exhaust question (not the usual)

[4x4orbust]

so i went out plowing today with the 82, (K10 350/th350)  and all was going well, untill the truck started sounding like a monster truck.  turns out, the exhaust fell off.   quite literally, it fell off both the drivers side and passenger side right at the manifolds.   actually right after the manifolds (at the flange for the y-pipe)  i crawled up under there and tried to figure something out, and proceeded to tear the old rusty peices out.

seeing as i was out plowing, i didnt have much time to do a proper repair, but here's what i did.  i had  a couple of 2 1/4" to 1 7/8" reducers, which i flared down on the 1 7/8 side to fit into the manifold end, grabbed a 4 lb sledge, and kinda squeezed them into the manifold exit end. connected to the exhaust with some flexible exhaust pipe,  fired the truck back up and finished the plow route.   

for the rest of the route, i fealt as though the truck had considerably less power (yes there  were a couple leaks around the "fix").      I pulled one side back off when i got home, and the end of the adapter was at 1 1/2 inches.  (basically there was a 1.5" exhaust pipe right after the manifold)  i am assuming the other side is the same, they are run as true duals.

 what are the consequences of running the truck like that? other than the loss of power, would it harm any engine internals because the exhaust is restricted?

oh, and i am planning on upgrading from the stock manifolds to long tubes in the spring, soon as the weather warms up, so the truck may run like it is til the end of winter, hence the questions on harming the engine.

thanks for the help!!

phil

[4x4orbust]

anyone? i just don't want to hurt the engine, it only has 3k miles on it

[zieg85]

IMO if it still runs good and doesn't miss you probably are OK.  I wouldn't run it like it is though.

[78 Chevyrado]

Never run one without manifolds or you'll burn an exhaust valve.  I'd say as long as there is still some pipe after the manifolds, it'll be ok.  If you can see fire coming out or light at the end of the pipe/manifold, you need more pipe, or you may burn a valve.  You lost power because there's no scavenging now with no exhaust. 

[ccz145a]

Just a thought about valve damage: I always thought open exaust was a bad idea because the exaust side would cool down too fast after the engine is shut off, causing the valves to warp, then burn at the resulting bad seat.

[VileZambonie]

Throw some stainless headers on it and run dual exhaust.

Realistically it won't cause any imediate damage but now you have an excuse to redo your exhaust. If you are plowing with it and it's still obnoxious you'll probably lose customers.

[4x4orbust]

thanks for the replies.   the exhaust is still hooked up to the manifolds, it's just really, really jimmy rigged, but it still flows through the flowmaster 40's so it's not obnoxious, just annoying.... j/k   

i have been looking at some headers  today and the most i have come across is on summit.   i  was wondering if anyone has used the summit cheapo headers before and what their opinion is on them...  as a contractor, money is not plentiful right now, so i was looking at the 90 dollar headers as a temporary add-on till times get better and i can get some ceramic coated ones...
also, when i put headers on a carbed truck, do you have to adjust the carb at all??

[VileZambonie]

I just put another set of the 88-95 shorties on my mutt project. They are very cost effective and fit nice. You just have to grind one small area of the drivers upper frame rail to fit them. If you want pix I can take some.

[4x4orbust]

would i be better off with shorties?  i was looking into long tube headers,  mainly because i was under the impression that shorties are not much better than stock manifolds.   what are the advantages/disadvantages of shortie's vs longtubes?

[oldwhity]

I don't know what the advantages or disadvantages are but I bought a set on the $90-$100 Flowtech long tubes from Summit or Jegs(can't remember). Install(about a year ago) was easy and still no leaks(about 300 miles).

[Blazin]

I have run long tubes in the past on plow trucks. They tend to get masshed by the front drive shaft because of the extra weight on the front end with the plow. My 86  K 30 I am currently running with a slight lift, big block, and 9' plow has this problem. I plan on replacing the headers with shorty / block hugger type if I can find some that fit. As far as difference in performance, if any it would be so minimal??

[Dragon]

I just put another set of the 88-95 shorties on my mutt project. They are very cost effective and fit nice. You just have to grind one small area of the drivers upper frame rail to fit them. If you want pix I can take some.

Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! PIX PL3AS3