Exhaust Leak-Muffler

[Dookie]

Worked fine, installed them last week with the taper towards the flange, still there and holding.

 

[19BH]

2019 Big Horn, 5.7 eTorque. Noticed the truck sounding louder on cold starts over the last couple of weeks, getting a little worse daily. Finally got a time where I could cold start and check the exhaust, and the gasket between the converter pipe and the muffler is leaking. Exhaust hasnt been touched since it left the factory. Has anyone else run into this? It hardly seems worth the effort to get it fixed under warranty but the only source I have found for the gasket is through OEM sellers.

Same just happened to me. One of the 2 bolts on the flange snapped the head off No mods never touched 21,000 miles taking to dealer next week to repair it ( what a pain)

 

[19BH]

Yes, I've seen one. I'm betting that the only thing holding the two flanges together on your truck were self tapping bolts. Is that correct?

There should be two bolts and two nuts at the flange connection. I think a number of '19s left the factory without the nuts.

Anyway, should be a warranty repair.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 038188 miles.

MIne is same issue and no nutsm just bolts and the head snapped off the one bolt somehow

 

[Dusty1948]

Same just happened to me. One of the 2 bolts on the flange snapped the head off No mods never touched 21,000 miles taking to dealer next week to repair it ( what a pain)

Suggestion: Notify the service advisor/writer that you read there were suppose to be nuts on the bolts.

The correct bolts and nuts are listed in the parts list (Qty 2-6104416AA Bolt; Qty 2-6101696 nut).

The bolts called out in the parts list are longer.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 039648 miles.

 

[GaryT]

The nuts certainly wont hurt anything, but I dont think it will help with the bolts breaking. Mine was rusted, and on a truck that has yet to see any road salt. It appears that the bolts are either too small, or that some trucks have bolts that are of a low quality steel. There is no reason for thes to rust this soon.

 

[MFALRAM]

The nuts certainly wont hurt anything, but I dont think it will help with the bolts breaking. Mine was rusted, and on a truck that has yet to see any road salt. It appears that the bolts are either too small, or that some trucks have bolts that are of a low quality steel. There is no reason for thes to rust this soon.

Just had same issue bolt broke and exhaust got louder and louder. My family owns a shop so I don’t bother bringing it to the dealership on certain things. This is one of them. I do not want poor quality bolts put back in the exhaust again,so had my brother in law put new bolts in it. Next time the bolts come off it’s going to be when I put a Borla S-type exhaust !!!

 

[19BH]

Suggestion: Notify the service advisor/writer that you read there were suppose to be nuts on the bolts.

The correct bolts and nuts are listed in the parts list (Qty 2-6104416AA Bolt; Qty 2-6101696 nut).

The bolts called out in the parts list are longer.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 039648 miles.

Thank you will Do!

 

[BlkLimited22s]

Count me in with broken exhaust bolt on the bottom. Only 18k miles looks like the bolt is in terrible shape. Also the ground strap disintegrated. Unbelievable! What junk! Truck is 2 years old and starting to develop several problems dash bubbling backup camera doesn’t work in the winter time....

 

[Tlaug01]

Same

 

[longjonz]

@Dusty1948 How sure are you that nuts are required? Is it possible that these bolts screw into the flange which has the thread already in the flange, thereby not requiring nuts on the end? I didn't try to turn the bolts, but if the flange is mostly still together like it is in my case, then there has to be something that is keeping the two halves together?

I just recently did this repair and I opted to throw a nut on both bolts just for extra security. Yes the flange is threaded but for a few extra bucks it can’t hurt. I’m in New England and I’m sure the salt and snow played a factor. They completely snapped off and seized.

 

[longjonz]

Count me in with broken exhaust bolt on the bottom. Only 18k miles looks like the bolt is in terrible shape. Also the ground strap disintegrated. Unbelievable! What junk! Truck is 2 years old and starting to develop several problems dash bubbling backup camera doesn’t work in the winter time....

Just fixed mine over this weekend when I noticed a loud exhaust from the bottom of the truck.

 

[longjonz]

2019 Big Horn, 5.7 eTorque. Noticed the truck sounding louder on cold starts over the last couple of weeks, getting a little worse daily. Finally got a time where I could cold start and check the exhaust, and the gasket between the converter pipe and the muffler is leaking. Exhaust hasnt been touched since it left the factory. Has anyone else run into this? It hardly seems worth the effort to get it fixed under warranty but the only source I have found for the gasket is through OEM sellers.

