Best automotive exhaust hangers & flanges according to redditors

My first actual ""real" job was when I worked in an Automotive shop in High School. Welding exhausts was part of the job.

Tips n' tricks I learned:

Exhaust pipe can be a trick to get find a good ground on and hangers aren't always easy to clamp onto. Take an old truck battery cable, strip off the insulation and make a neat braid out of the copper. Now you have a pony tail ground! To use it, just wrap/loop the bare copper braid around the exhaust pipe and clamp your normal welding ground clamp to it.

Always leak check your work! When you're done welding up the pipe, have an assistant hold a rag or old welding glove over the exhaust outlet to bump up the backpressure while you look/listen/feel for leaks.

Most steel exhaust pipe has "aluminizing" which is just a thin coating of aluminum on the steel. It welds a lot nicer if you strip off the aluminizing with a die grinder flap wheel. Also if the pipe that you're joining to is used and has a lot of carbon/oil residue on the inside, try your best to clean that up too before welding. If you try welding to a pipe with a lot of built up carbon on the inside it'll offgas which can cause problems with the bead wanting to "volcano" and give a nasty looking weld. Clean pipe welds nicest and a little prep goes a long way.

Get the lightest and flexiest MIG whip you can because welding exhaust on the vehicle can require some tricky contortion at times. Also if you can get a Bernard gun with the rotatable head, that helps for tight areas.

Most exhaust pipe is only 16 gauge, so .025" wire is all ya need.

Some semi-specialized tools you may want to get:

These if you don't own a pair already. They work a lot easier than the old standby of using Channellocks and penetrating oil to slip off rubber isolaters.

A can of high temp silver spray paint. Putting a quick coat of high temp paint over where you've welded and/or stripped the aluminizing off the pipe is considered a nice touch. Only takes a couple minutes and 50 cents worth of spraypaint and customers don't like seeing rust on an exhaust they just had replaced a few weeks ago.

"Stud grip" Channellocks or Knipex Cobra pliers because you'll be "cherrying up" a lot of really crusty 3/8", 8mm, and 10mm studs with a torch and you need something that can get a good bite on them to turn them out.

An air cut-off wheel to hack off all the old hangers and hardware that you can't salvage and won't be reusing. I use a crappy old IR 3" , but if you can afford an extended reach model This one is the bomb

Walker makes a replacement of the factory hanger. It just bolts on...if you can get the old ones off first.

Walker 36377 Exhaust Hanger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C8ZB1I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_M0-iDb23JGK89

Exhaust hanger removal tool.

amazon.com/dp/B0012S9A5U/

I have the exact same config. If you wanna tighten up that gap, use 1 of these on each side...

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Vehicles-Muffler-Exhaust-Bushing/dp/B00N3VHKCO/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=uxcell+exhaust+hanger&qid=1554223330&s=gateway&sr=8-6

I'll bet the PO had an exhaust cutout installed. Really only way to know is follow the cable and see where the other end is.

UPDATE!

Found it on amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Walker-36377-Exhaust-Hanger/dp/B000C8ZB1I/ref=pd_sbs_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000C8ZB1I&pd_rd_r=B8SF2EGW6VG311HXPSM9&pd_rd_w=1isUb&pd_rd_wg=Z5FDT&psc=1&refRID=B8SF2EGW6VG311HXPSM9

The reason I originally asked was because it's getting in the way of where my new hitch would bolt on. Looks like I'll have to remove this, then make a bracket that'll hold up a new one.

It depends entirely on the exhaust you buy. Some may require additional or replacement mounts. I strongly recommend buying a set of exhaust hanger removal pliers like these. When I did the catback on my car, I spent the most time fighting with the damn hangers. If you don't have a set of removal pliers, they're a real pain in the ass. It's also helpful to have a spray-on lubricant (silicone works well) so the rubber hangers slide on and off easier. Aside from that, and assuming your stock exhaust comes off without too much of an issue, it should be fairly trivial.

Try to loosen the s, mid and front pipe a little, sliding the mufflers on the OG hangers and if you can't get it how you want, try these. Each notch is about 1cm maybe a little more. You can tell mine hangs a bit lower now but from a standing position they look perfect.

Just as a FYI, they do make what looks like a C-clamp for repairing exhaust leaks, but these are designed to slip over or work around broken studs, etc. and are intended to provide a more-or-less permanent repair. They can be life savers for situations where you'd have to remove an entire manifold to deal with a broken exhaust pipe stud, for example. I've used them and they do work, and more critically, they stay in place once tightened down.

Example 1 and example 2

I got exhaust cutouts for the Audi, and the girlfriend picked me up a pair of front swaybar end links also (the ones on the car click really loud).

