I have a pair of 2" exhaustpipes on my '57 Chrysler which I cut and removed the ****py barfing gl***pack mufflers out of. Now I was trying to expand the pipes to slip in an extention and a slightly shorter muffler, but the expander-tool I have for it wasn't able to actually expand the pipe, it just made the pipe perfectly round again. I thought it looked sturdy enough for the job, but the force needed to stretch the pipe couldn't be created with it. Now this was supposed to be a quick solution for the local DMV so I will be welding everything now, but in the future I would like to be able to do this myself. So, manual exhaustpipe expanders, which ones do actually work?
the only one I got to work, the pipe was still on the car and I used a impact gun on it until it exploded n stripped out. china freight mite of had something to do with it too. easier to go to auto zone n buy the short adapters n wire weld everything together
I've never found a manual one that worked worth a ****. Though they work great to make them round again. And that can be handy.
I was thinking the same thing untill I found out I could buy collars with double expanded ends to splice non-expanded to non expanded. To mate dissimilar tubes I've also slit a slightly larger tube overlapping it then welding the seam back up. before I had a mig I used to use oxy acetylene to weld up my exhaust. The gas actually makes a better less brittle weld. The only expander's I've seen to work well are hydraulic.
Been thinking about doing that aswell but mine already is binding up somewhere from 'regular use'. I've been thinking of altering the ramp-nuts on the ends by making the ramps less steep so the strips excert outwards slower when the ends are tightened and transfer more force that way. But I only have a simple lathe and no mill so performing this task isn't that easy I would think. This will of course limit the amount of distance the strips will come out. Designing a tool that works good and uses various ramp-sizes for multiple pipe-diameters sounds like a nice job for someone well equipped with a mill and lathe I would think... hint, hint This is the one I have;
I've destroyed a couple of those myself using the impact on them. Better to use the adapter probably, though I was wondering if heating the pipe might help the expander?
I don't really know what the correct device is...but I don't think the ones under discussion here are meant to actually form the slip joint. They simply are not capable of that. They are just to clean up the end and get it round and functional.
I don't think the heat will work. The expander would soak up the heat, then by the time the whole mess was hot enough, the expander would be dead.
random picture of random hydraulic tubing bender...they have a swedging thing too, which is what you need. You ain't gonna do it with a manual tool.
Use an impact wrench, and soak the whole expander and pipe in spray lube. 4 or 5 tighten/loosen cycles and you should have enough expansion. When the tool strips out the threads on the end of the expander, take it apart and just use a nut instead. You'll have to replace the nut every couple of uses but it does work. Personally I hate em and prefer to make a slip collar out of tubing and weld it up. good luck
HUTH makes a portable expander called the mighty mate. I think they are around a grand or so. Air / hydraulic
squirrel, Friends of mine have a hydraulic unit like in the pic at their garage-shop, but I don't want to dis***emble the entire exhaust off the car. It is welded in other places aswell and the only way to take it off is to lower the rearaxle about 3 feet... too much work for a somewhat temporary exhaust-system. I want to upgrade the system after the car is legally tagged so I can just drive to their shop. I'll let you know how that works out tonight.
A torch works pretty well for welding up pipes. I got to do some torch work last night on some old exhaust pipe, it was fun. Surprised I still remembered how.
Right on. Mine are from downtown Beijing and they will take a dent out, but they won't make it any bigger.
Instead of expanding the pipe on the car, have a muffler shop expand the extension to slip over the pipe on the car and make the extension fit the muffler by whatever means necessary.
The best way is to leave the header pipe alone and use a short piece of tubing that is expanded to fit over the header pipe. Mufflers don't come with male connections so you must be adding tubing to make up for the difference in length. If not you might be able to cut some more off to make more room. The front (male ) piece should always go into the rear female piece. Those hand held mechanical POSs are just that. I did have an air over hydraulic portable expander that worked quite well. Too expensive for the average guy. Even the bubble pack parts stores have repair pieces that can be pieced together to get you to someone that can weld it up. I'd recommend trying a Midas shop or other muffler shop because their tubing will be heavier than the bubble pack store ****. We often made short pieces for walk in customers. Lunch money Don't waste any money on those mechanical expanders.
Money has already been wasted, but I gained experience in the process... Even with an impactwrench I couldn't get the tool to expand the exhaustpipe. But the impactwrench I have isn't the most powerfull one I've ever seen. I can usually put more torque on something by hand then the impactwrench can.
I have seen one that goes on a porta power. They will expand pipe not just remove the wrinkles. GEORGE!!
Any updates on mechanical expanders that might actually work? I've got one of these - at least the segments seem to be forged steel. http://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/GenuinePartsCompany/NWMDC?$Product=GenuinePartsCompany/1720102 Wailing on the end with a big hammer on a pipe, muffler, and manifold in the car is too sketchy for me. The Lisle 160 dollar one looks to be actually effective. It even has a taper roller thrust bearing for pete's sake! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=yWfm9924Fm8
You have a winner. The Lisle one will work and last for a lot of years. I have used one at a shop I worked at and with a Snap on impact that puts out 1200 pounds of force you could expand 14 gauge exhaust tubing. If you weren't careful you could go too far and it would be over the size you needed and sometimes would split thinner tubing.
Of course if you had money to spend and you loved tools then you could get one of these fancy setups. http://www.huthbenders.com/huth-products/expanders-and-swagers/mitey-mate-jr-model-1685s
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