chassis crossmember 200tdi

maybe a silly qustion, can i remove it for ease to put in my downpipe? or will it just fall apart?? feeling real crap as cant even finnish a simple exhuast change....
plus a wanna get finnish'd and go to landy show

You can remove most things from a land rover without it having any structural impact whilst the vehicle is stationary. The front or gear box cross member is just bolted into place. Jack up your gearbox to provide some additional support and then unbolt the bugger. You'll probably have to hit it out from above or lever it some how. you can lift the seat bottoms up in the cab and remove the panels to get access (to some extent). I wouldn't entertain removing it as a permanent fix though. It's there for a reason. The more 'runs' there are in the ladder chassis, the stronger it is. If you can't get the down pipe around the cross member, chop it with an angle grinder and buy a length of stainless steel flexi pipe to join the bits you want to connect. It works well!

Exhausts are one of the most frustrating jobs, so don't let it get to you!
-Pos

pos said:

You can remove most things from a land rover without it having any structural impact whilst the vehicle is stationary. The front or gear box cross member is just bolted into place. Jack up your gearbox to provide some additional support and then unbolt the bugger. You'll probably have to hit it out from above or lever it some how. you can lift the seat bottoms up in the cab and remove the panels to get access (to some extent). I wouldn't entertain removing it as a permanent fix though. It's there for a reason. The more 'runs' there are in the ladder chassis, the stronger it is. If you can't get the down pipe around the cross member, chop it with an angle grinder and buy a length of stainless steel flexi pipe to join the bits you want to connect. It works well!

Exhausts are one of the most frustrating jobs, so don't let it get to you!
-Pos

Click to expand...

hi thanks for the lift up mate.. so low that i couldnt do it

so you reckon i can remove the front cross member squeeze the exhuast in and put it all back in place and it will all hold together???

i started this job at 10am this morning and just gave in... shower time and a cider!!

so mad i can cry.... i'll try that idea me thinks......

and i wont get to landy show so so sick i am missing it tmrw!!!!

surely i am doing some thing wrong if it wont go in or do you have to remove the cross member to fit a down pipe????

Most of the time, there is a logical and sensible solution to any land Rover problem, but you're currently in the situation where you're so wound up and generally ****ed off with the thing that you can't see it. I've been in situations similar to yours, where I've not been able to see a workable solution to what seems like a simple problem. A few hours concentrating on something else usually freshens you up and you'll look at the problem again and think "It's soo bloody obvious!", don't worry about it! If worst comes to worse, some one will come along and lend you a hand - never pay a mechanic!!!

Back to the problem. What actually are you having trouble with? I can picture you trying to fit the down pipe by feeding it down the right hand side of the engine and then trying to wiggle it over the cross member. In theory, it should just slide in. What exactly is preventing it from fitting and why? Look at the situation and assess it.

1) Can you position the down pipe so that it mates up with the exhaust manifold?

2) Is the pipe too long to tuck under the bulkhead (foot well area) and over the cross member at the same time?

3) Is the down pipe too close the the bulkhead to mate with the exhaust manifold?

You don't need to worry about the chassis caving in if you remove the cross member. You might find that the nuts and bolts holding the cross member in place are quite difficult to take out, but have patience with them, or just cut the ends off and then knock the bolt through. DO REMEMBER to support the gear box with a jack though. I don't think that cross member actually supports the cross member its self, but it's there to do so if it drops etc!

-Pos

Have a read of this: 200 Tdi Conversion

If you scroll down to the bottom, he mentions that he has to remove the gearbox cross member to get his down pipe to fit

Take it out, NOTHING is going to fall apart, unless of course your chassis is a rusted mess, you don't even need the gearbox crossmember for road driving - it is only there to stop the chassis rails torquing during axle twisting.

shes gone on the back of a recovery wagon... i dont have the right tools and needed it as its a the main car in the family.

it broke me... i was mad!! oh well i learn quick!!