were right!
 

I went home and took a look at the black piece that mounts underneath the tranny and it was upside down! I have been having a problem trying to mount my tailpipes also, so maybe this will fix the problem. :D :D Thanks for the help, I REALLY appreciate it. I'm going to fix it tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know if it works or not, Keith

what a PITA
 

I flipped the mounting bracket that holds the h-pipe over and that seemed to fix the problem. It required more work than I anticipted though. I didn't realize that the transmission mount is part of the support for the h-pipe mouting bracket. Now I get to look forward to doing it again when I replace my transmission :eek: Thanks for everyone's help, I was going to give up and bring it to a mechanic, Keith

Re: what a PITA
 

Thanks for everyone's help, I was going to give up and bring it to a mechanic, Keith [/B][/QUOTE]

Simmer down now!:D

Glad we could help and that everything worked out for you.

It's an easy mistake that quite a few of us have made (myself included).

Take it easy,
E