Stainless Exhaust
Stainless Exhaust
Finally, I had my car back after my mechanic had fitted a new hand-made stainless steel exhaust system. The exhaust is made by Don Pembleton and I just followed the recommendation made in issue 34 of the GWizz. And the quality is second to none (well this guy makes exhausts for Ferraris...) and the sound of my G now is simply exhilarating.
Of the three mufflers he replaced the first one with a straight pipe but basically the shape of the rest of the system is the same as factory. I hope that I have a small reduction of consumption/increase in performance now that the car "breathes" better but the sound of the car and the looks of the engine alone are worth the replacement.
A new MB system by Mercedes in mild steel would have cost £ 800 (inc VAT). I paid just over £ 650 for this, delivered.
For directions to Don Pemblenton, his website is:
http://www.stainless-exhaust.com
Cheers,
Hi Jesus,
Did you put this onto your 463? I have just bought one, Don finished it last week for me and it is on a truck somewhere between him and me here in Azerbaijan.
I can't wait to get it and get it on. Did he supply you with all the bolts and fixings?
My only worry is it will be that wrong one or he might have made it for a SWB instead of a LWB which I need. here's hoping!
Martin.
Thanks Jesus,
I'll let you know the outcome in approx 1-2 weeks.
Martin.
Dont despair, I saw the quality of work that don had done on Jesus's exhaust. Simply beautiful. But the price did shock me a bit. You get what you pay for I guess.
Having worked a lot with stainless steel in the past and also made " Rusties" stainless exhaust I can tell you that it is a pure b***ch of a material to work with. It takes the edge of tools quickly if you do not use paste or coolant or you try to work it too fast. It is very tough and springy when trying to form it into shapes and cylinders etc. When welding it must be spotlessly clean. So if the price was for the complete system then I think you got a bargain. Has anyone ever priced a merc replacement? :shock:
So if the price was for the complete system then I think you got a bargain. Has anyone ever priced a merc replacement? :shock:
I priced mine..... the complete exhaust from the downpipes at the rear of the RH front wheel, including the three silencer boxes was £ 830. :roll: :roll: ...... replacing the middle silencer box with the cross pipe from a G350 Turbodiesel (so that it ends up with 2 silencer boxes instead of three as mine is now) was still close to £ 700 :roll:
Therefore at least for the W463s this is a no-brainer: you can buy the S/S system cheaper than the factory mild steel system.
For catalyst systems, the savings can be even bigger given the extortionate prices theat the catalyst commands by MB. In any event if you own a 300 GE which has been registered before a certain date in 1992 you might as well decline to fit a catalyst when replacing the system, because they were not mandatory in the EU before that date.
Regards,
Jesus,
At last, I got my one and I must say the workmanship is excellent. One thing though, how does your first box connect to the exhaust downpipes, I see that it is a different connection than the original one, and it is the same bore(OD and ID) of pipe, which makes it difficult to overlap and put on a pipe clamp. I also bought a new down pipe from Merc
Could you have a wee look under you car and advise how your garage did it. I really don't want to resort to welding it together.
Martin.
My mechanic welded a small section with smaller bore and fitted it to the downpipe with a clamp.
Cheers,
I had a full stainless system fitted by Flo-Tec in Halifax West Yorkshire to my 300gd lwb 83 ( over the steel fuel tank type) cost £350. They made it on site using the old system as a template and Guaranteed it for 12 months against defects ....after the first couple of days it started rattleing at the rear agaist the fuel tank, at tickover. I returned it and they did the necessary whilst I waited.
Dil,
I hear what you say but the 460 and 463 systems are not comparable... the 463 is a rather more complicated and convoluted job, with three silencer boxes (two long and one short, although I had one replaced with a section of pipe).
I can only say that the system I've got looks worth every penny.
Cheers
How about a sound file so we can hear the note?!
There was a guy on the US G board who fitted a 5.7L V8 to his G . He uploaded a sound file of it reving up . I was listening to it, improving the note with an equaliser :shock: ,when the missus walks in :oops: .It's never been the same at home since. :shock:
It's never been the same at home since. :shock:
:lol:
There was a guy on the US G board who fitted a 5.7L V8 to his G . He uploaded a sound file of it reving up . I was listening to it, improving the note with an equaliser :shock: ,when the missus walks in :oops: .It's never been the same at home since. :shock:
:P :P :P BRILL :D
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Martin, don't star dispairing before you've seen it! It might be perfectly OK.
No, I did not fit the system myself but I bet that you don't need an specialist garage to have it fitted. Neither the bolts or fixings were supplied... for the fixings I used those which were in the truck, they were fine.... for the bolts my mechanic has used stainless steel bolts and nuts.
I suggest that before removing anything you lie underneath your truck with a pice of the new exhaust at a time and you "marry" it to the one you have now to see if there are any discrepancies in measurements.
It's funny but when I spoke with Don a couple of weeks before he'd done the job he said he had a batch of seven exhaust to make.... one must have been yours.
Good luck,