Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Hey All. . .You too Snotty
I am about to have the makeshift exhaust re-done in my car. It currently has duals on a 360, but they were made poorly.
In one of the pictures of the under carriage, Butches car had a cross over pipe installed on the exhaust.
I was wondering what the advantages are of having that. Anybody Know for sure?
I just want to refresh what I thought I knew about it and see if I was correct. The objective is to improve fuel economy and performance, economy first. Any Clues would be appreciated. Tanks
Crossover tube is to boost torque. Best recollection is improved scavenging. Also it is said to quiet the exhaust noise a bit. If you can find a shop capable to add it without costing much I would advise it. Mother Mopar wouldn't have done it if it wasn't worth something. I would advise choosing a place for the crossover that still allows you to service the trans (pan drop) without pulling the exhaust. Check the pricing with some of the outfits advertising in Hemmings. Then check with your local shop about them installing pipes you supply and also what they want to bend them there. I purchased pre-bent exhaust for my New Yorker. It fit about 90%. I needed to have a few pipes tweaked. I should have let the shop put them on as they could bend and test fit at the same time and my pipes would have hugged the floor boards better.
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 10:24AM
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 160
Crossovers are placed right or close behind the transmission-crossmember and depending on location can sometimes 'serve' as a cheap driveshaft-catcher in case a U-joint fails.
71F3-"I can't say I have ever seen a cross over on a Chrysler factory exhaust though. " Take a look at systems offered for the little cars. H pipe is usually right around the crossmember at the rear of the trans.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Ah See that? Little cars. Only owned one in my day. Hemi Cuda. (Wish I had it today) That was 36 years ago! Now at this age, do you honestly think I can remember that far back? LOL
Joined: Mon Oct 31 2005, 12:48PM
Location: Bakersfield, California
Posts: 1755
OK, Smart Guy, have Dennis send you a picture of the undercarriage of that POS (your words) car I sold you, It has an H Pipe on it, rght behind the tail shaft, right below the Ball and Trunnion U Joint. It has a slip joint installed so you can disassemble it to work on the trans.
I had it installed while it still had glass pacs on (Boo!). It did reduce the noise a considerable amount. I tought it sounded better too. However, all of that changed when I had those Flowmasters installed! Ouch!
You would not know this, however, since you have NEVER DRIVEN THE CAR!
Joined: Fri Oct 07 2005, 12:03PM
Location: Central Ky.
Posts: 1575
A more correct term for it is "Balance tube". Balances the exhaust pulses between cyl banks. Thus the slight Torque improvement & noise reduction.
Factory cars that had them were....Max Wedge cars, Hemi cars & 440 Magunum & 6-pack. 383 Magnums & 340's didn't.
I've always used 'em on my cars, just one of those things that can't hurt. Here's a trick...if you're worried about getting the tranny back out for service have the balance tube made to slip together in the middle. You can then slide it apart & move the headpipes out further. My 3" TTI headpipes have this feature. I didn't do this on the fury since it was even further back more to the end of the tailshaft & when unbolted from the headers drops out of the way pretty good.
Everybody is right about placement, right behind the crossmember is the factory spot, my 69 1/2 Bee had it right there. Because the C-body exhaust routes through the crossmember outside the t-Bars instead of the usual A-B-E way inside the T-bars your turn to come in towards the center of the car puts the Balance fiurther back to keep from making the turns just too tight & restrictive ( okay the 3" pipes I used made it a bit harder too LOL ). If you look at the factory-style ones the headpipes run close to the center of the car after the crossmember, Balance tubes aren't effective if the headpipes are too far apart.
I just try to copy the factory way as close as possible.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Butch
What would happen if I had them put up forward where a Y-Pipe would cross over? That would leave the tail shaft free and still have access to the inspection plate. But will it work the same? Or does it need to be further back? Maybe Roger knows?
Either way, the slip joint is a good idea, I was thinking about having a flange put in.
I gotta' make up my mind quick, it goes in Friday for the new Exhaust. Gonna' will my old one to MobStaffCar72NwYrkr. LOL