My 1997 Z24 has developed an annoying exhaust leak and found that it is coming from the FLEX pipe coming off of the manifold. I priced this part from the dealer and it is near $500 because it is part of the cat converter as well. Since my car has 125k on it, I am not about to fork out that kinda cash. My friend has an 02 Z24 and says I can have his down flex pipe cuz he is putting an aftermarket exhaust on his. The dealership told me that they are DIFFERENT part numbers between the years. My question is WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE AND WHY WON'T IT WORK? Also, if any of you guys have a 97 Z24 and have already put an aftermarket exhaust on your car and want to sell your good leak-free down flex pipe to me I would be more than willing to take it off of your hands. Easy money for you guys. Sorry for the long post.
you need to use the 02 exhaust manifold as well , and make sure the egr port is opened up in the manifold
the flange at the manifold is different , the 97 is a 4 bolt flange and the 02 is a 3 bolt
another option is to put a header on the car , since they replace the flex section of the stock exhaust and have a pipe that extends to right in front of the cat
Thanks for the info. You are right, my cavalier does have a 4 bolt flange, haven't looked at my friends car but I am sure it is a 3 bolt. Well I may swap over his manifold also but I also have another option based on what you said. Since a header eliminates the flex pipe then why cant I as well. I can just have a section of pipe welded in place of the flex pipe. I know the flange is cast but you can welt to cast with the correct welder. My dads friend is a professional welder. I will ask him if this will work.
Still looking for a good leak free used one if any of you guys have one. Must be a 4 bolt flange.
why not just weld in a new flex pipe in the orginal position? thats what i did
the flex pipe is welded to the flange itself
for the money its best to move to a header
also if you dont already you should put the motor mounts in also , our motors move around alot , and its even hard on the stock flex joint , as you found out
99firese wrote:why not just weld in a new flex pipe in the orginal position? thats what i did
Where did you get your flex pipe? Was it an aftermarket item? Thanks
any exhaust shop can get them.. i had to get mine replaced one time on my old 97....
