Adjusting a Magnaflow Exhaust

[JohnD]

If you read my post about the KappaSphere reBAR, I stated there that my Magnaflow wasn't hanging right. It was banging under the passenger seat, and was twisted out of alignment at the rear and didn't look balanced. Here's how it looked from the back...

[JohnD]

I had my son over for dinner on Sunday, and he was a little short of cash so I put him to work helping me adjust the exhaust. It is so much easier to do with two people - one to hand the tools to the other and such - but more importantly one to see the outside to make sure that things are going right underneath. The length of the exhaust means that the tiniest change up front can really alter how it hangs in the back.

Attached is the Magnaflow instruction sheet for the install. I have marked it up to show where I made the adjustments to get the exhaust to hang properly.

[JohnD]

Here is how it looked when I was done. It was dark so the picture is not the greatest, but it looks a ton better...

[JohnD]

After dinner I took it out for a test spin, and it seems to be hanging properly now. No more banging under the passenger seat when it first rumbles to a start, no more clattering in the back on a hard acceleration...

One other note that was observed about the clattering under the passenger seat - the wear marks indicated that it was rattling on the side against the underbody, not on the top. So when you mount the exhaust make sure you not only have good clearance on top but also on the sides to prevent a rattle.

And if it does rattle, it's a pretty easy adjustment to get it to settle down into a happier spot.

'Specially if you gots two peoples!

[xmicro_Redline]

Nice John. I used a crow bar to get my Magnaflow to stop Chattering against the body, not quite the same as you, but it worked.....sorry no pictures.

[kwayne]

John, after they did the recall fix, my tips stick out more on passenger side than drivers side. What do you adjust for that? They are centered within the openings, just crooked as viewed from the top.

[GaryH]

Now I know what happened to mine. I had my Magnaflow quad tip installed at a local muffler shop. It was lined up perfect. One day I noticed that one side was lower than the other side. So I adjusted the tips and lined it back up. What I didn't think about was that the converter had to be replaced about a 1000 miles after I had the exhaust installed. I guess when they replaced the converter it changed the alignment of the exhaust tips.

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by kwayne

John, after they did the recall fix, my tips stick out more on passenger side than drivers side. What do you adjust for that? They are centered within the openings, just crooked as viewed from the top.

Yep, that can happen, too.

The trick is that all the other pipes do offer quite a bit of play in the placement. If you loosen up ALL the clamps you may find that by rotating some of the pipes further forward that will cause a shift in the way that the muffler hangs side-to-side.

That was actually the case when I had some other work done on SPIRIT. The aftermarket manufacturer wanted to test with the stock exhaust, and when they reinstalled the Magnaflow it was twisted. They compensted by adjusting the tips, but that just made it look all wacky.

Fiddle with it and I bet you can get it to hang properly and look right.

[wireless]

Had to adjust mine also....Noticing some black condensation leak on the pipes at the clamps. Dosn't appear to leak exhaust but I don't like the water marks. Is that normal for Magnaflo????

[xmicro_Redline]

Originally Posted by kwayne

John, after they did the recall fix, my tips stick out more on passenger side than drivers side. What do you adjust for that? They are centered within the openings, just crooked as viewed from the top.

Damn, I didn't think of that. My tips are perfect after a lot of adjustments, now once I do the recall I need to do it all over again!!

[BigSkyCountry]

Originally Posted by wireless

Had to adjust mine also....Noticing some black condensation leak on the pipes at the clamps. Dosn't appear to leak exhaust but I don't like the water marks. Is that normal for Magnaflo????

Mine did the same thing. It seems that the system is coated with an oil for protection from the factory and the heat of the first run makes it run and drip from the lowest points. When it burns away you get black streaks. Ray

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by BigSkyCountry

Mine did the same thing. It seems that the system is coated with an oil for protection from the factory and the heat of the first run makes it run and drip from the lowest points. When it burns away you get black streaks. Ray

It could be an oil coating from the factory, or it could be oil used during the install... I know that a lot of muffler installers run a bit of oil around all the joints to allow the pipes to move very freely before they are clamped down. I bet that oil gets cooked pretty good...

It could also be a coating from the factory used in the manufacture of the parts. My parts were hand-bent and used as the engineering prototype for all the factory parts so they may be different.

[PearlSky08]

Originally Posted by JohnD

I had my son over for dinner on Sunday, and he was a little short of cash so I put him to work helping me adjust the exhaust. It is so much easier to do with two people - one to hand the tools to the other and such - but more importantly one to see the outside to make sure that things are going right underneath. The length of the exhaust means that the tiniest change up front can really alter how it hangs in the back.

Attached is the Magnaflow instruction sheet for the install. I have marked it up to show where I made the adjustments to get the exhaust to hang properly.

Just a quick question. Magnaflow advises that the battery should be disconnected during the install to recognize the new exhaust. Is this necessary? The last time my battery was disconnected, I had to bring it back to the dealer for my key fob, tire pressure readout to get configured again.

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by PearlSky08

Just a quick question. Magnaflow advises that the battery should be disconnected during the install to recognize the new exhaust. Is this necessary? The last time my battery was disconnected, I had to bring it back to the dealer for my key fob, tire pressure readout to get configured again.

Nah. The engine will adjust over time anyway. No problem if you leave the battery connected.

[|V3nom|]

quick ?, did you have to cut off the old exhaust to put on the magnaflow? mine is coming in monday and id like to know ahead of time if i need to cut the old one off.

[ceeker]

No cutting.

Remove the 02 sensor take out the 2 bolts on the flange and the exhaust drops down. There are 4 rubber hangers on the muffler and the whole thing drops out in one piece. Really easy to remove the stock exhaust!