Arrow

TacoBill has a write-up on how to install the FRPP Stingers, and at the end he discusses how to fix the alignment. This fix process works the same for all mufflers for our cars. As others have already said, you have to loosen the bolts (two on each side, do only one side at a time) for the connecting brace bracket between the axel pipes and the stock H-pipe. You can't miss them. They're the big bolts sticking straight down when you look under the car from the middle.

Loosen those up just until the axel pipe gets loose. Loosen the clamp on the muffler. Then wiggle the muffler and axel pipe until the axel pipe rotates slightly. This will put just enough turn on the muffler connection to swing the tip into place.

As others have said, it's a royal pain in the keester. Even with two people, and beer, you'll spend a bit of time hammering it out. (Please, don't use a hammer...)

It's something that would be a HECK of a lot easier on a lift, but a good set of ramps will give you enough clearance for two people to crawl under the car and sort this out.

Boltzman

u clamp here and bend the hanger bar

metroplex

Rotating the intermediate pipe did jack sh*t for my Violators. The hangers had to be bent.

GTMark052

I managed to get my Magnaflows lined up by eventually having to tweak the hanger bars a little on one of them, so it can work.
[Pressing my luck] This morning I took the Magnaflows off in favor of my new replacements...yeah right These were worse than the Magnaflows to get on. I'm taking my car tomorrow and pay someone to do it. I have a question though, which clamps are better, the wire styly U clamps or the wide steel band type (similar to the stock clamps)??

metroplex

The U-clamps crush your pipes. The band clamps compress them. If the band clamps aren't compressing them enough, it is because the muffler pipes were not notched enough to allow proper compression. My Violators needed a lot of tweaking: wider notches and severe hanger bending.

Boltzman

Mine are fine

jmanpatsfan

well one of my [many] issues is the clamp is not tight enough/wont tighten enough. Will these make a difference (are these U-clamps that will crush the pipes?)

Boltzman

Jason, I used these and have had no problem whatsoever. I also didn't use every bit of torquing power possible This was the best solution for me. Did the trick for 2.00

Arrow

I thought I had the same problem when putting on my FRPPs, but then I realized that the clamp wasn't properly positioned over the joint. I was essentially tightening the clamp down on the notch nub, and the clamp was too far rearward towards the muffler on the pipe. Even though I was wailing on the socket wrench, the clamp wasn't positioned right to snug things down. Once I moved the clamp further up the pipe, and rotated it so that the opening was positioned over the nub (yeah, duh) it snugged down beautifully.

jmanpatsfan

the thing is that the end of the muffler pipes dont reach the nub, it comes just shy of it, so it is basically hanging on the edge of the over axel pipe, I think the only thing holding it in place are the hangers.

metroplex

Don't use the U-bolt clamps. They crush the pipes. I am using T-304 SS U-Bolt clamps on my 00 Crown Vic because they're cheap. However, they don't seal very well and they crush the pipes instead of compressing them evenly.

Phorty

That doesn't seem right. They should slide right into that nub. I think if you keep working them, they'll get there. That's what I had to do with my Flows. Take some pics if you get around to it.

Arrow

Weld the falkers...

jmanpatsfan

I will post pics one week from today....when I am reunited with my car

metroplex

I'm guessing you bought the non-SS u-bolt clamps... I've used several of these for over 10 years and here's my experience with them:

1). They crush the pipes instead of forming a good seal.
2). They will rust to the point the nuts won't off the threads. I've actually snapped off the clamp trying to loosen the bolts.

Good luck trying to remove the pipes the next time you're working on the exhaust... There's a reason why Ford used expensive T409SS band clamps on the S197 exhaust system instead of $1.00 non-SS u-bolt clamps that they use on their other vehicles.

Boltzman

Mine is not a daily driver,so it rarely gets wet underneath. If it ever does rust and I can't get it off,I'll take it somewhere and have them do it. No biggie. Also Ford may have used expensive clamps but they don't work worth a ****. Like I said,u bolt clamps worked for me and my pipes are NOT crushed. I'm sorry if you have a hard time with anyone having success with an inexpensive remedie

metroplex

Have you removed the clamps and attempted to remove the muffler/pipe? If not, please refrain from any type of judgement. I've had to deal with these stupid U-bolt clamps several times over a span of a decade. They are inferior to the band clamps. The reason your band clamps aren't sealing properly is because the muffler/pipe wasn't notched or made to fit properly.

My Violator pipes had tiny 1/8" slots cut into them to allow them to compress. The STOCK mufflers had two notches with about 3/16" of space in EACH notch to compress. I used a grinder and made a 3/16" notch on each of the Violators. This allowed the pipes to compress enough using the band clamps.

If you compare the U-bolt clamp to the band clamp, you should notice that the u-bolt only seals in 2 spots (or 3 spots) while the band clamp creates a quasi-360* seal by compressing the pipes where the notches are made. The U-bolt itself forms a seal at the U-bend, and depending on the type of bracket used (1 edge or 2 edge) these edges form the remainder of the "seals" by crushing the pipes together at 2-3 points. That is why when you loosen the band clamps, the pipes come off very easily. The U-bolt clamps tend to pinch the pipes and over time, this can create enough friction to be a problem. I have no complaints about the factory's T409SS band clamps. They work very well. It's the aftermarket axle-backs that are poorly engineered.

I drive my cars year-round in the worst road salt in the US. I've used aluminized steel exhaust parts (aka JUNK / GARBAGE) and the non-SS U-bolt clamps. If you have the money, do not get anything other than T-409 or T-304 SS for exhaust components just for the peace of mind.
I've lost tail pipes, mufflers, clamps, and intermediate pipes on the road due to corrosion.

GTMark052

Thats what I had to do I couldn't get my new JBA's to stay connected worth ****! I ended up taking my car to a muffler shop who also had trouble with them popping loose. They ended up having to weld them, which was fine by me. All is good now and my car sounds great, just what I was looking for

05stangkc

Maybe These will Help!

KC

Boltzman

Why would I when i said I didn't have a problem with them .I was glad to find a fix after spending a lot of time trying to make the band clamps fit.You quoted me and said don't use them. It seems to me that you just like to argue. Thats JMO which I'm sure I'm entitled to.. P.M. me if you would like to talk further.