New and improved ball joint design for classic systems

February 4, 2020

In pursuit of our goal of continuous improvement, Power Flow is pleased to announce that we have made an improvement to the design of the intermediate tube used on our second generation classic exhaust systems. Since 2003, the intermediate tube has been made with an integral ball joint to allow for flexibility between the large external tailpipe and the collector assembly.

Flexibility in the tailpipe ball joint is advantageous because it buffers the tailpipe assembly from the shock and vibration associated with engine startup and normal operations. A drawback of the original design is that if the ball joint is not kept lubricated and free to move, it can seize-up and thereby subject the tailpipe and/or the collector assembly to excessive stress.

With our new revision, that critical item is reconfigured as a discrete component to improve maintainability and improve long term reliability. For a complete description of this revision, please see the YouTube video at the bottom of this page or click here.

All C-172 and C-177, PA-28 exhaust systems with Classic Tailpipe configurations (long external tailpipe) will ship with this new and improved intermediate tube starting in February 2020. Existing operators can purchase a complete retrofit kit from us - it is our part number PFS-78102 and it is available now.

Spring type ball joint installed on 4 to 1 (cotter pin not installed for illustration purposes)