Exhaust Pipe fell off, now key won't turn

2439 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Gottagofast, Jan 17, 2018

36Chambers

Discussion Starter · Jan 16, 2018

Hi guys.......first time poster on here, but have been reading and learning from all of you for many years now. I was usually able to resolve any problems I've had either by reading posts on here or by having a friend help me out. Sadly, I've now moved and am not near him, and I cannot find an answer to this rather odd situation I have found myself in.

Background:
1995 Jeep Wrangler YJ, Automatic transmission (I know, I know.....I miss my old manual Jeep but my dad has an issue that prevents him from driving stick shift and this Jeep was bought for him to be able to join the nieces and nephews when we all go to the beach!).

Anyway......I admit, I am not very familiar with vehicles, although I've tried to learn as much as I could over the years helping my buddy do the repairs. So forgive my ignorance if some of my inquiries sound a little bit dumb lol.
I'll try to be as descriptive as I can with what happened, and what I did to try to fix it.......and I will take some pictures in the morning when the sun comes up and I can get back out there to try o figure things out. For now I'm sitting here unable to sleep due to this rather perplexing situation (well, to me anyway.......I really hope this makes sense to some of you and you can guide me with how to solve it).

Soooo..........here we go......this is where the problem began:

I was driving home one day on a quiet little road. Suddenly, it sounded as tho I was being approached by a monster truck and was about to be run over. Seeing as how I was the only person on the road, I realized quickly that was not the case and it was in fact my Jeep that was making all the racket. I pulled over to investigate, and discovered that my exhaust had somehow rattled loose, right where the pipe enters what I believe is the catalytic converter from the front. I was close to my house, so I limped her home and use bungee cords to hold up the back half of the exhaust so that I could drive to the mechanic and at least not lose it.

He looked at it and said that it was fine to drive like that, but he could weld it on for me. Now, I am a substitute teacher currently, and having christmas break just pass, I have not worked much lately and decided to deal with the loudness until I could afford to have him weld it on. Then, I decided to try to fix it myself to save money and since I don't always have work.......which was apparently a huge mistake at this point lol.

I was simply going to use some muffler cement, get some pipe, and reconnect it. Watched a few youtube videos, read on the forums, and it seemed simple enough. It didnt have to be perfect, and in New Jersey 1995 and earlier Jeeps never need to be inspected again, so small leaks arent really a big deal to me. I just didnt want it to be so loud.

So. I got the parts, and got under there this morning. The only thing I did really was prepare the part of the pipe where it had broken off (right at the catalytic converter) to be reattached. I took the skid plate down so I could easily wiggle everything back together. I then fitted some pipe to make it connect, and put it all together. I hung the muffler and tailpipe back up on the brackets and took the bungee cords off. I did NOT cement anything yet......just dry fitted it together. I wanted to see how it sounded before I glued anything and decided to turn the Jeep on to see. But, when I went to do that......

The key went in, but would not budge at all. I mean at all. My old jeep used to get stuck sometimes and had to be wiggled around to get it to turn sometimes but this Jeep had never had that problem before. So I wiggled and jiggled it, but it wouldnt budge. So i decided to see if anything was visibly wrong. The steering wheel was also locked in place.

I noticed that the knob that you use to shift from 2WD to 4Wd was suspiciously lower than it was prior to my muffler "repair". Why? I have no clue, and did not really mess with anything on or around that part other than removing the bolts to take the skid plate down.

I looked underneath where the shifter knob comes down and it looked ok, but then again, I've never specifically looked under there at it to know what it looked llke prior to all of this.

So I guess my questions begin with a few things:
1. At this point, I still did not put the skid plate back up because I simply wanted to turn it on and see if I had resolved the loudness. Would that somehow cause the steering wheel to lock up and the key to not turn?

2. Is there anything I can do to try to get the key to turn ?

3. Is there some phenomenon I was unaware of that causes these things to happen if you simply reattach a muffler lol?

I am completely baffled by this.......I again apologize for my lack of knowledge, and for the length of this description......

