Help! Installing SS resonator pipe - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Cerberus · 16th December 2001, 04:11

Has anyone installed the pipe on themselves?

I have my exhaust off from the header downpipe which connects to the catalytic convertor pipe.

The problem I am having is getting the resonator pipe to fit over the pipe just after the O2 sensors. They are too close in diameter to slip together.

Is there a tool that can widen or spread open the diameter of the resonator pipe slightly? Thanks.

Sandy

TCM · 16th December 2001, 04:25

Sandy:

Yes, there is a tool that you can use. Most muffler shops have different sized cylinder shaped metal cones that are pounded into the end of the pipe to make it wider. Sounds very old school but it works. Bring it to an exhaust shop and see if they can do it for you. You could also get out a torch and heat the end of one of the pipes and then try to fit it over the other pipe. Good luck.

Cerberus · 16th December 2001, 05:48

T.C.

Thanks again for the advice. I just went to my local Autozone shop and borrowed a "tailpipe enlarger".

Hopefully, this will do the trick tomorrow when I put it back together.

Sandy

Bart Carter · 17th December 2001, 01:49

The cone is used to make pipes round. You can use it on the inside or the outside.

What you want, if you want a slip fit, is a pipe expander. It fits inside your pipe and you expand it with a wrench. Turn it slightly and reapply so the pipe ends up really round.

Now, the best way to join pipes, and be able to take them apart, is to weld flanges to each pipe and bolt them together. If you go this route, have one tube extend past its flange so it actually goes into the 2nd flange, even with a gasket. No leaks!

A good shop should be able to do anything you want.