Fire Hazard! Should I Be Scared?
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CF Beginner
Joined: Aug 2011
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Fire Hazard! Should I Be Scared?
Hey guys! I found this forum just the other day and it looks like a great resource. Hopefully I won't bother you too much 
I ride mountain bikes as a hobby and sport and I've always done *most* of the wrench work on my bikes. I've wanted to start doing the same with cars and I figured my 2003 Suburban was a good place to start. I asked a buddy what he thought would be an easy, simple project to start with; he recommended loosening a few bolts and running open headers for a bit. The sound alone was worth the torque and mileage loss, he said. Alright, sounds good to me!
A few days later, I climbed under the car (loooove not having to use a jack!) and disconnected the exhaust after the cat and before the muffler, just underneath the front passenger door. Two bolts and one push on the muffler - that was easy!
Start the car and fall in love. The sound is great. It's not excessively loud and has just the right combination of bite and roar. Sounds like a V8 
I took a short drive around and immediately noticed a terrible screeching noise. Come back to the house, let the exhaust cool off and I figure out that the ends of the two bolts I had undone to dump the exhaust were scraping on the flange that connects the two pipes. My quick 'n dirty solution was to grab a shop rag (re: old beach towel), cut two squares out of it and ziptie them to the exposed bolts as a buffer. I haven't started the car again because I'm a little concerned the cloth may catch fire. Am I being silly? I'll gladly find another solution if it's any kind of hazard. It seems like a fire under the car could cause some problems
Thanks ahead of time guys. Can't wait to get more involved with the forum.
ps exhaust cackle rules
I ride mountain bikes as a hobby and sport and I've always done *most* of the wrench work on my bikes. I've wanted to start doing the same with cars and I figured my 2003 Suburban was a good place to start. I asked a buddy what he thought would be an easy, simple project to start with; he recommended loosening a few bolts and running open headers for a bit. The sound alone was worth the torque and mileage loss, he said. Alright, sounds good to me!
A few days later, I climbed under the car (loooove not having to use a jack!) and disconnected the exhaust after the cat and before the muffler, just underneath the front passenger door. Two bolts and one push on the muffler - that was easy!
Start the car and fall in love. The sound is great. It's not excessively loud and has just the right combination of bite and roar. Sounds like a V8 I took a short drive around and immediately noticed a terrible screeching noise. Come back to the house, let the exhaust cool off and I figure out that the ends of the two bolts I had undone to dump the exhaust were scraping on the flange that connects the two pipes. My quick 'n dirty solution was to grab a shop rag (re: old beach towel), cut two squares out of it and ziptie them to the exposed bolts as a buffer. I haven't started the car again because I'm a little concerned the cloth may catch fire. Am I being silly? I'll gladly find another solution if it's any kind of hazard. It seems like a fire under the car could cause some problems
Thanks ahead of time guys. Can't wait to get more involved with the forum.
ps exhaust cackle rules
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Austin, Texas
Welcome to the forum
Aside from the fire risk I would be concerned about the driveability, its going to set some codes... if you really want good sound I would suggest going with the 3 chamber Flow Master and leaving the rest of the system in tact....
Aside from the fire risk I would be concerned about the driveability, its going to set some codes... if you really want good sound I would suggest going with the 3 chamber Flow Master and leaving the rest of the system in tact....
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From: Houston TX. USA
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