Muffler and tailpipe replacement help

RMETeeJay

RMETeeJay

TJ Addict
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Sep 30, 2019
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CO, USA
I picked up my 2004 TJ a few months ago, and one of the things on my list to replace is the muffler and tailpipe. I suspect that the existing muffler/tailpipe is not original (but the rest seems to be). The flange circled in red below is missing, so I'm assuming it was welded together?

Question for y'all because I've never done exhaust work: how difficult is it to cut the pipe where the flange should be and add a flange right behind the main cat (the new muffler/tailpipe has a flange already)? Would I need to buy any special tools, or can they be rented from the local parts shop?

2004TJExhaust.png
 
Nice, thanks.

I found out that my local O'Reilly has a pipe cutter that I can rent. I would imagine that I'd want to cut it at the right spot to get the new muffler/tailpipe to fit correctly?
 
RMETeeJay said:
Nice, thanks.

I found out that my local O'Reilly has a pipe cutter that I can rent. I would imagine that I'd want to cut it at the right spot to get the new muffler/tailpipe to fit correctly?
Click to expand...

Any adapter you purchase should slip over your existing pipe and it should provide some telescopic adjustment so there may not be a need to cut anything, otherwise a Sawzall or something similar is all that is needed to shorten the pipe if necessary.
 
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TJ4Jim said:
Any adapter you purchase should slip over your existing pipe and it should provide some telescopic adjustment so there may not be a need to cut anything, otherwise a Sawzall or something similar is all that is needed to shorten the pipe if necessary.
Click to expand...
See my first post. I need to cut right behind the main cat because the PO welded a muffler / tailpipe there.
 
x2 on the Sawzall. I'm not sure what the pipe cutter looks like that they would rent, but if it's the same rotational type of cutter that's used for small diameter pipe, it may cause more frustrations than necessary. The new part will hide the cuts, so no high precision is necessary.

Here's my '06

IMG_20200124_153816653.jpg
 
Thanks for the photo. Is there a gasket between the flanges?

I don't own a sawzall. The rental tool looks like this:


ExhaustCutter.png
 
RMETeeJay said:
Thanks for the photo. Is there a gasket between the flanges?

I don't own a sawzall. The rental tool looks like this:


View attachment 136319
Click to expand...
Never used one of those. If you can get your hands on a Sawzall, I'd choose that. If not, that tool looks much more ideal than the type I was thinking of.

No gasket between the flanges on mine.

IMG_20200124_160311344.jpg
 
Thanks. It doesn't look like I have much space to work with since it's above the TC skid plate. I'm guessing I may have to drop that down in order to do this.
 
Absolutely. It was a bit of a tight fit just getting my phone in there. It definitely needs to be dropped. Are you doing the welding?
 
RMETeeJay said:
Thanks. It doesn't look like I have much space to work with since it's above the TC skid plate. I'm guessing I may have to drop that down in order to do this.
Click to expand...
Make sure to support the transmission before you take the skid off as it supports the drivetrain. Then Remove the 4 nuts holding the trans mount to the skid and finally the 3 bolts on each side of the skid. This is a good time to inspect/replace your trans mount + change fluids in the trans and TC,
 
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