Exhaust (Cat backwards) replacement
The rear part of my G500 SWB exhaust will need replacing soon.
Rather than fitting new MB part has anyone had experience of alternatives? I note that CKS make and install stainless steel replacements - not cheap - but do have guarantee etc and they do the installation while you wait.
http://www.cksperformance.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_...
Thanks for any advice.
Hi
Powerflow Stainless Steel Exhausts are normally good ( but it can depend a bit on the franchaise) you will need to spell out exactly what you want !! an exact copy should be easy for them to fabricate...
branches in Glasgow and Edinburgh
The OEM solution can last a while as long as you wash the undercarriage regularly in winter, but an aftermarket SS solution might be simpler and longer lasting.
If you are talking about the final big box, I was surprised it was only around £200 from the dealer when I got one 2/3 years back.
I hope this is of some use in your decision making process
G500 EXHAUST EXAMPLE prices quoted are MB retail without chassis number and may change with provided chassis number.
A463 490 18 19 FRONT PIPE LEFT £116+vat MB Germany 4 in stock
A113 140 00 14 FRONT PIPE RIGHT 1ST PART £676+vat MB Germany 30 in stock
A463 490 19 19 FRONT PIPE RIGHT 2ND PART £98+vat MB Germany 1 in stock
A463 490 53 14 CATALYST SECTION £1906+vat MB Germany 7 in stock
A463 490 47 01 CENTRAL MUFFLER £215+vat MB Germany 4 in stock
A463 490 45 01 MAIN REAR MUFFLER £357+vat MB Germany 12 in stock
PLUS FLANGES AND SEALS £50+vat approx.
If you just require from behind the cat, then the centre may be different depending on chassis number given but only a few pounds cheaper.
Cat forward the price is pretty scary but from behind the cat I think the rear boxes are not too bad value considering the trucks value both new and now? My brother has just had a stainless cat back system on his Volvo V70 AWD (1998) that he has owned since 5 years old after getting fed up of bodging and welding it for its MOT every year because Volvo wanted £1200 for the centre and rear silencers and that car was only £35k new not G Wagen V8 money. The stainless system was a third of the price Volvo wanted even after a big haggling session whereas at £572+vat less a bit of discount, you should be able to get to around £500+vat quite easily and I bet the stainless system will be not far behind unless you change the routing and shorten it side wards earlier?
I don’t know the age of your truck but when you consider it is probably 10-12 years old and still on its factory exhaust, it’s not done badly and the replacement from MB should last the same in theory. By the weight of the replacement exhaust compared to the aftermarket options where available they certainly should.
The sound is usually different from stainless systems, that is not necessarily a bad thing but you either like it or don’t. You know what it sounds like now and after the stainless is fitted there is a chance you may not! My brother certainly didn’t and after 8 years of ownership it went within 3 months of the stainless system being fitted!! To be replaced by a ……………………………Land Rover …cough cough …that cost him his brother as well …..ha ha …only kidding! I would hate that to happen to you, but its food for thought.
Cheers
Gav
I would agree with Gav that getting a ss system might be risky due to louder noise. The factory one you know will be good. Where is your exisiting system failing? I recently had the bolts on mine replaced as they were getting thin and it looked like it was going to break, the pipes are still good. The joint between my down pipes and the cat was poor so I had the garage make up a new joining piece to go in.
There is an alternative to fitting the factory centre silencer and that is too use the pipe that is fitted to the 300gdt. It's about £70 odd and matches exactly to the cat and standard main silencer. That's what mine uses, slightly louder than stock, but perfectly ok.
Joe had a complete system fitted last year.
If your G is registered before sept 2001, I think, you don't need the type approved cat and can fit a generic one if you are going the custom ss route
Top Job
Happy endings is what we like :-)
At least you know should it fall off later you can still eat that month
Gav
The hangers falling off is common and easily fixed like you are doing. The main silencer on the lhs is double skinned. My outer skin has almost completely come off and there is no effect at all on performance. You probably have a few years left yet with some minor repairs
losing the final box entirely on my ge300 made little difference to the volume of noise, you might find its the same on the 500
HI.
Funny you mention exhausts:my '99 model year is also on its last legs (now the second year mentioned as a recommendation in my MOT last October, but this time the tester REALLY meant it). The usual points, the rear muffler (outer skin already came off and inner one is beginning to flake off/baffles also rattling nicely), the rear overtube and the supports. Mine is a LWB. I'm going the SS route but for another reason: I'm having a second fuel tank fitted and just want to make sure that the fitter sets the exhaust in such a way that the tank's capacity can be maximised (without the exhaust touching it!). If it wasn't for this point, I'd have the standard exhaust fitted as it produces a lovely sound.
My greatest concern is the extra noise: I've been adamant to the chap making it to keep the car as silent as possible.......let us see. I am hoping that PR Wales' comment comes out right for the 500 like it did for his 300.
As usual, horses for courses. Hope my input helps.