Yes at exactly 24 months old and about 20k miles my flange pipe came loose and I only noticed because the engine got super loud one day so I poked my head underneath and both flange bolts rusted and snapped apart. The remainder was seized in the thread and I needed pb blaster and blow torch as well as vice grips to free them. Before slapping on new ones. Also, they didn’t come with a nut so I opted to throw one on. Relatively simply fix, just need socket tools however impact wrenches do speed up the process.

 

[Keyahb]

Yes at exactly 24 months old and about 20k miles my flange pipe came loose and I only noticed because the engine got super loud one day so I poked my head underneath and both flange bolts rusted and snapped apart. The remainder was seized in the thread and I needed pb blaster and blow torch as well as vice grips to free them. Before slapping on new ones. Also, they didn’t come with a nut so I opted to throw one on. Relatively simply fix, just need socket tools however impact wrenches do speed up the process. View attachment 85052 View attachment 85053 View attachment 85054

Can you share what size nut and bolts you used? Dealing with the same issue.

 

[hamburgram]

The bolts on my 2019 RAM 1500 also rotted and snapped. They did not have nuts on them from the factory. Dealer service advisor says flange was re-threaded and nuts are not required. He also said he sees this all the time. Wondering if it is worth it to replace the bolts they put in with Stainless steel bolts as I live in the Northeast?

 

[mikeru82]

The bolts on my 2019 RAM 1500 also rotted and snapped. They did not have nuts on them from the factory. Dealer service advisor says flange was re-threaded and nuts are not required. He also said he sees this all the time. Wondering if it is worth it to replace the bolts they put in with Stainless steel bolts as I live in the Northeast?

I'm sure it will happen again if they're just replacing the bolts with the same type that were in there from the factory. SS bolts wouldn't hurt. The aftermarket B2 Fabrication muffler I installed came with SS hardware.

 

[Scram1500]

The bolts on my 2019 RAM 1500 also rotted and snapped. They did not have nuts on them from the factory. Dealer service advisor says flange was re-threaded and nuts are not required. He also said he sees this all the time. Wondering if it is worth it to replace the bolts they put in with Stainless steel bolts as I live in the Northeast?

If you go stainless be sure to use graphite lube on the threads, certain grades are softer than others and you might experince galling. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt lol

 

[Dusty1948]

The bolts on my 2019 RAM 1500 also rotted and snapped. They did not have nuts on them from the factory. Dealer service advisor says flange was re-threaded and nuts are not required. He also said he sees this all the time. Wondering if it is worth it to replace the bolts they put in with Stainless steel bolts as I live in the Northeast?

Well, he is correct that most DTs left the factory without the nuts, however if that was sufficient why did it happen in the first place? The parts list still shows nuts being used in conjunction with the bolts, and the techs at my dealership seem to believe that without using the nuts it will happen again. This is a heat stress junction and the bolt or threads move over time after many heating and cooling cycles.

It appears engineering felt the need for a nut on each bolt which is why it's called out in the parts list. Just a guess, but I suspect some cost-down production engineer found a way to save the price of two nuts and assembly time/labor by leaving them off ($2 per 560,000 vehicles is a cool million dollars!).

The factory bolts and nuts are special heat treated material. I would not use standard stainless hardware. Using the prescribed factory bolt and nuts should prevent a reoccurrence.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 051688 miles.

 

[EdwinBarrientos]

Thanks GaryT, might just be me but I find that absolutely terrifying. In this case it's just exhaust, but cars and trucks should not be leaving the factory with nuts missing from the bolts. That might explain a few other clunks I hear in my truck as well.

Me too I hear clunks and rattles. They tell me it’s completely normal that all trucks are the same and that 5 mechanics said the same thing. Very disappointing considering I spent an arm and a leg on these trucks.

 

[Jclark316]

I got the exhaust leak at that same flange at 54k miles. Bottom bolt looked loose. Dealer says it’s on me to fix. As soon as I put a socket on it, the head fell off. Rust was holding it there. Now the rest of the bolt is rusted in there and I cannot get it out to replace it. These trucks are too new to have bolts rusting out on the exhaust. Poor design.

 

[mikeru82]

The factory bolts and nuts are special heat treated material. I would not use standard stainless hardware. Using the prescribed factory bolt and nuts should prevent a reoccurrence.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 051688 miles.

Not sure your logic makes sense. If the prescribed factory bolts that were installed at the factory failed, how would using the same bolts to repair it prevent reoccurrence?