1987 Ram 50 barely failed SMOG help!

Just bought a 1987 Ram 50 last weekend and took it to get smogged on Thursday. The truck passed everything except for the comprehensive visual inspection. My air pipe assembly had a tiny little hole in it and I need to replace it in order to pass the test. https://www.factorychryslerparts.com.../MD112115.html
This is the part they told me I needed and I have already placed an order on this site because I have not been able to find it anywhere else online. My question is do I have any other options in trying to get the correct part or do I continue with my order from this site and hope that it is a fit when it arrives? I am new to these trucks and fairly new to general maintenance overall but considering this car is my only source of transportation at the moment I am trying to get it up to code as quickly as possible. I love the truck so far and got an awesome deal on it. It has low mileage and everything else is running and in good shape. This tiny hole on that pipe is the only thing keeping me from getting my registration stickers here in California. Thanks in advance for any help, it is very much appreciated.

you could always move to Arkansas no smog checks here :thumbup:

lol theres no surf in arkansas. I am having a hard time finding the pipe anywhere online though. Are there any other years or models I can look at that would fit that specific part? Like I said above, I am fairly new to all of this and don't have a lot of cash at the moment but got the car at a good deal and would like to be able to drive it so I can continue to save up some money and eventually start adding/upgrading the truck. thanks for the response anyways!

Hi and welcome to mightyram. Any chance it can be repaired? A small patch of epoxy or even a braise weld will fill the hole. This is really stupid that it would fail a visual check but pass smog. Could you paint it? Other option is find a gasfitter/plumber and get them to make one for you out of copper pipe. It can't be any worse than paying $93 for a new one (if they even still exist...)

Hi, juslivn15, and welcome to the forum.

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One of our members, Noahwins, got this very part from me a couple of years back (off my parts truck), so I know what it is. I agree with Geezer, that it can be repaired, and very easily. They will be impossible to find in the junkyard (in any use-able condition) and $93 for a new one is just ridiculous.

Tell ya what - if you can, take a photo of it and post it on the forum - you'll get several good suggestions for the repair. (I'm even thinking Bondo and then aluminum paint).

...and while you've got your camera out, give a few shots of your truck ! We love to see these trucks, in all conditions. It's just what we are.


:oldtimer: Yeah ! A buncha VOYEURS !!!

yes! thats it and it has been impossible to find anywhere haha. thank you so much for the help! I will get pictures of the area and the truck up on here within the next couple of hours. I cancelled my order on the site I gave above since what you guys are saying seems way easier and less hassle than what I had originally thought. Should i post the pictures in this thread or should I start a new one in the general maintenance area? Thanks again for helping a newb out!

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Originally Posted by royster

Hi, juslivn15, and welcome to the forum.

Attachment 20234

One of our members, Noahwins, got this very part from me a couple of years back (off my parts truck), so I know what it is. I agree with Geezer, that it can be repaired, and very easily. They will be impossible to find in the junkyard (in any use-able condition) and $93 for a new one is just ridiculous.

Tell ya what - if you can, take a photo of it and post it on the forum - you'll get several good suggestions for the repair. (I'm even thinking Bondo and then aluminum paint).

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Yes! that's definitely it! thank you so much for the information. I am glad to hear that it can easily be repaired and I will have pictures posted in a couple of hours. Should I post the pictures here? or start a new thread in the general maintenance? thanks again for helping a newb out, it is very much appreciated!

It is stainless,so welding it is an option. I have an 89 parts truck that is a 2.6, but I don't know the condition of the pipe.

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Should I post the pictures here? or start a new thread in the general maintenance?

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My suggestion would be to post pictures of the pipe here, but to start a new thread just for your truck, and the new thread can be where you post the progression of improving it. I'm assuming yours' is a second generation, and that might be where you want to start a "build thread".

We're all happy to help, because we were once newbs, too, and know what it's like.

