"How-to" Removal of 328 Exhaust

John if your car is US spec with cat then thats should be te only nuts and bolts that need removing...after removing the heat shield of course...on Euro cars the two headers go directly into the exhaust with no cats which means there are 6 bolts to remove...As faras the springs they arent under a great deal of tension so they dont need to be compressed to remove..

 

Mine has clevis pins that connect it to the hangers. There's no tension on the pins, aside from the weight of the muffler. The springs at the flange bolts are not strong enough to preset any issues. It's really a very easy task and takes less than 1/2 an hour.
Good kuck.

 

The latter -- the threads on the bolts extend beyond the end of the springs even when the springs are in their free state so it's not necessary to pre-compress the springs.

 

I can't help with the torque values, but I know there's a gasket. I would order one before you start because it's not something you can pick up at your local auto parts store.

 

Yes there's a pretty common doughnut, in the flange....

No torque on the spring bolts, as those are locking nuts!! LOL!

The springs are there to let the whole assembly flex a little without working the nuts loose and falling off....

Post a pic, we talk about this all the time in muffler threads but those springs are often lost along the way...the F40 uses them so that's how Ricambi stocks the part number.

 

I walked into a muffler shop and showed them and it was $2.......

 

They must not have known you were talking about Ferrari torque value.

 

I told them it fit a "big loud FIAT".....they were cool with that........

 

Exhaust systems are very simple to remove until you actually try to remove old stuff...then you need gorilla-torque and a sawzall. If your nuts and bolts come off with regular effort, you are quite lucky...anything you cut will need replacement...fair warning. The donuts are simple replacements.

Good luck removing the O2 sensor as well...get the right socket with a cable slot.

Old exhaust systems eat penetrating oil for breakfast and wait for more...

The springy-things holding the muffler (or silencer...proper F-car lexicon) are simple muffler mounts designed to dampen relative motion and insulate the car from exhaust heat...no compression there. There are similar, but smaller, spring attachments for the cat.

If you are fortunate not to be required to conduct an emissions test (I will be fortunate in 2012 after my 328 turns 25, unless the world government effectuates a BO change that I can believe in), remove the cat and sensors and insert a test pipe. Keep the cat/sensors in a box in case you will be required to have them later. This is important since, if you have a misfiring spark plug or ignition coil, you would be dumping gas into the cat, which is the biggest heat collector in the system, and cause a serious fire...it's happened.

 

I replaced my oem 328GTS muffler with a Tubi, everything comes apart quite easily and straight forward, just spray all the hardware with a little liquid penetrant. Don't over analyze it..it is a very simple job and took only an hour to accomplish.

 

My '89 with 46K miles exhaust system and O2/thermocouple came off rather easily, maybe some of the older cars might have more trouble with seized bolts. I think the heat keeps things relatively easy to remove, shouldn't be a big deal. I just kept the tension on the spring loaded bolts consistent between all the bolts, it's a feel thing but easy to figure out. Alignment on the tips might also dictate tightness as would exhaust leaks after placement as well. I replaced my stock exhaust and cat with a x-ost and hyperflow cat and they both came with the ceramic coated doughnut gaskets needed, in fact ended up with one extra due to replacing both. Can take a bit of tinkering to get things centered, I even added some washers to change the alignment to get everything just right out the rear grill.

Jeff