Pacesetter donut leak, what to do?
06-01-2009, 04:47 PM
#1
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Pacesetter donut leak, what to do?
I took my balt to a muffler shop today to find out why my exhaust sounds like ****. They said its leaking around the donut. They wanted to charge me 96$ to pull it all down and fix it. I'm thinking if its not too hard to do and parts are readily available I'd just as soon do it myself. opinions?
06-02-2009, 05:06 PM
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if you are talking about the header to downpipe connect... mine is warped too. doesnt sit right.. i just bought a small piece of 3'' (ID) pipe and put 2 gaskets on each side.. seems to work lol
06-02-2009, 08:09 PM
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Im not totally sure what an ID pipe is or how you would put gaskest in there. You think you could clarify a little more? i also dont want to hack job it, I like doing things once the right way, haha. thanks
06-03-2009, 03:49 PM
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Just go to autozone they have it.. comes in like 3 1/2'' sections. cost $2.59 IIRC. gaskets wont run you that much.. you can get the cheap 3 bolt unless you want to pay 10 bux a pop for the 2 bolt. lol either you can cut it or go to a exhaust shop and have them cut the pipe into a couple pieces. i would have them do 2 or 3 pieces just for the fact that way you can choose which one is the best for sitting flat.
heres a pic of the pipe by itself. doesnt look horrible and you cant really notice it.. if your crazy weird about it grab some VHT spray paint.. it would hide it pretty well.
heres a pic of the pipe by itself. doesnt look horrible and you cant really notice it.. if your crazy weird about it grab some VHT spray paint.. it would hide it pretty well.
06-03-2009, 09:31 PM
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I bought the same one and had the the exact same problem...dealer said same thing about the donut ****** thing so i just drove it for a bit tryin not to go to fast cuz the sound is horrible then torqued the bolts down real good after a couple weeks and its been fine since.
06-08-2009, 05:22 PM
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cut it into a 1'' section. it has to be completely flat so grind it if you have to.
line it up with the header and downpipe.
tighten with new bolts.. i used old bolts i had laying around. iirc they were ~3 1/2'' or 4'' long. they are really cheap from home depot or any hardware store.
i also welded the inside of the downpipe due to the fact it has broke 2 times on me.. zzp says i have something pulling it out.. i know i dont but hey. better safe than sorry.
06-08-2009, 05:55 PM
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i dont really get any leaks.. i mean i can hear a little something under boost but thats because right now im not using any gaskets. otherwise you can just use cheap 3'' gaskets. as long as the bolts are tight the pipe shouldnt move anywhere.
Would be better off using copper sealant...
06-08-2009, 06:06 PM
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No Prob...it was like a month ago and mine still sounds damn goon now lol...well i think so anyway, but yea i had a tech at the dealership where i worked put it on and i took it back to him when he was done and said "WTF" it sounds like total ****...but thats what he told me to do and amazingly it worked. i honeslty thought he was full of **** and thought he just used the shitty old gasket or somthing, lol.
06-08-2009, 06:08 PM
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i dont know how else to explain this...........
heres how it goes....
HEADER.
----------
GASKET
_______
_______ 3'' ID AUTOZONE PIPE - 1''
GASKET
----------
DOWNPIPE
tighten down..... simple as that.
heres how it goes....
HEADER.
----------
GASKET
_______
_______ 3'' ID AUTOZONE PIPE - 1''
GASKET
----------
DOWNPIPE
tighten down..... simple as that.
06-29-2010, 08:50 PM
#20
Bump. My garbage ZZP combo leaks, and I am going to try the pipe thing tomorrow.
I wish I just kept my factory header/dp on the car. I'd rather be down 20whp and not have the car hiss and tick all the time.
I wish I just kept my factory header/dp on the car. I'd rather be down 20whp and not have the car hiss and tick all the time.
06-30-2010, 06:52 PM
#21
I fixed the ZZP leak once and for all!
Go to your local advance, and look for a round ALUMINUM donut gasket with a flared end. It looks like a bunch of aluminum cans that have been compressed and melted together. The smaller beveled end will fit snugly into the 3" opening in the header, and then the flat bottom part will seal against the downpipe. Tighten everything down and voila: no more leak, even if your flanges don't align correctly.
ZZP should ship donut gaskets with their headers if they insist on continuing to use the retarded 2 bolt flange. A flat gasket simply won't seal at all contact points with the 2 bolt since it doesn't apply pressure evenly to the flange, especially once the header ages.
Mine didn't sit 100% flush and it still sealed perfectly with this gasket. No more loud hissing under acceleration!
Although it does tick a little at idle (you can hear it when the car is on a lift if you're under it) but you can't really hear it when the car is on the ground. I believe this is the air going through the pipe making this noise because there isn't a leak. It also made this noise when the header was new and wasn't leaking so its normal.
My low end TQ has also been restored for the first time since I bought the header almost 2 years ago, and the car finally idles normally and without lope.
Go to your local advance, and look for a round ALUMINUM donut gasket with a flared end. It looks like a bunch of aluminum cans that have been compressed and melted together. The smaller beveled end will fit snugly into the 3" opening in the header, and then the flat bottom part will seal against the downpipe. Tighten everything down and voila: no more leak, even if your flanges don't align correctly.
ZZP should ship donut gaskets with their headers if they insist on continuing to use the retarded 2 bolt flange. A flat gasket simply won't seal at all contact points with the 2 bolt since it doesn't apply pressure evenly to the flange, especially once the header ages.
Mine didn't sit 100% flush and it still sealed perfectly with this gasket. No more loud hissing under acceleration!
Although it does tick a little at idle (you can hear it when the car is on a lift if you're under it) but you can't really hear it when the car is on the ground. I believe this is the air going through the pipe making this noise because there isn't a leak. It also made this noise when the header was new and wasn't leaking so its normal.
My low end TQ has also been restored for the first time since I bought the header almost 2 years ago, and the car finally idles normally and without lope.
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