Rusted Muffler Pipe on H

Jim Paterson · Jun 22, 2011

I just aquired a 1944 H which I am going to restore. The muffler pipe is rusted to the manifold pipe/outlet. What is the best way to separate the two without causing damage to either?

Zachary Hoyt · Jun 22, 2011

My experience has been that usually if the muffler is rusted on it will also be just about rusted through and probably pretty weak. If that is not the case I would try heating the muffler pipe with a torch or even a heat gun and see if you can get it to expand enough to come loose from the manifold pipe.
Zach

Tyler Jackson · Jun 22, 2011

Most of em are after 60+- years off use. Heat and penetrating oil are your friends but in this case unless the pipe is bad it's probly best to leave it alone. You'll end up breaking the cast iron if you try to hard.

Nebraska Cowman · Jun 22, 2011

with minimal care you can burn the muffler off with a torch. The rust underneath will shield the pipe. You have to try really hard to burn through both pieces.

sflem849 · Jun 23, 2011

Same thoughts here, unless the pipe is bad you are better off to leave it alone. If it is bad, I would try cutting the pipe in a couple spots and then crushing it in on itself. You could also try heating stuff up and spinning it off the right way.

rustyfarmall · Jun 23, 2011

(quoted from post at 19:14:24 06/22/11) I just aquired a 1944 H which I am going to restore. The muffler pipe is rusted to the manifold pipe/outlet. What is the best way to separate the two without causing damage to either?

Cut it off flush at the manifold with a hacksaw, and then if it is thin enough, you can peel it out with a hammer and cold chisel. If it is a little too thick yet for that to be easy, reach down inside the pipe and make one or two vertical cuts with the hacksaw. You might need a 2" threading tap to restore and clean out the threads in the manifold.

Charlie M · Jun 23, 2011

I changed mine on my 43H a few years ago with a pipe wrench and 3 ft piece of pipe. I couldn't believe it but it came out without too much effort. Can't remember if I heated with a torch first. Threads were good in the manifold so I just screwed the new on.

Dean Olson · Jun 23, 2011

I interpreting your post as you want to remove the muffler from the manifold pipe without destroying the muffler, manifold, or manifold pipe.

Heat up the connection and wiggle it till it comes loose. You just want to heat the muffler material, so just it expands,and not the manifold pipe. Don't cook it. If that doesn't work. Try tapping the bottom of the muffler, straight up, with a rubber mallet. If it still won't come off employ the bigger hammer theory and whack it till it comes off. You may not be able to salvage the muffler if it's that rusted up.

JRSutton · Jun 23, 2011

(assuming you're talking about removing the pipe from the manifold, and not the muffler from the pipe...)

If it's really really rusted together, chances are the pipe has weakened enough that you're not going to get them apart without some damage and/or it's not worth trying to save it...

But if I were to try - I'd use a large pipe wrench on the tube, placed down close to the manifold to eliminate as much flex as possible in the pipe. Probably use a 3 foot piece of 1 1/2" pipe as a breaker bar on the handle of the pipe wrench to give you extra torque. (Make that bar long enough and something's going to give somewhere.)

Drench it with penetrating oil.

The problem with heating it to loosen it is that the pipe is so thin in comparison to the manifold that they're essentially going to expand and contract together. You could try running it for a while to heat everything up, then maybe jam a wet rag on a stick down there afterwards to quickly cool the pipe to shrink it a bit, separate from the manifold itself.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 23, 2011

Had my rusty pipe on my W-30 snap off at the threads and bounce the muffler off the hood as it was being trailered down the road.

I cut it off a couple threads proud of the manifold with a hack saw, then took a Dremel with a small carbide burr and cut a line vertically on the inside, cutting mostly thru. It you touch the threads with the burr, not a big deal. Use a hammer and cold chisel to collapse the nipple somewhat, and it will break loose & screw out.

You need to re-chase the threads with a tap, so look one up from a friend, business, or industrial surplus. The threads will not be good and you'll never get a new nipple to screw in satisfactorily. I used a Schedule 80 (heavier) nipple for my new one.

Use some nickel or copper antisieze and screw it back together, fairly tight, but not too excessive.

Took me about an hour on evening from start to finish.

Pete

Anonymous-0 · Jun 23, 2011

Pete... Have you ever lived in the Wayland area?

Anonymous-0 · Jun 24, 2011

Kevin -

Nope. Holland for the last 19 years, the northern Michigan before.

Pete

Rusted Muffler Pipe on H

Jim Paterson

Member

Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member

Tyler Jackson

Member

Nebraska Cowman

Well-known Member

sflem849

Well-known Member

rustyfarmall

Well-known Member

Charlie M

Well-known Member

Dean Olson

Well-known Member

JRSutton

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Similar threads