Decat downpipe and centre silencer section

Hi all

After lots of research I have decided to take the plunge and buy a de-cat section and centre silencer section of exhaust for my '51 manual TD5.
I want to free up some power and I like to hear the turbo whistle!

However, where from??? There is so much variance between price (which seems to be based on the grade of stainless steel). I want something that will do the job, not cost an arm & a leg but that will last. Brit part do them but after reading posts on this forum about the quality of parts from there, should I stay away. Would a budget of £150 get me both bits?

Also, I think I could fit them myself but have read i'll need to remove a cross member. Is that hard? Any tips?

Any help appreciated.

Hello,

Decat is cheap.
Removing it is easy (acces to the bolts on the turbo can be fiddly)
The crossmembers ar held in place by 2x 4bolts (each)... can't get easier then to undo those.
If your disco is rusty, may want to use some WD40.

Regards, Koen

I,m not sure about removing the centre silencer. ( wontbthis make it noisey ? ).

I wouldnt worry about where you get your decat pipe from. Its just s/s tube with a couple of flanges and a bit of flexi welded on. You,ll be looking at £ 60 odd for this part.

The biggest hassle I had was sheered bolts from the crossmembers. ( drilling out and re-tapping ). Unbolting the old one and bolting the new one in was straight forward.

Del.

my mate has no cat or centre box on his td5 and that sounds real nice, not too loud just nice

broadoakboy said:

Hi all

After lots of research I have decided to take the plunge and buy a de-cat section and centre silencer section of exhaust for my '51 manual TD5.
I want to free up some power and I like to hear the turbo whistle!

However, where from??? There is so much variance between price (which seems to be based on the grade of stainless steel). I want something that will do the job, not cost an arm & a leg but that will last. Brit part do them but after reading posts on this forum about the quality of parts from there, should I stay away. Would a budget of £150 get me both bits?

Also, I think I could fit them myself but have read i'll need to remove a cross member. Is that hard? Any tips?

Any help appreciated.

Click to expand...

If your motor is a 2001, are you sure it has a cat?

I have checked (dragged myself underneath!) and it looks like there is a CAT, a long bulge in the pipe. Perhaps I could take it off and smash the honeycomb insides out!!!
:mil36:

I removed the cat from my ride, watch out for the cross member bolts, get a good 10mm socket that drives on the side of the hex rather than the corners. I had both types and learnt pretty quick that bi-hex sockets round off the bolts very easily. use only the single hex type or like me you will be drilling them out. that aint so easy and a tip would be to use a small drill to weaken them, I used a 4mm in 4 places then a 10mm a normal electric drill runs too fast for any drill above 6 mm when drilling into steel it will blunt a 10mm in very short order.

I have decided to take the plunge, i'm going to buy a decat and centre section.......and fit them myself! I have sprayed the bolts (including those on the cross member) with WD40 in preparation but I have one final question.

Do the separate sections of the exhaust just bolt together or do I need gaskets? i.e. where the downpipe leaves the exhaust, where the downpipe meets the centre section and where the centre section meets the rear silencer?

And should I get new bolts?

Many thanks.

broadoakboy said:

I have decided to take the plunge, i'm going to buy a decat and centre section.......and fit them myself! I have sprayed the bolts (including those on the cross member) with WD40 in preparation but I have one final question.

Do the separate sections of the exhaust just bolt together or do I need gaskets? i.e.:

1. where the downpipe leaves the exhaust,

2. where the downpipe meets the centre section and

3. where the centre section meets the rear silencer?

And

4. should I get new bolts?

Many thanks.

Click to expand...

1. The turbo to downpipe has a gasket - buy new

2. The downpipe to centre box does not have a gasket, it's a turned and milled fit (from memory);

3. The joint between the centre section and the reap pipe has a gasket - buy new;

and

4. Buy all new fixings, they are just nuts iirc.

All NB buy youself a 6-sided(Hex) 10mm socket to remove the crossmembers (I found it a lot easier to do both). If they are difficult to budge, tightening them slightly before undoing them - gets 'em moving !


Easy job if prepared, your car will thank you for it. Be prepared for more noise if installing a straight-through centre section.

Cheers
Dave

Many thanks for the sound (excuse the pun) advice, and ref more noise: - a nice noise though!!

I have been in a TD5 with both sections and it sounded very nice and hardly any extra cabin noise.

Well it took 4 hours, I finished in the dark and I needed to remove 2 cross members but I fitted the de cat section! You can really hear the turbo whistle.

The centre silencer section, forget it! The bolts are so corroded/flaking/rusted i'm going to have to pay kwik Fit to do it I think.

Shame.

broadoakboy said:

Well it took 4 hours, I finished in the dark and I needed to remove 2 cross members but I fitted the de cat section! You can really hear the turbo whistle.

The centre silencer section, forget it! The bolts are so corroded/flaking/rusted i'm going to have to pay kwik Fit to do it I think.

Shame.

Click to expand...

Why pay some untrianed monkey from Kwik fit to cut some bolts off for you?

You can get a 4 1/2" gringer from Machine Mart for less than £20, cut the rusted bolts off, drill new holes and fit new bolts it should take less than an hour and cost a hell of a lot less.

The whole fun of having a landy is going shopping for shiney new tools.

Messed it right up, took hours but all done and it sounds lovely!!!!!

However, going to have to learn to 'lighten' my right foot as I seem to be getting through the fuel because i'm enjoying the increased performance too much!!!

Did the whole lot on my 300tdi Disco last week
Got he De cat pipe with flexi + centre silencer + tail pipe with exhaust from Paddocks
Hardest part was the 3 nuts that hold the down pipe to the manifold (they were tight and 5/16 from memory)
Used grinder to cut off tail pipe and centre box mounts.
New gasket on the down pipe to manifold
Down pipe to centre box only needs exhaust compound to seal before tightening up.
Tail pipe is a push fit into centre pipe with a U bolt (supplied with exhaust) again with some compound to seal.
Even managed to re use the rubbers.
Did the whole lot in less than 5 hours and that was by myself
Have never done an exhaust before so was well pleased with result
My advice is give it a go and save a fortune by doing it yourself
I was quoted €400 for a system + fitting
Paddocks system cost around £100

broadoakboy said:

However, going to have to learn to 'lighten' my right foot as I seem to be getting through the fuel because i'm enjoying the increased performance too much!!!

Click to expand...

Heh, exactly what I was like when i did mine ...

MPG's really improve when you drive at 'normal Landrover pace' again ...