Ecotec exhaust sagging in the middle

[JCL]

I recently had my auto changed from a 6HDD to a 9HFD with the full bell housing and the exhaust would have been taken off to fit it.

The other day i hit a bump in the road and i noticed yesterday that the middle of the exhaust where the cat-back attaches is sagging quite low. The catback section seems to be attached to its hangers correctly but the front from the stock headers through to the CAT appears to be hanging quite low.

It doesnt sound any different so I can only assume its still attached correctly but any ideas what it could be that would cause this?

Im going to get under it in the next few days but just thought id see what to look out for.

Im thinking ill check where the Y -Pip attaches to the headers has maybe come loose and wasnt attached correctly when the auto was put in.

Are there any hanging points with the Y pipe or does it simply connect to the headers and then again to the cat-back?

Thanks!

 

[thatotherguy94]

There is a hanger on the Y pipe as well which from memory was attached to the trans, maybe when they swapped the trans over they forgot to put that piece on, have attached a pic of the hangers from my Y piece

 

[JCL]

Thanks for that - it is really helpful.

Im concerned when they changed the trans (The new one is from the VT era) that it means my Y pipe wont align properly with the hanging points on the new trans/cross member and they havent done anything to remedy it.

Ill have to get under the car one night after work and investigate. If it requires changes I might just go the extractors route and get something to fit with the new trans

 

[JCL]

So got under the car last night and can now see the problem - looks like they cut off the hanger point on my Y pipe in order to fit the VT auto without it fouling. So now I have no hanger point on the Y pipe to raise it up. There is a hanging point on the VT auto which is in a different spot to where it was on the VS

I think for now I will go get a coat hanger and jack it up and use that to temporarily keep it higher until i work out what I want to do. I dont have welder so cant fix this one myself so means I would probably have to take it to an exhaust place for them to weld something on to use the VT hanger but seems like a bit of a waste of money - id prefer to put that towards getting aftermarket headers

 

[EYY]

haha yeah thats an issue. Not too hard to get around if you can weld though.
https://forums.justcommodores.com.a...mission-compatibility-and-differences.254449/

 

[JCL]

Ah - thanks for posting that. I did a search yesterday before posting but it didnt come up for me.

I can say apart from my exhaust sagging now the actual transmission performance has been great. Feels solid between changes and I too have noticed a slightly lower volume engine noise. Thought it might be my imagination but then saw you mention it too.

I feel like my single spinner locks up a little easier on my sloped gravel driveway now so I have to control the throttle carefully.

Might have to think about just buying some aftermarket headers for the ute now after i temporarily fix it. Ill check with a few guys who may have a welder to see if they can rig something more permanent up for it though

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

When you are looking for headers, the only ones that will fit you car now are the series 3 VS ute ones. They have the same transmission and the early headers don't fit.

You may be able to get the Y pipe higher by loosening the flanges where the pipes attach to the manifolds and then jacking the cat up until it hits, then tighten the flanges up. The cat will drop down a bit but it should sit higher than it does now.

 

[JCL]

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up getting my hands on a cheap gasless welder and cutting off a hanger from an old muffler I had and attaching it to the y pipe just under the hanger on the VT auto. Wasn't a pretty weld but effective and the exhaust is back up where it should be now