Now you need to learn the secret hand-shake.

have you tried jb weild sanding it smooth and painting the pipe????? fortunatly i live in sw arizona and dont have such restrictions if that idea dont set well with you ,, i just figured it was visual .. let me check i may still have the one that came off when i installed my header im hoping the shop that was working on it didnt toss it mines an 87 too

hey guys, sorry it took me a while but here are the pictures. As you can see this hole is tiny and is smaller than my pinky finger nail. I also posted a picture of my smog test and like I said earlier the truck passed all of the important stuff, except for the stupid visual inspection. I am definitely all ears with ideas as I just want to try and get this truck to pass sometime this week. Again, I really appreciate everyone's help and I look forward to becoming more active in this awesome community you guys have going here. Hope everyone is having a good Easter Sunday! Thanks! Attachment 20238Attachment 20239

my girlfriend and I were thinking of sanding the whole pipe. JB welding it, sanding it again, welding it one more time and then painting over it. My main concern is I don't want to do all of that if it isn't going to pass smog here in california again. I agree with you in the sense that it is just visual because on my smog test paper the only thing I failed was the stupid visual test. As you can see in my picture the truck passed all of the important stuff. Thanks for the reply!! :) Hoping to see what some other people on here think I should do but at the moment that sounds like the best/easiest idea to me.

By the looks of the picture that is not stainless. Seems like the hole is caused by an arc strike. It has also got a crack running away from it. You should drill a small hole at the very end of the crack to stop it going further. Clean it up with emery cloth before doing whatever repair you do. Seems like you could get someone to TIG weld it for $25 or so. If you go that way clean it up first so they don't have to charge you for that.

It looks like someone had covered it with duct tape. There IS an exhaust repair kit, with similar tape (fiberglass), and an epoxy. It won't last long, but it's one option.

I'm in agreement with The Geezemeister that you should sand it down real good before any repair. Until you can detail the engine, it will stick out conspicuously, so make sure your repair is neat. Get some JB Blaster or Liquid Wrench on either end and let it soak, so you can remove the pipe to work with it.

That tape had strings in it. Probably the paper tape with silver on the outside used for insulation. I'm pretty sure the smog folks won't OK anything that is not a permanent repair.

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Originally Posted by rattler

have you tried jb weild sanding it smooth and painting the pipe????? fortunatly i live in sw arizona and dont have such restrictions if that idea dont set well with you ,, i just figured it was visual .. let me check i may still have the one that came off when i installed my header im hoping the shop that was working on it didnt toss it mines an 87 too

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Gonna jb weld it today. Gonna sand it weld it and hopefully paint it and let it cure all night tonight and see how it's doing in the morning. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by royster

It looks like someone had covered it with duct tape. There IS an exhaust repair kit, with similar tape (fiberglass), and an epoxy. It won't last long, but it's one option.

I'm in agreement with The Geezemeister that you should sand it down real good before any repair. Until you can detail the engine, it will stick out conspicuously, so make sure your repair is neat. Get some JB Blaster or Liquid Wrench on either end and let it soak, so you can remove the pipe to work with it.

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I'm gonna clean/sand it today and then jb weld it later so it can cure all night. I don't mind cleaning the engine if it'll help not bring attention to that area. Can I just use a standard degreaser to clean the engine or do I need something in particular? Also, thanks for the tip with the liquid wrench! :)

If your engine is particularly bad you'll need a pressure cleaner handy but you can't go past using non caustic oven cleaner (you have to make sure it is non caustic or it'll eat paint, rubber and anything alloy it touches). It makes short work of dirty engines and you normally will get away with using one can while other spray degreasers will take a couple and are a lot messier to work with. Spray it on, work it with an old paint brush and hose it off like regular degreaser. Been using it for years and if had known about this trick earlier it could've made my life easier...

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Originally Posted by juslivn15

Gonna jb weld it today. Gonna sand it weld it and hopefully paint it and let it cure all night tonight and see how it's doing in the morning. Thanks!

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just a quick thought be sure and use paint that has high heat tolerance that way the patch doesn't show threw.

If I read the post correctly, are you going to weld over the JB weld? if you do weld over the JB, clean the inside of the tube as that JB weld will release a lot of carbon if it doesn't actually catch fire.

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Originally Posted by 85Ram50

If I read the post correctly, are you going to weld over the JB weld? if you do weld over the JB, clean the inside of the tube as that JB weld will release a lot of carbon if it doesn't actually catch fire.

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No, I was just going to JB weld it and then paint over the repair area. Since it is so small and considering that the truck only failed the visual inspection part of the smog test I was just going to try and have it closed in order to pass smog and then deal with actually taking care of it once I have a little more cash flow.

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Originally Posted by juslivn15

No, I was just going to JB weld it and then paint over the repair area. Since it is so small and considering that the truck only failed the visual inspection part of the smog test I was just going to try and have it closed in order to pass smog and then deal with actually taking care of it once I have a little more cash flow.

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OK then as long as the paint is effective at hiding it you should be fine.