Having an issues with the exhaust on my car. I have had the sneaking suspicion that my Cat was going bad from the odd smells on hard acceleration I was getting but this morning I was met with a very loud sound from the exhaust. The car sounds like a riced out mini and it feels like something is happening around the cat just from the amount of vibrations I'm getting under my butt. The sound feels like it's coming from the center of the car rather than the pipe at the back.

https://soundcloud.com/darknight1080-1/exhaust-sound

there is a sound clip, sounds the best near the end at about 50 seconds.

Any ideas of what it could be?

 

What year and model? How long have you owned the car? Miles? Have you put it on a lift to see if there are any cracks or holes in the pipes?

 

2003, R53, 119K, original owner, stock everything.

I'll have to get it up on jack stands this weekend to take a better look.

 

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8dd77681.jpg

Here is the image of the problem. Looks like the resonator welds snapped. Anyone have any guesses how difficult or expensive this repair will be?

 

A good muffler shop should be able to fix you up.

 

Ah, the dreaded pre-cat weld.

I slathered on a good helping of muffler putty as a patch fix while I ordered a stainless steel OBX header. It wasn't pretty, but it held up for a few dozen miles and a weekend autocross.

You can't really weld the precat/downpipe effectively unless you remove the OEM headers. I tried that with the headers on the car, and I just didn't have enough room. Not to mention it's real dirty there (I was also using a flux core welder at the time), so you won't get good contact with a welder.

If you want to keep the OE headers, I would forgo the muffler putty option (it will be a pain to remove before welding) and park it 'til you find someone to take it off and weld it. Otherwise, a set of aftermarket headers will get rid of the precat, keep your emissions the same (no CEL), and give you more power and sound.

 

From his pic I would state again that a good muffler/repair shop should be able to weld it IMO.

 

I tried. I couldn't get the torch close enough to the crack because of the little "bell" covering the welded joint, and I didn't get good contact, so the welds looked like crap.

If a muffler shop can do it without taking the headers off, awesome.

 

Guy at the exhaust shop today told me It cannot be welded because of the double wall around the cat. Gave me an estimate for 1. Front LEV (low emission) OBD 2 Converter for 757.59 total. Ugh.




The arrow shows where the weld broke. Any suggestions on an exhaust replacement? If I have to spend the money then I might as well get something worth it unless y'all believe OEM is better. My county my car is registered in doesn't require emissions so I'm not too worried there, but I don't want the CEL light constantly on.

 

Well it was worth a shot.

 

This can be fixed on the car. The 03 i bought last June has been repaired. The cover part of the converter needs to be trimmed back in order to weld the seam. I would try another muffler shop maybe a mom and pop type shop.

 

Yeah there are two other exhaust shops around here and if they can't do it, I might just try to find a general welder to take care of it for me. I even told them to try and weld it today and the place seemed really hesitant. Could just be looking for a bigger payoff from me instead of actually trying.

 

Mine cracked there as well, so I removed the exhaust system and had it welded for $65.00. That included them cutting back the cover by an inch or so and doing a beautiful weld job. It has lasted for three years so far.

 

My 06 S did the same thing. I took it a muffler shop and the guy threw it on a lift and welded the exact same area you are having an issue with. He basically filled in the gap where the two pieces were pressed together. 10 minutes and $30 bucks and I was a happy camper. Its been fine for over 2 years now.