[ChrisMiddleron]

Hi

I am wanting to know if you guys have any advice on how to bend exhaust pipe for the DIY'r. I am wanting to build my own turbo setup for my mustang and was hoping someone had some decent ways to bend exhaust pipe without spending two thousand or more dollars on a pipe bender.

Any threads or knowledge would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[Will H]

Here's what I have done: Make a good drawing with accurate demensions of what you want and take it to a muffler shop. Try to stay in the shop with the guy making it and answer any questions he has. You will probably get away for less than a sawbuck.

[ljjjrome]

most people i have seen do turbo hot parts by buying mandrel bends and welding it together.

Jerome

[brian0605]

Chris, I have seen it done both ways, just depends on your equipment and knowledge. Good luck Brian

[ChrisMiddleron]

Ok thank you guys I figure I will just buy some muffler shop scrap bends some other random bent pipes and piece it together. If I cant get a couple of areas ill just take it to the shop.

Thanks guys,
Chris

[farna]

You can pack the tubing with sand or some other firm yet pliable material, then make a jig and bend it without collapsing. The problem is you need a lot of leverage to bend the pipe, so you have to use rather long lengths to make your bends. Because of all the waste pipe, it's better to buy the bends then cut and weld. JC Whitney sells mandrel bends (no "crimp" on the inside of bends) in various angles. For headers make sure you get a few U bends at different radii. Then you can cut whatever degree turn you need.

[redsdad]

Originally Posted by ChrisMiddleron

Ok thank you guys I figure I will just buy some muffler shop scrap bends some other random bent pipes and piece it together. If I cant get a couple of areas ill just take it to the shop.

Thanks guys,
Chris

You have to buy mandrel bent els. Most muffler shops don't do mandrel bends. When you cut through non-mandrel bent els, you will have an egg shaped hole, not round. You won't be able to line this up properly with the next straight or partial el. Mandrel bent els have a virtually round cross section through the bend. That will allow correct alignment with the next piece.

[302 Z28]

Best way is to purchase mandrel bent tubing and weld it together. I have not seen any local muffler shops that can bend tubing without crimping it. A mandrel bending machine is usually way out of a traditional muffler shops budget $$$$$.

Vince

[fiscus]

The way most people do it is just order the bends from a supplier/store, you can get them in a U shape and cut out the sections and weld them together.

[70bird]

I bought some 3" mandrel bent pipe and a 3" x-pipefrom this guy (Ubendman) on ebay a couple years ago. I just did a search and he is still on ebay.

Mandrel Bent Pipe

I called him up and he is real easy to talk to and seems to be a pretty nice guy. I had him make 4 bends in 3" pipe with XX amount of pipe before and aft plus the 3" x-pipe I purchased on ebay. The grand total was $110 shipped from New York to California. Bob's Muffler (15 miles from me) wanted $40 per bend and seemed like an A** (or he had something stuck up it) when I talked to him on the phone. Several other's I've talked to have had the same experience with him.

Here's a link to Ubendman's website:
Link

[ubendman]

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[vinniekq2]

If you need 3 inch mandrel bent pieces Jere Stahl also sells Them.Ive also seen people cut pie slices out of straight pipe then weld them back together.Probably cheaper to have them made,unless you want to learn welding or enjoy welding?

[malc]

I bought mine from Summit.

[hcompton]

I always use mandrel J bends so you get a long piece with each bend U bends are not as useful for all the strange angles you may need to make. Just get regular mild steel. You should also get at least one or two staight pieces. They can be welded together with a cheap wire feed wleder and do one small spot weld skip and inch and do aonther around and arpund the pipe until its all welded up and sealed. Dont try to run a bead around the pipe. This will usally burn or warp the pipes.

Dont forget to use couples on the key sections so you can uninstall and repair th system. Waste gate pipe, down pipe should not be welded together in case you need to replace parts and repair leaks.

You can also use couplers to hold the pipe in place while you get the final shape and remove and weld each coupled section at a time. Hope that makes since.

Also for intake pipe only use aluminum pipe. Same deal as the exhuast with J bends and silicone couplers useing proper clamps. Dont weld the aluinum charge pipes. Its a pain in the *** to have them all welded up. Just use the god couplers and clamps. I usally buy a charge pipe kit from ebay. They are cheap.

Hope that helps.

[hcompton]

Your local auto parts store can usally order J bends and other angles with in a few hours if they dont have them in stock. But they commonly have at least one or two hanging around. 3" and 4" may not be on the shelf but usally just a wharehouse away.

Also the engine moves so be sure it can flex a little and not break. Also a main reason i dont weld the charge pipes and i dont have a tig on hand most of the time. But you want the charge side to flex. Front wheel drive even more so.