Exhaust pipe problem on Hunter

[gouldsborough7]

Hi Guys
Just had a recurrence of a problem with the tailpipe on my Hunter. About a year ago, I got a local welder to re-attach the pipe to the silencer, and now it appears to be coming adrift again. I did double-up the the original fixing brackets from 2 to 4. Of course the silencer does occasionally come in contact with humps in the road, so that doesn\'t help any!

The system is all stainless steel, which I know is more brittle that mild steel. So maybe there is no long-term solution. Any ideas, anyone?

Cheers
Mike

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Exhaust pipe problem on Hunter

Hi again
I\'m answering my own message, as I\'ve just come back from my local garage, run by a very enthusiastic young boss/mechanic. Ended up with him taking the rear silencer and tailpipe off the car, and welding a tough strip of stainless steel along the bottom of my s/s silencer.

He also beefed up the connection between tailpipe and silencer, re-fitted the whole assembly replacing one of the brackets, fiddled around to get the maximum ground clearance, took it for a test-run with his MOT engineer along a road renown for \'sleeping policeman\', said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and charged me just 1 hour of time + £3 for the bracket. How\'s that for service!!??

He also put my Hunter back on the hydraulic hoist, and invited me beneath the car to see his handywork. He pointed out that the main rubber bush on the Diff could benefit from a replacement with a Polyflex type. Also, suggested that the rear shockers (bog standard Marlin fitments) should be replaced by Gaz or Spax adjustables.

Big question (so I get the right parts): how do I figure what rear axle have I on my 1998 factory-assembled Hunter? The engine is 2 litre Granada/Sierra DOHC, and the axle is fully independent? Haynes is not much help on this.

Any help will be gratefully received
Cheers
Mike

[greyV8pete]

Re: Exhaust pipe problem on Hunter

Hi Mike. I had some old adjustable Spax on my Hunter and changed to GAZ adjustable ones. The ride was much less \"hard\", just well damped so I would always prefer those myself for road use.

There are two sizes of bolts for the lower rear shock mountings. I can\'t remember the actual diameter variations(possibly 10mm & 12mm) for the bolt shank but my rear suspension has the pegs (not used) for a Granada / Scorpio type rear anti roll bar and I have the larger diameter bolts in mine. Hope this helps. Peter.

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Exhaust pipe problem on Hunter

Hi Peter
Thanks for the info. I\'ve also canvassed Danny Nelson, plus Spax and Gaz, to see if they can point me in the right direction.
In the absence of specific details about my suspension, i.e. Sierra/Granada, year etc, I\'ll just have to
base my spec on: 1) the 630mm max (fully extended) & 400mm min (compressed) distances between the bolt centres, and 2)that both ends of the shockers have \"eyes\" and rubber bushes. I\'ve noticed in the various adverts, that some Fords have a long threaded stem on the top half, so I will obviously have to avoid these.

Cheers
Mike