Muffler Job From Hell!

[S&WM&P40]

Well we all need a good laugh so here is one at my expense. It's that time of year again Registration, Inspection. Knowing the Jeep would need a little work to pass this year I said lets save the money and do it ourself. I did most of the work fine with a how to guide and it came out great and i saved a lot of money. After asking around every one said putting on a new muffler was easy as pie. So i picked up the parts and went at it. As soon as i get under there i see that it's the stock muffler that means it's welded and will have to be cut off. So i cut the one end off and they said the other end should slip off after that. Well after like a hour of banging i find out it's rusted on their. So one or two things can be done i can pay to have it heated up, or i can cut it off myself. After asking around i was told a plumbing torch may heat it up enough to get it off. So i go buy one and an extra tank get home set it up and heat it for like an hour and nothing. So i say the hell with it and cut it off. Well i get half way into it and the Jigsaw dies on me and i put the batteiy on the charger and wait. I let it charge for a hour and then take it off to finish the job. Wrong it dies in like 5 mins so long story short this goes on for hours cut/die/charge over and over again. Well after like 3 hours i get it off and i am jumping for joy at this point. Thinking to my self it's off now the new one will slip right on and it will be done. Wrong i go to put the new one on and get it over the Cat converter clamp it and then go to put the other end on the back half of the tail pipe. In the first 2 seconds i say to my self the pipes are the same size and this will never fit. But hoping i am wrong i try to get it on there for like 30 mins with no luck. So i have to go to auto zone and rent a pipe expander and make and new muffler pipe bigger so i can slip the tail pipe in and clamp it. So i do all that and it works ( At this point i am about to cry) i put the clamp on and i am done After like TEN Hours of what should have been like a 30min job. I started it at 9am and got done at 8:00pm.

[HK4U]

I think a lot of us have had at least one experence like that working on our cars. The first time I tried doing my own brake job was a real trip. I even had everything that could go wrong go wrong on a simple oil change once. I don't do much of my own work anymore. Getting to old to do that stuff and most cars today are not easy to work on.

[mom of 3 angels]

Yeah, but think of all the money you saved!

I've found about any do-it-yourself job we take on costs twice as much as we planned and takes about 3 times as long . . . sometimes still worth it, but most times (especially with cars) we opt to let the pros take care of it.

[tattedupboy]

Well, let's just hope you learned your lesson, young man.

[Oregon Vet]

Wow, bet you figured out a plumbing torch works okay... for... plumbing? LOL

Hacksaw with a good 32 tooth blade would have zipped through that like butter. You know, the kind WITHOUT a battery. It uses muscle power! All that stuff is so easy. It is the hard stuff that bothers me. Like mopping and vacuuming and doing the windows... oh, wait, I learned all that when I was a kid. About 1 switch lesson and I had it figured out. (and if you didn't bring back a good switch, Mom WOULD make you get a good one)

I think we all have had our little jobs from Hell. Don't seem to forget them for a long time, either.

Hopefully you still have all your skin? LOL

[S&WM&P40]

Yes a Hacksaw would have worked good. But first you have to have one or the money to buy one. I had no money to go buy one. I spent 22 dollars on the pipe expander but you get all your money back when you turn it back in. As for the plumbing torch lol that was not my idea. I asked all the so called pro's and they said try it THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD DO! lol. But on the bright side i got a torch and i have been wanting one for a while but never had a reason to buy one.

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by S&WM&P40

Yes a Hacksaw would have worked good. But first you have to have one or the money to buy one. I had no money to go buy one. I spent 22 dollars on the pipe expander but you get all your money back when you turn it back in. As for the plumbing torch lol that was not my idea. I asked all the so called pro's and they said try it THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD DO! lol. But on the bright side i got a torch and i have been wanting one for a while but never had a reason to buy one.

That's when it pays to have a buddy with a bunch of tools. I think my friends use my stuff more than I do. It's o.k. by me though, because I've got the "you break it, you've bought it" rule and they're really good about bringing me cool stuff (like ammo, beer, etc) when they have the funds.



gf