&$%^* exhaust broke

White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
OK, so my exhaust has gotten a little bit louder over the past couple of weeks. Suddenly while driving today it got a WHOLE lot louder. The pipe broke completely just forward of the flange where the muffler bolts on. :evil:

Went to Midas and the cute girl there welded it back together for me. :D My inspection is due in March, and though the car's OK for now there are still some leaks elsewhere in the pipe that won't pass, so I'm looking at a new exhaust pipe/resonator. The muffler, while not new, still seems OK and isn't leaking. Midas quoted me a price around $300, installed. Looking around online, I can get a Bosal part from Napa for $149, or from Rock Auto for $83. For another $69, I'm wondering if I should just get that and a new muffler and have a shiny new cat back exhaust, though I can probably get by with my current muffler and make the whole repair cost just over $100 (far better than Midas can do). I'm also wondering which gaskets I need for the job. Rock Auto looks to be the cheapest, even including shipping, and they have a wide selection of parts that'll work, but the downside is I can't just run over there and exchange gaskets if I get the wrong one.

Any advice? Thanks!

Comments

  • lalunettelalunette familEE
    White&Nerdy wrote:
    OK, so my exhaust has gotten a little bit louder over the past couple of weeks. Suddenly while driving today it got a WHOLE lot louder. The pipe broke completely just forward of the flange where the muffler bolts on. :evil:

    The exact thing happened to me last year. I ended up...
    1. removing the entire assembly,
    2. cutting the rusted part right off,
    3. having my brother weld the original flange onto a slightly bigger pipe,
    4. reinstalling everything to align & mark the flange with its attached short piece of pipe,
    5. remove everything so the 2 pipes can be welded together, and
    6. reinstalling everything one final time with new bolts and gasket.

    All this was working beautifully until the car got crunched.

    We don't have regular vehicle inspections here in Manitoba so, if you plan to own the vehicle for awhile, you can go crazy with mods and not worry.

    The only time a vehicle needs to pass inspection is once it is sold and needs car insurance. Usually the sellor gets the vehicle inspected and, if satisfactory, he gets a safety certificate which enables the new owner to license the vehicle.
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    I'd say if you can afford it replace the whole thing. If you have other spots that are rusty then you might just be welding up another muffler to another rusty part of the exhaust.
  • noahrexionnoahrexion Wagonist
    I also agree, get a whole new setup because if you intend to keep it there will be more of these Midas visits in the future. When you add up the costs of repairing it twice you could have had a nice new catback.

    OR... buy yourself a welder with the money and repair it yourself. You'd be surprised, but $300 could definitely get you a basic setup to weld her up yourself.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    wish you were here, I'd give you the whole shebang!

    When I was repairing my stock exhaust, we ordered the replacement parts from a Walker product catalog at Advance Auto. The prices were reasonable (I have a commercial account :mrgreen: ) but If I had to pay for installation I think it would have been about the same to pay a muffler shop to custom-bend and weld it.

    Noah's Idea of buying a welder has merit! On various other projects in the past I've talked the local hotrod muffler shop (he's a former mud drag rival) into GIVING me a pile of fuckups. Look for a pile of over-bent or mis-indexed pieces near the tube bender. With a few of these random bends and a little bit of straight pipe you can roll your own.
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    Here is what I have bought my stuff for. I have my own TIG and MIG here at the house so I save a bit on that but this will give you a bit of an idea of what is out there and the prices.

    Bam-Bam has a very good idea there. You can't buy custom made exhausts here but his idea of going to the shops and asking for their f-ups is brilliant.

    8 meters of 2.5 stainless pipe, and 4 U bends - 200 bucks (probably don't need the u-bends because I want to go straight through for the turbo)
    High flow 2.5 catalytic converter - 70 bucks (don't need it but would like to have it on there just in case)
    2.5 Summit Racing stainless muffler - 100 bucks (this was about 80 cheaper because there was no name stamped on it)
    2.5 stainless flange - 20 bucks (only using one because I want this to be a one piece exhaust)
    stainless rods for hangers - 50 bucks (bought 10 3 foot long rods but only will probably need one)

    I bought a lot of extra stuff because they were package deals I found. I think I might be in for 300 bucks for a complete 2.5 stainless exhaust system. Granted I have to weld it up myself but if you look around you can probably find some deals.

    The thing I miss about the USA is that there is always some small shop willing to do some side work for people. I have to weld up my own exhaust because of the 150 dollar an hour shop charge here in Germany.

    Do it right the first time and save you some time driving to and from the shop.
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    I'd like to learn to weld sometime. And exhaust seems like a good place to start, because it doesn't have to look pretty - nobody ever sees it. :lol:

    What's on the car now is a bolt-on exhaust. If I get just cat-to-muffler pipe plus gaskets, in theory I should be able to just bolt on my existing muffler. However, I agree that it's basically the same work to replace it all, and that way I know my exhaust will be good for a while. That, and the only rusty old bolts I have to contend with are at the cat. So I'm leaning toward taking the whole thing from Rock Auto for $170 and putting it on myself. Better deal than Midas or Napa. With inspection coming up in March, having a shiny new cat-back exhaust will look good - it's one less thing they can fail my 20 year old car for (they see an old car come in and see nothing but dollar signs).

    Now I just need to know what gaskets I need to order with it...
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    The bolts can sometimes be a real bitch to get off. I usually try and pull them after a good drive. I also have a torch to get them red hot if they are a real pain to get off.

    Are you going with a stock setup? If you are then I am pretty sure any honda gasket from about the same year should work just fine. If you are going custom then I can send you a link to a website where I get my larger exhaust gaskets from.
  • evol911evol911 familEE
    Something I found that works good with welding exhausts, I bought a little 110 welder from Sears. Works real good, adjustable, reasonably priced, Craftsman warranty, and easy to learn with because you don't have to worry about burning thorugh you projects because its not overly powerful. Now you aren't going to be able to weld T1 plate together to build tractor parts but it does good on spot welds and thin pieces. Perfect for exhauts and bodywork :wink:
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    Yep, the Bosal setup I'm looking at is a stock replacement. Nothing fancy. So, duh, stock gaskets should work. :lol:

    I have lube, heat, and an impact wrench at my disposal. This would not be the first old exhaust I've dismantled - I've learned a few tricks. ;) On my old minivan, I replaced a mid-section silencer with a Dynomax Super Turbo muffler. Fit perfectly, and gave the 3.8 V6 a nice rumble. 8)
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    Good luck then and give us pics when you are finished :D
  • noahrexionnoahrexion Wagonist
    ragenasian wrote:
    Good luck then and give us pics when you are finished :D

    Word. And don't forget to wash your miata...
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