Ph
I removed the cat and the final back box on my 1st adaptation, just having the small central silencer. This provided a very pleasant if slightly noisey result, I liked it but there were complaints from the mem-sahib. So being someone who does as they are told I replaced the straight pipe where the cat was with a silencer. Now she can here herself nagging me.
Thanks everyone for your input.
Mechanic friend has now repaired the two broken exhaust hangers - see attached photo of one repaired hanger. He welded on piece of stainless steel (more substantial than original) and bolted it to hanger. Exhaust now good for a few years provided back box lasts. Certainly lot cheaper than any replacements either SS or MB .......
Glad you sorted it out1 Let us know how it holds up - my experience of quick welding fixes on the exhaust is that they didn't last very long, certainly not till the next MoT at any rate. Must be to do with surface prep, but I see he's ground down the surface before welding so hopefully that should hold up.
I sometimes made up solutions using stainless steel rope/galvanised wire, as my MoT tester says rattling or loose bits are a failure.
Nice hanger repair, it should last a good while.
Phileas, I'm interested in hearing more about your seond tank when you have the time. I've seen ORC do one with a second filler about 60l which doesn't require any exhaust mods. I've also read of a guy with a transfer pump and only one filler.
How are you modifying the exhaust route to accomodate the tank?
Hi Roly,
My aux tank set up is external and sits between the chassis rails from the rear axle to the transfer box. The easiest set up is to have a second (separate) filler cap and a pump from the aux tank to the primary tank, which is what I will use. By doing this one doesn't mess about with the original tank set up. The disadvantage (other than drilling a hole in the side of the panel for the aux tank filler) is that the return pipe from the primary tank can not be used as an overflow into the aux tank (i.e. you have to make sure that you stop the pump manually once the primary tank is full). Also, as the fill pipe for the aux tank is quite horizontal, modern back-pressure petrol/diesel pumps keep stopping: in another words you have to fill it more slowly and listen to when it is about full. The pump for inter-tank filling is a low pressure one and therefore slow (it can take about 20 mins to fill the primary tank from the aux........but you do this whilst driving, so there is no down-time). To prevent overfill, I have wired my pump switch in the centre dash to a flashing red diode in order to remind me when the pump is on (this sounds obvious but when the pump is on whilst driving, you can not hear it and can easily be forgotten).
I have an aux tank fitted to my 300TD and it is about 60 litres. If you go any larger (there used to be a 90l tank available) the tank starts going beneath the chassis rails which I did not want. The idea is that, since my exhaust needs to be done anyway, I will move it out of the way (rearwards) as much as possible so that the tank capacity can be maximised: I'm hoping to get a 75-80l capacity in my 500 aux tank (it also has a bodylift so this will help in addition to the extra few inches in length). In both cases I have had a protection plate made up for them (although none of the commercially-available ones offer this option: I don't know why they don't). If you want to come down to have a look at my 300TD - which is effectively a 'standard' aux tank (fitted to a car with a standard exhaust set up) - let me know as I live about an hours drive from you.
Phileas
Forgot to mention but my mechanic friend who repaired the hangers is a long time Landie enthusiast. He said he'd never worked on a G Wagen before or seen one so close up. He was really impressed with the overall build quality and couldn't believe that my G500 is 12 years old ...... concluded by saying that a similar age LR would be extremely tatty in comparison ......
Phileas,
Interesting to read about the tanks. 75L would be a nice size. So are you making the tank pass over the rear circular cross member towards the exhaust? Sounds like it. The Entdecker Gs use a reversable transfer pump to avoid having to install a second filler. You turn it on when filling the car and it transfer it to the aux tank. When the main tank has used the volume of the aux tank ~60L you transfer the whole lot back. I'd like to see both the tanks when you have finished the 500, maybe come down during the warmer weather :)
Roly
Hi Roly,
Still working out exact configuration to be honest! When I'm finished I'll send you a pm. Otherwise, the transfer pump arrangement that you mentioned is a good idea: I will look into it.
Thanks,
Phileas
JOIN THE GWOA
This website and forum are provided for the benefit of enthusiasts and owners of all Mercedes Benz off road vehicles, in particular the G Wagen. The costs of development, upkeep and provision of the site are met entirely by the annual subscriptions of club members. If you are using the site and are not a member of the G Wagen Owners Association please consider joining. You will have access to areas on the site that are not open to non members, to club trips and meetings and to technical assistance. In addition your contribution (only £25 annually) will help us maintain and develop our website for future users.
Who's new
- Jaffa_JIM_23
- Wrabstar
- GG
- KTMSCANIA22
- 280ge
Thanks for the help everyone.
My G500 is a late 1999 model, first registered Jan 2000. I think it's the original exhaust and is currently looking tired around the end of the final large muffler where the two pipes enter and exit under the near side. In addition, the 2 rear most hangers are on their last legs so that the exhaust is currently stopped from dropping to the ground by the chassis rails ..... I have now had a mechanic friend look it over today. He's making up with some u shaped steel replacement bits for the hangers which he'll weld to the exhaust and can then be bolted on to the part of the hangers that are still ok if that makes sense.He thought the slightly dodgy muffler would be good for a while yet - hopefully see me through this Winter.