The $15 ratchet strap trick that saved my old Ford's exhaust for 6 months now

My 2001 F-150's exhaust pipe broke off right behind the catalytic converter last October. Every shop wanted $300+ to weld a new section in, and the truck's not worth that. I tried a coat hanger first but it snapped after two days. Finally I grabbed a heavy duty ratchet strap from Harbor Freight for $15 and looped it around the frame and the pipe to hold it up. It's been holding solid through rain and potholes ever since. Has anyone else used a weird fix like this that actually worked out better than the proper repair?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris5749d ago

Honestly my buddy did this on his '02 Ram where the muffler hanger rusted clean through. He grabbed a metal coat hanger and some baling wire from his grandpa's barn, twisted it all together to hold the pipe up. It looked like a total mess but that thing lasted him through two Wisconsin winters before he finally sold the truck. The new owner kept it going for another year too.

caleb_thomas939d ago

My buddy did almost the exact same thing on his '99 Silverado last winter. He used a pair of those heavy duty zip ties from the hardware store and they're still holding the muffler up after 8 months. Sometimes the cheap fixes just work better than you'd expect, especially on older trucks that aren't worth dumping real money into.