Exhaust down pipe dent

[honesT]

I have read a that more than a fews guys seem to think the dent in your down pipe from the manifold to the cat is factory, see pic.( Cherokee Talk let me upload a pic so do a search for exhaust down pipe dent and view, Why I can`t insert pic here ? )

I`m 100% sure that dent is not factory and I think I have read in a JP mag that the dent happens when the CRAP factory exhaust maniflod cracks and falls off while driving allowing the down pipe to fall on the front drive shaft denting it. I know remember JP mag said if you go to a wreckers you will have a 99% chance of not finding 1 that is not dented.

After searching my local wreckers and checking about ten XJ`s that all had dents, I took mine off and had a weld shop bang it out, he went at it for close to an hour and said it was solid and turned red with sparks flying every where so he did the best he could without bending the flange angle out of wack. it cost me 90.00 so I if I were you I would just have a muffler shop cut the pipe below the dent and weld on a new piece pipe & new flange.

The pipes I saw at the wrekers the dents were all different size but very close at 1st glance.

My XJ had a ticking sound before I had the dent removed, after dent removed, just butter.