As soon as the sun comes up, I will take pictures of as much as I possibly can and post them on here for you to see what I am babbling about........

I will truly appreciate any and all advice any of you have to offer......

Thanks in advance!!!

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Gottagofast

· #2 · Jan 16, 2018

The skid plate is what supports the transmission and transfer case.... when you lowered it you lowered them... that is why your shifter is low and why your key THANKFULLY wouldn't turn.... your transmission has moved away from the shift linkage and is no longer in park....
Jack the skid plate back up.... support the rear of engine and back of the transfer case with jack stands, unbolt the skid plate from the transfer case and remove it...

Don't try to start your engine until the skid plate is bolted back in place.

Then do not use ANYTHING called cement anywhere on an exhaust system.... use steel pipe and steel clamps or weld.

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36Chambers

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 16, 2018

Well my friend, thank you kindly for your prompt and knowledgable*response to my apparently very foolish, self inflicted dilemma lol.

For future reference, is that the proper way to remove the skid plate every time I guess? By using jack stands to support it? Do you think I have done any damage to anything by making this rookie mistake? Is the key not turning a safety feature, or is it simply not turning because everything is out of alignment?

As far as the cement goes.......yes sir. I will return it to the store immediately. And you're saying I can just use clamps to attach the pipe again? It came off right at the entrance to the catalytic converter.......is there a specific type of clamp for this? Or should I simply get it welded when I have the money in a week or two? I guess if the clamps are cheap and you think they will work sufficiently, I can use those to clamp it together and hope it holds until that time.

This Jeep is mainly for driving slow speeds on the beach for when I go fishing.......so I think the clamps will hold up for a while at least and hopefully I won't scare all the fishies away when I pull up lol.

Thanks again for your help; You are officially my new hero lol.

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Luckymac

· #4 · Jan 16, 2018

I appreciate your efforts to do what you can to keep your Jeep running at a time when money is an issue. We've all been there.

The above advice by Gottagofast is spot on. Your key not turning isn't a safety feature, it's a blessing caused by misalignment of your shift linkage.

If I wanted to remove my skid plate/transmission crossmember, I'd support the transfer case with a floor jack and then remove the bolts and set the skid plate aside. That will provide working access to the area of concern.

Apparently what's happened is the front pipe of the cat has rusted off. As far as I know, there isn't any clamp that can attach the pipe to the cat.
To the best of my knowledge, the best fix is to replace the cat. The second best repair is weld the pipe back in place, but I expect that would be a temporary repair.

If you have another vehicle, I suggest you save money as you can and lay the Jeep up until you can afford a new cat. If the Jeep is your primary transportation, put everything back together and go to the mechanic that offered to weld the pipe. Ask if there is some service you can offer as trade to do the repair. Perhaps Mr. Mechanic has youngsters that could benefit from tutoring or if you're competent in IT, he may need some business computer services. Clean the toilets if you have to.
When I had my shop, if someone came to me with your dilemma, I'd find something for the guy to do that would be within his capabilities if I needed the help or not.

Other posters may have more or better advice.

Good Luck, L.M.

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Sahara805

· #5 · Jan 16, 2018

All that stuff rots from the inside out. Nothing worth patching or saving. I'd say either find an old time muffler shop in the crappiest part of town or shop online for a new bolt up exhaust to put in.(Don't forget to calculate the $$$ for your time and any possible #*&$-ups.(See your story from above))
FYI; I recently had my whole Exh replace from the Manifold by the engine to the tailpipe for $300.00. I drove it there leaking and loud and left a couple hours later shiny and quiet.

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Gottagofast

· #6 · Jan 16, 2018

Yes you always need to support the drivetrain to remove the skidplate

You MAY have done damage but there's a pretty fair chance it'll all be ok
The key isn't turning because the transmission is hanging from the shift linkage putting it in a bind as if you were pulling down on the shift lever very hard.... it's not good but don't sweat it just yet.... get it jacked back up asap

I'd say a shift linkage adjustment will be needed before trying to start it as the linkage may be bent a little

Maybe post up some pics of your broken exhaust so we can see what you have going on.

