355 How long does it take to install an exhaust sytem on a 355?

What do you mean by exhaust system? Muffler? Cats? Headers? All of the above? What brand? Do you have a lift?

 

Remove air boxes, remove heat shield, disconnect bypass pipe, remove diffuses, jack up car, remove wheels, remove rear fender liners, remove bumper, remove rear heat shield, remove muffler. Install in reverse order...... Depends on how ambitious you are, 4 hrs to a day.

 

Do it yourself and you'll find out.

 

If you've done the procedure before, around four hours. If you haven't, six to eight. The wildcard is tips alignment in the bumper cutouts. If you need to adjust the tips, which you probably will, you need to loosen the clamps that connect the main cats to the headers, the collars on the downstream end of the main cats that set the tips depth, and possibly the y-pipe. If you have to get into all that, which you probably do, it becomes a job.

 

I'm doing this right now as well as motor and transaxle mounts.

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I have become quite adept at swapping out my muffler to the factory exhaust to get through the traffic office inspection and then change back again. I can do the swap in around 2 hours. I have a lift and I don’t have to contend with seized exhaust bolts. I always apply anti-seize grease and change out any corroded nuts & bolts. Dealing with seized bolts can take up a bunch of time, especially if one snaps and you need to source a replacement.

To save time on tip alignment, my approach is to first hand tighten the exhaust clamps and hanger bolts just tight enough to hold the exhaust in position. Then I bolt up the rear bumper aligning it to body lines etc. Then I adjust the position of the exhaust box so the tips are aligned to the bumper and tighten the hanger bolts first, then tightening working from the cat flanges towards the rear, checking the tips stay in place at each stage. Then I reassemble all the heat shields etc. I usually leave the rear wheels on.

This has saved me a ton of time over the years.

If the exhaust has not been removed previously for a few years, allow more time, as as been said, perhaps 4hrs+.

Finally, don’t be tempted to try and fit the new muffler with strain on the cats. If there is any strain on the muffler flanges you should loosen the cats to release the strain so the whole system sits naturally before tightening.

 

Never been able to get my Tubi perfectly centered. If the left tip are centered the right ones aren't.

 

Just muffler is very fast, 2 hours if you've done it before. Once you start to get beyond just the muffler, the rear undertrays and wheel well liners need to come out and things get tight in there, so more like 8-12 hours. If things don't fit together nicely, or you don't get the tailpipes in the right place and have to adjust stuff again, add 4 hours ish.

 

You guys are putting those gorgeous SS pipes and cans on your cars but paying no attention to the bracket parts that can be seen from the top in the engine bay....tsk tsk. Take a look here, I still have these parts for sale:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/f355-exhaust-brackets-2-pair.658476/#post-148543641

 

Probably a big time saver that you installed the Larini. Removing the factory muffler, clamps, etc can be a bear if it’s all original.


Tim

 

Pete, how do you get the muffle off without removing the rear bumper?

 

You can't AFAIK. Oh, and the 4 rear bumper bolts feel as though they're 9 inches long if undoing by hand (my tip - get a gun in there).

 

You can't, but removing the rear bumper takes maybe 10 minutes. I've done it without taking the rear wheels off, though you need a stubby screwdriver to get the rear wheel well panels off. Doing the rear bumper helps to have an extra set of hands, especially putting it back on getting it aligned.

 

Some never will. Perfect alignment simply cannot be achieved in every case.