Mom got me a "Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy an Audi S6" shirt. :)

The cost of an exhaust repair can vary a LOT depending upon what they're doing to fix the leak, and how big the leak is. It can range from as cheap as $10 for something DIY like this or this, to as much as several thousand to completely replace the exhaust system from the manifold back. Certain repairs will last longer than others, and of course replacing the complete system will likely last the longest. So, when you go to a mechanic be sure to ask them exactly what they'll do to fix the issue, and then see if they guarantee the repairs for time/miles.

Mine don't stick out quite that much

3.5" Staggered double wall. I did by these bushings but I don't know why that would help really.

this is it

https://www.amazon.com/QTEC33K2-Profile-Electric-Exhaust-Remotes/dp/B00C43S9QS/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid=1485667787&sr=8-29&keywords=qtp+electric+cutout

Fair warning, it doesn't fit perfectly at first. I had to expand the holes on the mid pipe flange to accommodate the new mounting bolts. Easy enough with a step bit /other drill bit and a round file. The hanger rods are also pretty long to they almost touch the tow loops underneath. In addition to them being long they are also really close to the muffler, so I also had to order longer hangers so it would sit lower.

J2 Engineering for Mazda 3 Hatchback 2.0L 4.5 inches Round Double Wall Muffler Tip Catback Exhaust System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0764VLQNQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tqO0Db4KNAPQ7

CarXX 4 Hole Exhaust Hanger Bushing Muffler Insulator Shock Absorbent High Density Rubber Universal - Pack of 2 (Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FN79YYJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_2wO0DbC1B9YAN

A lot of people (myself included) use Speed Engineering and are very happy with them. The only thing you'll need are a couple of lap clamps for the header to off-road pipe connection since the ones that come with the headers are poo. You use the OEM ones for connecting the off-road pipe to the catback.

If you want a set with cats you CAN use these with some custom setup but I would say at that point your better off going with Texas Speed.

None of the above! I made my own muffler delete for less than $20. I bought a universal Flange and elbow and welded them together and trimmed the outlet side to length (see amazon links for parts below):

Walker 31880 Exhaust Flange
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015KWFB6/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_1ijQDbN7B0DVB

Walker Exhaust 41001 Exhaust Pipe Walker Elbow
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P2FPOI/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_qgjQDbK8CGNAD

This was done on my 2013, although I suspect it would work on the 2018+ also.

I am sure you could do this without a welder using JB Weld or similar cold welding compound. It doesn't look pretty like the aftermarket systems but its also a tiny fraction of the price and you can't see mine anyways; it exits just like the stock one did just on the other side of the car. I was surprised how quiet it is. It can be alittle drony under high load or WOT but very pleasant all other times.

I'm thinking about getting two of these

TOTALFLOW TF-U600 Natural Finish 6" 304 Stainless Steel Saddle U-Bolt Exhaust Muffler Clamp 6" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BK1CCT9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-09xDbBE0S098

(the size I'll need)

Then drilling a hole through the base and putting a bolt through the hole, with a washer and a wing nut to clamp the lift down

And mounting it my roll bar, tucked as high as the hard top will allow, thoughts on that?

Something like a set of these might actually do it for you. Or two of these. i don't know what size you need measure and order the correct size, but i do know that you are missing the flanges, they probably rotted off. you will also need to reform the shape of joint, it looks like the intermediate pipe hit the ground, hit it with a hammer a few times. and there is a donut gasket

heres what it should like like when you're done

Awesome thank you. This looks like the exact part - https://www.amazon.com/Ruien-Hardware-Stainless-Universal-Connector/dp/B07NYBY5W5

Will find a good alternative. Are there any treatments i can put on the metal to help with rust?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076J7RLWQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I got an answer for y'all:

The clamps on the header-to-midpipe size are 47-51mm (or something to fit a 1.5" I.D. hose, ranging 1.85" - 2") and brand used is commonly Mikalor.

If you're on the hunt in the US, I'm not finding them readily on Amazon but I'll keep looking.

Edit: Bam - $10 from Amazon.

It involves one of these and some squatting

Well, you can buy exhaust clamps with hangers. Like this or this. Check those for sizing before you order! I didn't look up the correct exhaust diameter for your Cherokee.

You probably don't need a new cat, and many mufflers bolt directly to the catalytic converter flange. From there back you will definitely need new pipe.

Whether you should have one built or build one yourself depends on your money situation and your gumption. A muffler shop can probably fab up a muffler and tailpipe for around $250 for cheap, and on these, that'll last around five years.

I have an 06 sport. The owner before me cut the pipes and muffler off just after the catalytic converter.

I also bought the thrush welded muffler and used this adapter to fit it to the pipe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043DL69E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I then ran a 1 ft extension and a turn down. Originally I just had the extension, but without the turn down the rear axle / differential was really heating up (im in FL). So I added a turn down.

I have no problem with fumes, but it sounds awful. Anytime the MDS kicks in it drones and the muffler isn't really that loud.

In a pinch literally, get one of these, bought them for half the price amazon lists.

https://www.amazon.com/Nickson-177-Split-Flange-2-2/dp/B000COY5PK