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Ghasel

· #7 · Jan 16, 2018

Man, I hate to be the guy and I really don't want to be but after reading your post I'd suggest you leave anything beyond filling your gas tank to someone else with knowledge. You nearly went from an exhaust pipe repair to much, much worse. I'm no mechanic but I know my limitations and knowing that is very important.

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Luckymac

· #8 · Jan 16, 2018

Ghasel said:
Man, I hate to be the guy and I really don't want to be but after reading your post I'd suggest you leave anything beyond filling your gas tank to someone else with knowledge. You nearly went from an exhaust pipe repair to much, much worse. I'm no mechanic but I know my limitations and knowing that is very important.

I can't tell you how many things I've messed up from trying and learning.
Learning can be expensive. But, now I have some experience and can do many repairs on my vehicles that others have to pay to get done.

I think if OP wants to continue with learning, he should post his plans here and ask for advice prior to picking up a wrench.
That, or follow the heartfelt and proper advice of Ghasel.

Good Luck, L.M.

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DryCreek

· #9 · Jan 17, 2018 (Edited)

Now would be a great time to add a piece of straight pipe to the muffler!
Quick and <cheap> cost effective.

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36Chambers

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 17, 2018

Hey guys......sorry I didn’t get on to reply today I wound up having a busy day and didn’t get to even look at anything until later.

You have all been amazing with helping me understand this problem.

I did attempt to get everything back up briefly, using floor jacks and jack stands as instructed; however, I just could not seem to get everything to line up all at the same time and decided I didn’t want to continue my path of destruction lol.

As supportive as everyone has been, I was waiting for someone to pop on and tell me that I should have known better lol. And I earned that comment. As far as me doing nothing more than pumping my own gas......I challenge him to come here and pump his own gas. He will quickly find out that in New Jersey, they don’t even let you pump your gas lol!

And as someone also said, making mistakes is quite an effective way to learn. When I was a full time teacher, I always got a kick out of students in other classrooms who would get 105% on their tests; this is 5% better then perfect, and no one is perfect. Was funny to me to always include a one point question that was impossible to answer.......kids who usually got 100% or higher all the time in past years would be so upset......but my point was to teach them that no one is perfect.

A friend of mine did wind up stopping over, and helped me get the tranny jacked back up to roughly where it should be but that was all that we accomplished . and we barely got that done. His uncle is good with this kind of thing and he is going to see if he will come over to st least help me figure out if I ****ed anything up and where things should go. So hopefully that will happen soon.

The last comment, about the straight pipe.....I’m not 100% sure what you meant. Do you mean omit the catalytic converters and for straight to the muffler? I was going to ask about that in my first post, but wanted to first understand what the hell was going on lol. As I stated earlier, this Jeep never needs any kind of inspection again, so omitting the catalytic converter would not really be an issue if that’s an easy fix.

Shit, if anyone knows how I can just undo everything I’ve done, and go back to the loud Jeep that worked, I’d be thrilled lol.

Right now I’m falling asleep typing this......snow is coming tonight. So it Looks like I’ll have a day tomorrow of researching more, reading as much as I can and trying to make a game plan as to what I should do.

Thanks again for all your help so far; even the guy who told me to pump my gas lol. It made me laugh, because as I said New Jersey doesn’t allow that for whatever weird reason. Which is kind of a nice thing as it’s much easier.....until you pull up to a gas station in another state and sit there waiting for someone to pump because you forgot lol.

Anyway, sorry for the long message again. I always tend to ramble.

I Look forward to becoming a contributing member to these forums, as the advice and response I have already received far surpassed what I was expecting.

So thanks again.

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Gottagofast

· #11 · Jan 17, 2018

You have a heated garage to work in? If so I'll fix it for 2 round trip plane tickets and a certificate for a deep sea charter trip this summer when I'll use the second round trip ticket lol.... not a lot of mahi mahi here in Indiana

Yes you could run a straight pipe....

