Hello everyone. I am new to the brickboard, and was hoping someone could instruct me on the installation of a new "over the axel" exhaust mfg. by Volvo. I was told by my mechanic that you have to unbolt the gas tank, and run the pipe from the resonator to the muffler. I couldn't get the tank to lower enough ( because of the gas pipe from the tank to the female end of the gas collector). How can I get the pipe through this small area, and does it even take this route? Please help!
~Andy (1989 244, Jeremiah)

I installed an over-the-axle pipe; I got it in without major problems, and certainly without dropping the gas tank (!!!). I don't recall what angle I approached it from, but I think starting from the rear made the most sense. Lift the car by the frame and let the axle hang to give you plenty of room.

I had a resonator replaced under warranty by Volvo. The first bit of bad news was the resonator was no longer available as a separate item, but only as part of a cat-back exhaust kit. The good news was all these extra pieces weren't going to cost me a dime. No problem I thought, the rest of my exhaust was fairly new and in great shape, I'd just replace the resonator and keep the pipe and muffler for spares. But nooOOOOooo, they want ALL the 'old' pieces back in order to claim for warranty replacement. Okay, whatever, I'll replace the whole works...

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line and for whatever reason Volvo changed the pipe routing from under- to over-the-axle. What that meant was the outlet on the replacement resonator takes a quick bend upwards to join up with the exhaust pipe. So even if I didn't want to I had little choice but to replace a near-new under-axle pipe with the over-axle pipe from the kit.

More bad news was the new pipe runs beside the gas tank and some kind of shield that runs below the frame behind the brake caliper. There is very little room in that space; the pipe is probably about an inch away from the gas tank, and about half an inch away from that shield. Rerouting an exhaust pipe to run that close to the gas tank makes me think this was a classic Ford move (think Pinto).

No matter how many times I've tried to "finesse" things around, the pipe keeps banging against the shield, so my next move will be to grind a section of the shield away or remove it altogether to keep the pipe from rubbing and to keep my sanity. A hack for sure. And that bend in the rear sway bar is now decidedly non-functional and awkward looking.

I sure wish Volvo had left things alone. This new design is a POS. Sure I got the resonator replaced under warranty, but I also got more than I bargained for. If you can still get an under-axle system by all means go that route. When it comes time to replace mine that's what I'll be doing.

Thanks for your help. It turns out that the metal piece next to the gas tank is supposed to be taken off, so that there isn't rubbing. My mechanic meant that you're supposed to take off the two bolts that hold the gas tank and the metal piece on (there are two more bolts that hold this piece on). My mechanic also said that this piece is there as part of the crumple zone system. In an accident it makes sure the metal crumples the right way. This technique of taking this piece off is used by Volvo dealerships.

Good to know - thanks. I wasn't positive what those pieces were for, but since they are on both sides of the car and look like they would mash against the calipers in a rear end collision, I did have a strong hunch they formed part of the crumple zone. Not wanting to tamper with an integral safety feature such as that - from a car legendary for its safety - is the reason I've been so reluctant to remove them.

It is a disappointing to hear that Volvo mechanics are routinely removing a collision brace for the sake of a rerouted exhaust pipe. I sure wish I knew what their logic is.

Cheers.

You are working on a 1989 244, right? And your mechanic told you that you needed an over-the-rear-axle exhaust pipe?

Find another mechanic. I haven't seen anything but under-the-axle pipe on all my 240s, from 1979 to 1988. My parts books confirm this.

You can get a complete cat-back system from fpcgroton.com (Brickboard advertiser) for around $115. Easy job. BTDT

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)