Downpipe alignment after PTU replaced

66 Galaxie

New member
Just had PTU replaced under warranty and now driver's side downpipe (stock) seems to be 1-2" lower than before. Call me crazy but I recall the stock downpipes being the same height from the ground and similar distance from the belly pan. Pics attached.
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I hope the drivers side DP was installed correctly?? R U able to install the belly pan cover? something is a miss,make sure the bolts are on tight. Z
 
ZSHO said:
I hope the drivers side DP was installed correctly?? R U able to install the belly pan cover? something is a miss.  Z
The belly pan is installed and the clearance is not great.  The Flex pipe is also not nice and straight like the passenger side since it needs to compensate for the lowered pipe.

Any idea if the front joint has any adjustability to it?  A few degrees there would probably be enough to line it up.

Gotta love dealer work...
 
Here are my stock DP for reference which are identical to the flex and as mentioned above something is a miss such as a bolt or two,below are my stock DP with 2k on them,hope this helps any.Pics below .Z 

Drivers side
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Passenger side
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Thanks Z.  Looks like the front joint is a ball type with a flange so it should be adjustable. :-)

Working with the dealer over the phone and email to get them to agree to take care of it.  Worst case scenario I'll put it up on ramps and readjust it. Probably take me 5-10 minutes.
 
Definitely looks mis-alligned.

On the stock pipes, the flange that mates the front to the turbo, triangle with 3 bolts, is a PITA to get correct, due to the O2 sensor location on both sides (wideband O2). It is almost directly in front of one of the bolts.

On aftermarket downpipes this is corrected, and they are much easier to bolt up to the turbo.

When my dad and I installed my SW downpipes, it was a real pain getting the stock ones off due to the O2 sensor, but we managed. We bolted in the front of the downpipes slightly, then the rear, then tightened the front, and finally tightened the rear. Much easier with a second person to apply pressure. My SW pipes also are both one piece, so that makes install much easier.

Putting the car on ramps should afford you what you need. I would loosen the back flange, and middle, get the middle squared away, and then re-tighten the back. Double check connection to the turbo as well, as a leak there would be detrimental to performance.
 
Dealer has agreed to adjust it properly and check the alignment since the subframe was dropped.  Now I just need to find the time to take it back.
 
Just got email from service manager saying he thinks it is designed to be low and put the Flex joint in a stressed position...classic approach so I'm predicting they drop the ball and I have to align it myself.

Saturday I may go take a few pictures of exhausts on some flexes starting with the new '16 on their lot.
 
66 Galaxie said:
Just got email from service manager saying he thinks it is designed to be low and put the Flex joint in a stressed position...classic approach so I'm predicting they drop the ball and I have to align it myself.

Saturday I may go take a few pictures of exhausts on some flexes starting with the new '16 on their lot.

Good idea on the pictures, I can not confirm 100% but I want to say that the part that is low in your pictures, is actually supposed to be turned ~90 degrees to the inside of the car, and sitting at the same height as and next to the other pipe.
 
My thinking is that all it needs is to loosen the front joint adjust the pipe up and straighten the front joint.  If I do it I figure it's about a 10 minute job but since the dealer messed up its their job to fix it.
If they don't do it right then I'll just do it and not give them any more business as well as guide my friends, co-workers and clients to other dealers.  ;-)

 
Here is a PDF on the 13 Taurus PTU-Install and removal with and without oil cooler and you will find some interesting characteristics.  Z

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8JUL90DXgdiMDRVVDhUUE9DRlN5TlAxWW5FX1picnE5SlNj/view?usp=sharing
 
Predictably the dealer is happy with it as long as it isn't touching the belly pan so I will just need to take 10 minutes of my own time to adjust it.
 
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