This is the do it yourself guide for crafting your own budget FWD 3800 Ubend delete. I’ll be taking you step by step showing you the whole process for making your very own Ubend delete; this helps with exhaust flow, saves you money and it frees up power too 😉!
Doing this has proven results shown from ZZPreformance, other 3800 enthusiasts and myself(stay tuned for the end)! If you are anything like me you like to take things into your own hands and make some parts yourself!
If you don’t feel capable of doing this yourself or you do not have access to a welder or a friend wiling to weld, you can purchase your own Ubend deletes online.
Materials
There a few tools and materials you will need to make this process happen:
- Welder.
- Welding equipment.
- Angle grinder or hack saw.
- Weldable O2 Bung.
- Exhaust pipe (2.5″ will work well).
- Drill and Drill bits.
- Wrenches/socket set
It also does not hurt to have a hammer, flat head screwdriver, high heat or barbecue paint and some penetrating oil too. Having penetrating oil will be almost a necessity for your likely corroded exhaust especially around your resonator which has seen more of the elements than your manifold!
The Construction
Step 1) Removal
First you are going to want to jack your car up! Use your E-brake, wheel chocks and jack-stands to ensure you are being safe especially if you are not using a car lift to do so!
Make sure your car is nice and high so you can have plenty of room to move around under it as needed!
Locate your downpipe and decide if you will be removing your whole exhaust or simply unbolting it at the resonator. In my case I removed the whole exhaust becuase my resonator bolts were stuck!
You will need to undo your rear O2 sensor (I unbolted it to pull my exhaust out first, and then unplugged it completely after my exhaust was out) and once you have either unbolted your resonator or unhooked your exhaust system you will need to set down your car and unbolt your upper section of the downpipe from your manifold!
- Raise car.
- Unbolt Downpipe from resonator or unhook exhaust hangers.
- Remove O2 sensor.
- Lower car.
- Unbolt downpipe from rear manifold.
- Pull out exhaust section/system (may need to re-jack car for this).
Step 2) Measure
Draw a line with a measuring stick across your Downpipe, far enough over each end so that you’ll be able to use it to straighten your pipes later!
Step 3) Disassemble
Decided where you will be making your cuts and measure the distance between so you know how long your new pipe needs to be!
I cut my catalytic converter out completely because it was already smashed out before. I don’t recommend this from a legal standpoint I’m just showing power potential only!
You can still get great power form a high flow performance catalytic converter and not interfere with laws either!
This is what all my pieces look like cut.
Note: The line extends onto the resonator (it also extends onto the Downpipe) so that I will be able to line it up straight later!
Next cut off your exhaust hanger bracket to weld on later. You’ll need this so you can reuse your exhaust hangers!
Step 4) Ubend delete pipe
Cut your mid pipe that you will be using as your Ubend replacement!
Here is my cut to length, 2.5″ exhaust pipe which I’ll be using as my Ubend delete.
Step 5) Fabricating new pipe
Start welding your pieces together. Here is the order you should follow:
Make your first weld against the inlet section of your Downpipe. Make sure it is nice and parallel so that it does not stick out to the sides or tilt unevenly up or down!
After, make your second weld (the most important of the two) against the output flange.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the lines from the downpipe and resonator/flange line up straight; having these aligned will ensure your Downpipe is not twisted or tilted to the side!
I would also recommend jacking up the side where the inlet is with some wood while you make the second weld because it sits slightly higher from factory because of the catalytic converter!
Step 6) O2 bung install
After your exhaust is welded up, you will need to drill the hole for your O2 bung to be welded on. This is most commonly on the passenger side of the vehicle just slightly tipped down from 90 degrees to the side.
NOTE: I used my original exhaust piece to judge how far I needed my O2 hole drilled!
If your wire is not on the passenger make sure you drill the hole on the side where you see your wire is located!
This is what the O2 bung looks like placed in the correct spot before I welded it!
These are the O2 bungs I bought! https://zzperformance.com/products/o2-bung?_pos=5&_sid=31cee8cb1&_ss=r (I am not sponsored but these are the pieces I used and that fit)!
Weld on your O2 bung and your exhaust hanger too.
IMPORTANT: Your exhaust hanger must be welded on the BOTTOM in the orientation seen in the picture (Hooks facing the ground) this is so your hangers can properly hold your exhaust in place!
Step 7) Finish
After I had everything welded together and test fitted properly I then sprayed all my welds with a thick coat of high heat silver paint so that the metal takes longer to corrode and looks nicer longer!
Step 8) Reinstall
Now it’s time to put your hard work to the test. Reinstall and test fit your parts!
- Start by screwing in your O2 sensor.
- Then bolt your upper Downpipe to your manifold lightly (Allow wiggle room).
- Bolt your Downpipe to your resonator, or hang the rest of your exhaust up.
- Plug your O2 sensor in if it was disconnected.
- Hang your resonator using your rubber hangers.
- Tighten down your manifold bolts to your resonator.
NOTE:Your O2 sensor will throw a code if you removed your cat, so if you run into this issue some people on forums have found a solution to this by using another piece to distance(space) the O2 sensor from the flow of exhaust. I will let you discover that on your own. Use it at your own cost!
There you go, this is how you create your very own budget friendly 3800 UBend delete! And now I’ll show you the performance benefits I got from it!
Results
The dip in your exhaust on 3800’s is arguably one of the worst design flaws on your car and this is a critical part to fix on your exhaust when you start making horsepower!
Here are my results:
I went from 7.98 to 7.62 0-100kmh (roughly the same as 0-62mph 😉). This gave me approximately 0.36 seconds gains from the initial 0-100kmh time. That is pretty incredible considering all you had to do was insert a new pipe into your exhaust system!
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this article, I hope you found it helpful! if you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the steps, the materials, or the tools used feel free to reach out in the comments. Also don’t feel shy to reach out VIA email or any other social media platform if you want to talk me privately!
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