So changin the oil in my truck the other day, I noticed the exhaust clamp at the union between my down pipe and first section of my exhaust has been rubbing the trans cooler line and there's a Nick in the granny pan. Lookin at the rubber grommet on the hanger, its stretched tight and looks like the exhaust has shifted over. Any ideas as to what could have done this or possible fixes?right by now it's got a gob of high temp silicone acting as a stand off. Don't wanna put the new line in until I have the situation remedied.

 

Crawl underneath and look for any new rock hits or mashed tubing-

Any offroading, flexing of the suspension over rocks or big driveway bumps can shift the pipes in their mounts and clamps- you'll need to loosen the clamps and possibly pull the hangers off. Then start at the top and flex or spin the exhaust tubing in the clamps to gain the clearance you need.
Probably will take some long 'persuader' bars to align as needed. Once everything is aligned, hook back up the hangers and tighten the clamps. Viola!

 

x2. I had that happen to me recently. Installed a 4" MBRP turbo-back exhaust and lined everything up (man is that a tight fit from the turbo all the way down past the transmission) and was good to go. After my first weekend of off-roading checked things out and my bracket was rubbing the return line. Loosened everything back up and re-adjusted. Tightened everything starting at the turbo and working back towards the tip and haven't had a problem yet. I had to rotate the first clamp (downpipe to first section) so that it wouldn't rub the pan, return line, or frame. It's been doing well but the 1/4" clearance makes me paranoid so I check it regularly.

 

Exact exhaust I have and exact problem. What about tack welding it at the joints to make sure it doesn't turn again? Yay or nay?

 

Trouble is, then something is going to break... better to have some flex and movement in my opinion. That's an easier fix than trying to weld cracks (if they're on top especially!)

 

I had wondered about that haha that's why i asked. I will looaten everything this weekend and try to realign it. With how much my truck sees rough roads, anybody have an idea for any kind of preventive measures? I mean if I have to realign it every week, so be it,but it's sure be nice to avoid it if at all possible

 

Like Brian42 said, I'd start at the turbo and tighten everything working towards the rear. That should be a good starting point.
But, things like loose/worn body mounts and worn bushings (on springs, shocks, engine and trans mounts) can make everything shift and move excessively.
Rough roads or offroading just means that much more maintenance and vehicle checks need to be done, versus street driving...
You gonna play, ya gotta pay!

 

I had wondered about that haha that's why i asked. I will looaten everything this weekend and try to realign it. With how much my truck sees rough roads, anybody have an idea for any kind of preventive measures? I mean if I have to realign it every week, so be it,but it's sure be nice to avoid it if at all possible

 

I've only had to re-align it once since I installed it. I think part of my problem stems from the fact that there's only so much room to install that much beef underneath, especially from the turbo past the transmission. I took a shiny brand new elephant trunk and stuffed it into my 13 1/2 year old truck (built in July 2002). I don't care how many times you measure the reference to make a template there's no way that you can anticipate fitment issues almost a decade and a half later. For the MBRP the two main points that have little to no adjustment are the connection to the turbo outlet and the "T" hangar just before the rear axle (muffler outlet if you have one). Everything pivots off of that. I cut my mid-pipe so that the "T" hangar is vertical and rotated pipes/connectors to fit. My downpipe/first sections doesn't rub on anything metal but does push against the plastic "shield" near the transmission. I could not get my rear section (muffler to tip) to line up unless it was rotated down and the tip was half way between the body and ground (looked terrible and gave me little ground clearance for off-roading). I thought about buying the axle dump section from MBRP but it was costly an required me to remove the rear tire from under the truck which was not an option. I ended up cutting the end off just upstream of the hangar so I could rotate the pipe up so the tip is just below the body. This makes the tip just inside of the tire (no more mud buildup on the tip) and still exits behind the axle (to pass smog inspection with no issue). I ended up doing some redneck engineering and put a steel sleeve (from Ace hardware) through the rear hangar and running some bailing wire from there to the bolt on the sleeve for the tip to provide some support. Not the original design of the system but it fits and is functional. I chalk it up to the trials and tribulations on owning a truck that's half way to being considered a classic. Here are some pictures...


MBRP_Transmission Pan and Shield.jpg and MBRP_Return Line Clearance.jpg:
Downpipe pushes on the plastic transmission shield and the first clamp is rotated to clear transmission pan and return line...

Looking at the pictures the pipe has rotated and the clamp is starting to rub the return line again...time for another adjustment (it has rotated very little for this to happen so I hope one or two more adjustments and I'll have it set).

MBRP 5_First Hanger.jpg and MBRP 6_Mid Hanger.jpg:
Even with the pipe lined up between the turbo and muffler hanger the pipe lines up to the left and pulls on the hangers.

MBRP_Recessed Tip.jpg:
Cut tailpipe upstream of the hangar resulting in a recessed tip...

 

Looks EXACTLY like what I'm dealing with.

 

Diamond Eye is good when it comes to fitment, the down pipe is a two piece design. The reason your exhaust is shifting out of place is because your clamps are not denting the exhaust enough to hold it on place (stainless is a strong metal and its harder to dent), a galvanized exhaust is thinner metal wich the clamps dent it and hold it in place.