To make a bent tube in 3ds max 8 Go to Create/Tube, drag a small circle.

Look to the right and drag it to about 6 in Radius 2 and 7 in Radius 1
Single mouse click then to the right to alter the height. Make it about 200. Move down and make the height segments to 10 and reduce the
sides to 12. This lowers the poly count and yet gives enough segments to bend the pipe.

While over there you can make sure Radius 1 and 2 are 7 and 6. Right click the tube and Convert to: Convert to Editable Mesh.

Move up to Modifiers then down to Parametric Deformers/Bend. On the right make Angle 90.0 and the pipe will have a slow 90
degree angle bend. You can also alter which direction you want it to go over there as well.

You can click on the top left undo button to get the tube strait again and right click it and once again convert to editable
mesh.

Click on the 3 red Vertex dots to show up the polys on the tube and select each set one at a time and move them together
near the middle. Only the middle ones as the two ends have to stay where they are.

Unselect Vertex and once again Convert to Editable Mesh. Move up to Modifiers then down to Parametric Deformers/Bend
On the right make Angle 90.0. You will notice a slightly different kind of bend.

One other way to get a perfect close bend in a pipe is to go to Create/Standard Primitives/Cylinder.

Drag out your cylinder to about 7 or 8. Let go of the left mouse button and raise up the cylinder and give a single click. Move
to the right and alter the Radius to 7, Height to 200, Height Segments to 7 and sides to about 12 or 14.

Right click the cylinder and convert to Editable Mesh. Click on the Front View then the square, bottom right to select
it as full screen. Click on the 3 Vertex dots.
Right click, choose Move and select each set one at a time and move them iether side of the center.

Select the top section leaving just one section in the middle unselected.

Right click and select Rotate.

Rotate that section to the right.

Select Move and move to the right and down.

Repeat this selecting carefully each section nearer to the top. You will find you can't select some as you move up because they are leaning to the right and down so select those you can and while holding Ctrl select those polys you missed.

Rotate the last section horizontal.

You can move all the polys to get a nice perfect bend.