I'm all for you learning and doing yourself but I do have to admit, pump gas guy got me thinking.... run your plans by us.... you let your students make mistakes to learn but if you thought they were in danger you'd step in.... I just imagined if the transmission and transfer case had fallen on you.... OR take advantage of the local folks being there..... hey bob, can I help you with that? That way I'll feel better calling you this weekend to help me with the jeep 😎

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Ghasel

· #12 · Jan 17, 2018

I meant what I said, and I said that because I'm honestly concerned. Part of it was sarcastic and meant to be funny but hey

I have learned many lessons since I started turning wrenches. Some were expensive lessons. It's a hard place to be when you don't have the knowledge to fix something yourself, or the money to pay someone with knowledge. Only advice I can give is make friends with people with some mechanical knowledge or really, really do some research and come to forum FIRST for advice. (not after you almost drop half your drive terrain on the ground).

Another thing I've learned is that having the right tools is half the battle...

I hope you get your situation figured out!

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entropy319

· #13 · Jan 17, 2018

Ghasel said:
I meant what I said, and I said that because I'm honestly concerned. Part of it was sarcastic and meant to be funny but hey

I have learned many lessons since I started turning wrenches. Some were expensive lessons. It's a hard place to be when you don't have the knowledge to fix something yourself, or the money to pay someone with knowledge. Only advice I can give is make friends with people with some mechanical knowledge or really, really do some research and come to forum FIRST for advice. (not after you almost drop half your drive terrain on the ground).

Another thing I've learned is that having the right tools is half the battle...

I hope you get your situation figured out!

X2

Wrenching is an incredibly rewarding hobby, and don't let one near miss deter you from trying something again in the future...especially if you have a friend with a heated garage.

You'll find that with the right tools (many of which can be borrowed/rented), there's almost nothing you can't do in your own garage--including some really big, heavy, crazy stuff, like engine and transmission swaps. Just takes time, patience, and a willingness to seek out help. The YJ is a great vehicle to get into this kind of thing with: they sit up high, so it's easy to get underneath and look around, the engine compartment has enough room to crawl inside and take a nap in so most of the time it's pretty easy to work in there. Things do tend to break, so there's ample opportunity to practice. And there is a huge community of people who geek out on the YJ online so if there's something you want to do to your rig, you can almost guarantee that someone else has done it to theirs and made a video about it. Worst case scenario you can find a detailed walk through in the forums.

Do your best to use Wrangler/YJ specific videos/walkthroughs, though. There are a lot quirks about the YJ that make it quite a bit different than other vehicles...like the skid plate that moonlights as a crossmember.

And X1000 on the tools. You can spend an hour doing something with the wrong tool that takes 10 seconds with the right tool. A lot of the specialty tools are available to rent for free at the big box auto parts stores, and a lot of the other tools various jobs call for you can order online or get cheap ones from harbor freight that will get you by in a pinch (though they may or may not make it through your next job).

I'm the kind of person who would always rather fix something old than buy something new anyway, and if you get to a base level of knowledge and skill with this sort of thing, you can basically maintain a vehicle indefinitely.

People (mostly my dad, but still, people) always whine about how they pour money into their old vehicles and that's why they want new ones, with warranties. That's all well and good, but you still have a car payment, and you still have full coverage insurance. A big chunk of my motivation for learning this stuff was that I couldn't stomach another car payment. And I've done the math. I've got a 96 4Runner with a quarter million miles on it in addition to my Jeep, and even factoring in cost the tools I've bought, the total cost over the time I've owned them isn't even in the same ballpark as what a monthly car note/insurance payment would be. What I don't factor in is the value of my time (because this is a hobby for me, and it's fun). It's fairly expensive to own an old vehicle if you take it to the shop all the time (though I'm still not convinced it would be more expensive than a car payment), but if you don't mind spending a weekend here or there getting dirty and turning wrenches, you can save yourself a mountain of money in the long run.

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Gottagofast

· #14 · Jan 17, 2018

Yeah I laugh at " this pos cost me over $1500 in repairs last year sniff sniff cry cry" ok get a new one and spend $800 a month..... huge savings there lol

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