Can I put a jack on my exhaust crossover and bend it up a little?

[dlm_jku]

I have a feeling this is a bad idea, but I was wondering if it would be possible to put a jack on my exhaust (at the lowest point shown in this photo) to slightly bend it so it's maybe 1/4" to 1/2" higher? It doesn't appear to be supported anywhere near there. Will it give/bend if pressed, or am I likely to compromise a joint somewhere or cause cracking? The problem is I have maybe an 1/8" gap when my aluminum skids were installed and I've gotten turtled a couple times bad enough that there was constant contact and I had to remove the skids to bend them back out some.

 

[wayoflife]

Potentially a bad idea as it can break somewhere like at the flange or at the very least, damage the gasket and cause a leak. That said, I've hit my cross over tons of times on the rocks and it's pretty beat up. Of course, I do have an exhaust leak now too LOL

 

[kevman65]

Can't attest to the JK, but on the JL and JT the catalytic convertor is just above that exhaust flange and over the upper CA mount. Bad place to apply leverage.

 

[TrailHunter]

I had this problem and would get a rattle after a trail run.... First time I bent the skid back... second time I just added a shim to drop the skid. Hasn't been an issue since.

 

[Bierpower]

If I were going to do that because I had no other option I would get it good and hot and then brace it up to the body where I wanted the bend to reduce stress on other parts. If you just lift with the jack that exhaust is only solid mounted at the engine. Everything else is rubber hangers. That can cause some catastrophic problems in a hurry. Best bet would be to have a weld shop put a slice in it and weld the gap shut. That would buy you a 1/4" or so and far less chance of ruining things.

 

[OverlanderJK]

Take out those exhaust spacers you have in there. They aren’t necessary especially with the aftermarket driveshaft.

 

[The BAD Influence]

Take out those exhaust spacers you have in there. They aren’t necessary especially with the aftermarket driveshaft.

This is the correct way to fix your issue. As soon as I installed an aftermarket driveshaft I removed the exhaust spacers.

 

[McLeadslinger]

That’s asking to potentially break exhaust studs. I’d just have a shop modify you exhaust

 

[dlm_jku]

Take out those exhaust spacers you have in there. They aren’t necessary especially with the aftermarket driveshaft.

Good point. The previous owner must have done that, I upgraded the shaft and added skids later, so didn't even consider that the exhaust had been modified.