I know the bellowed one peice up pipes are available to replace the stock ones with that PITA donut gasket. Im sitting here pondering it and i have to ask, why cant i just weld the two stock pipes together to eliminate the gasket?

 

The bellowed design has bellows to allow movement. If you weld it, you won't have that movement and something will likely crack.

Also, if you weld the up pipes and y collector together, you'll either have to pull the motor, transmission, or cab to get them installed.

 

Gotta be able to move. Otherwise the welds will just crack. You can put bellows in your stock ones. And then weld them but you'll be welding cast to mild steel on the collector the IH bellow up pipes still use the donut gaskets in the same spot but the bellow takes the stress off the joint.

 

Guess that answers my question. Thanks guys.

 

Also when your sitting the turbo down on the collector and lineing up the bolts you need a little give. I also left my bellows loose at the manifolds with the bolts barely started. Then when the top and bottom are started you tighten the turbo down then go under and tighten the manifold ends. If the pipes didn't flex you would have a heck of a time.

 

so the bellowed pipes only get ride of the gasket? Any performance gains?

 

If you take into account the lost power when your up-pipes start leaking then YES!

 

Ya Ryan, Alex is correct. Mine were leaking and when I climbed the hill (mountain) into Flagstaff I was down to 1st gear at 23mph. Never before was I that slow. Put the bellows on and with the same 5er climbed into Flafstaff in 2nd gear at 43mph. A big difference!! I hated like Hel! to spend that kind of money on them but I was also having alot of trouble getting them to stop leaking, even after new gaskets. I just couldn't get my fat hands in there to tighten those gasket bolts!!