View Poll Results: How do I fix my exhaust?
Drop the car off at Meineke / somewhere similar
0
0%
Drop just the exhaust off
2
12.50%
Spot weld it myself
4
25.00%
Weld in a straight pipe myself
10
62.50%
Voters: 16. You may not vote on this poll
Crack in catalytic converter. How should I fix?
01-01-2010, 10:15 PM
#1
Race Car
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Location: Jacksonville, FL Duval County
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Crack in catalytic converter. How should I fix?
I intend to replace my cat with a straight pipe as a large fracture developed just forward of the cat. Because I'm active duty military living in a state other than my state of residency, the laws of NC and FL, and the age of the car, I am pretty much wholly exempt from any sort of inspections on the car.
I can either:
A) Drop the car off at Meineke (I have an extremely bad track record with dropping my car off for any sort of service, even at dealers...I've had one car almost wrecked, a brand new tire destroyed, tires mounted backwards, a manager fired, an exhaust system built totally wrong so that it was unusable)
B) Drop off just the header-back to aft-of-cat flange exhaust section at Meineke
C) Personally spot weld the fracture retaining the cat as-is
D) Personally weld in a straight pipe myself
You can see that I really don't like having people work on my stuff (because they always F it up). I can use the welder at the base hobby shop basically for free but my welding experience at school was very limited. Also all I did was TIG and I believe that the shop's unit is a MIG.
I can either:
A) Drop the car off at Meineke (I have an extremely bad track record with dropping my car off for any sort of service, even at dealers...I've had one car almost wrecked, a brand new tire destroyed, tires mounted backwards, a manager fired, an exhaust system built totally wrong so that it was unusable)
B) Drop off just the header-back to aft-of-cat flange exhaust section at Meineke
C) Personally spot weld the fracture retaining the cat as-is
D) Personally weld in a straight pipe myself
You can see that I really don't like having people work on my stuff (because they always F it up). I can use the welder at the base hobby shop basically for free but my welding experience at school was very limited. Also all I did was TIG and I believe that the shop's unit is a MIG.
01-01-2010, 10:25 PM
#2
Intermediate
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Orange County, CA
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The 944 exhausts all fail at this point eventually. It completely sheared on mine while driving. Went to the nearest exhaust shop. They did "okay" but the weld was ugly and several years down the line, I have an ugly weld on top and a leaky exhaust.
My advice...remove the exhaust and take it to an independent exhaust shop you've researched beforehand. Look on Google or Yelp for recommendations.
My advice...remove the exhaust and take it to an independent exhaust shop you've researched beforehand. Look on Google or Yelp for recommendations.
01-01-2010, 10:41 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
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If you want to fix it the sort of right way I have a gutted stock cat / front pipe assembly from a 88 NA free for shipping
It was cut open with a CNC plasma as a learning exercise, gutted then MIG’ed back together, very stock look. Used for about 3k miles after the gut.
It was cut open with a CNC plasma as a learning exercise, gutted then MIG’ed back together, very stock look. Used for about 3k miles after the gut.
01-02-2010, 01:45 AM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Hawkinsville / Perry, Georgia, RETIRED USAF GO BLUE
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There should be someone at the base auto shop that can MIG Weld the cat for you. It is not as hard to MIG Weld as it is to run a bead with stick. The heat has to be set for the thickness of the steel and you run the bead in a small ark back and forth. If you did TIG you can MIG weld anything. Practice on a piece of plate then do your thing. The bead doesn't have to be the best, that's why they have a hand grinder in the shop.
Cheers,
Larry
Cheers,
Larry
01-02-2010, 02:46 AM
#7
Instructor
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Monterey, CA
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I believe that the material is stainless steel. Mine had cracked at the header flange. Took it off and to a competent machine shop and had it welded, it is like new now.
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02-15-2010, 06:38 AM
#12
Race Car
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update:
1. I had to swing by Haiti real quick for a month so this got put on hold.
2. I removed the mid-section of the exhaust and the "crack" fully developed and the catalytic converter just peeled apart from the forward section. The cat is totally clogged so I definitely want to go the straight pipe route. It was on Saturday so only the chain shops were open. I took the parts to midas and the trouble is, even with the parts already removed from the car, they wouldn't fab up a straight pipe for me. I think I know of a mom and pop place that will do it though. We have a wire welder at the shop, also. I was thinking of getting some pipe and trying it myself.
Where can I get some pipe as shown in the picture that has an increased diameter at the ends for slipping over the current pipe?
1. I had to swing by Haiti real quick for a month so this got put on hold.
2. I removed the mid-section of the exhaust and the "crack" fully developed and the catalytic converter just peeled apart from the forward section. The cat is totally clogged so I definitely want to go the straight pipe route. It was on Saturday so only the chain shops were open. I took the parts to midas and the trouble is, even with the parts already removed from the car, they wouldn't fab up a straight pipe for me. I think I know of a mom and pop place that will do it though. We have a wire welder at the shop, also. I was thinking of getting some pipe and trying it myself.
Where can I get some pipe as shown in the picture that has an increased diameter at the ends for slipping over the current pipe?
02-22-2010, 02:14 PM
#14
Race Director
One thing to consider is right at the cat there is a small bend. The forward weld is not straight. So if you take it in to a shop without the car it can be easy to get that weld wrong not have exhaust fit.
