JGromada Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I went to my mechanic and he diagnosed a bad exhaust. he suggested replacing from the cat back. First of all DIY, Mechanic, exhaust place repair? What do you guys think? If it is a DIY what is a good price for parts costs? and where to purchase? Exhaust work always sucks. i know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Car info would help. I'd get a second recommendation as many times its not the CAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleming442 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I guess it really depends on how handy you are....... I recently got freaked out over my exhaust (there's a thread somewhere). It turned out that the gasket had blown out where the mid-pipe meets the muffler. I found some Bosal parts from NOPI, a Borla at Jeg's , an ebay header, and a cat pipe from NAPA would set me back about a G whether I went Bosal or Borla for the catback. So, being the cheapa$$ that I am, I got a gasket from Carquest for about $5. It turned out to be the wrong one. Luckily, Advance had the right one. The studs were rusted so bad that I couldn't even see the flats of the hex, so they had to go. After much drilling and grinding, I had 2 holes that I could get bolts through. Guess what? The flange was rotted well enough that the gasket wouldn't seal. So, off to Advance I go again. This time I bought the last 2 gaskets they had. I sandwiched all 3 together with some red rtv in between, and "WALA"- no more leak for about $20! It did take the better part of the afternoon, though, and I have a fairly well equipped shop. I wouldn't reccomend the apt. parking lot. This was an '02 OBW 2.5/auto w/ 160k mi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Exhaust is annoying. You're from baltimore...you're name even sounds familiar (i'm from westminster). Anyway, you probably have rust to deal with so you're likely going to have bolts/nuts that need cut, torched, or ground off. One of my least favorite things to do. But - if you care to mess with the rust and bolts then just buy all direct fit parts and install them, the installation part is actually easy, very easy actually. You could even pay a place to remove the bolts/exhaust and do the rest yourself. I bought a cat off ebay earlier this summer for $89 or something like that. But yeah, make sure that's your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 If you don't have a CEL on, and both ends of the cat look like good metal, then I wouldn't replace the cat. Is your current system loud from an exhaust leak? Then find out exactly where the leak is. If so, My story...........this is what I did with my wife's 98 OBW recently. I took it to a family owned muffler chain. It is a shop where they torch off muffler systems or parts of muffler systems and replace by welding on new pipe. Turned out that her exhaust pipe just right after of the middle resonator had broken apart. Only the shroud was holding the pipes in alignment. The shop suggested, so I had them cut out the resonator and weld in a straight pipe. They bent and cut their pipe to make it fit. Systems works great. I don't think the straight pipe makes the car any louder. Cost was $64 out the door. My system now has a portion of the shroud covering missing, but I don't care. We never park in high weeds to ever start a grass fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 good point, if you find some good old boys willing to do the metal bending and welding they'll set you up quick. i needed a muffler installed once and took one i had (not for the car) to a shop and they welded it in place with new pipe for $40. that was even in down town atlanta georgia, the last place i would have expected that. that's an anomaly though to find a place with folks willing to do that for so cheap, must have been bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Lets try this again grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr What year, model, engine and mileage on the car. What reasons do YOU, not your mechanic, have to suspect an issue? Do you have a CEL on? I can't remeber the last time someone had to replace a complete exhaust system. this is somethig you can do yourself. The pipes can almost last the life of the car, so shop around. Keep away from midas etc. Get yourself a price for OE pipes, IF they are really needed, or walker pipes. Dont use a tube bending shop as those pipes are cheap metal. If you want to keep the car for any length of time, by the proper pipes, but first, answer the first four questions. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quartus Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I just had to replace from cat back on 86 GL-10 wgn and had it done for ~$400. The pipe was just sitting in the cat, didn't even have rust to hold it on On a side note, burned some seafoam through system and smoke came out in engine compartment, looks like I also need the Y pipe & front converter though its not making any noise. That would be the entire exhaust system replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Keep away from midas etc. Dont use a tube bending shop as those pipes are cheap metal. Agree with you on staying away from Midas and the other chain muffler shops. IMO they are expensive, and will work hard at selling you more than what you really need to fix an exhaust problem. I also agree that tube bending shops use cheaper metal that won't last as long as an OEM muffler system. However in my humble opinion, I think the pipe benders are a better value. In my experience, their "cheap metal" is good for about four to five years of service before rusting out. That is not bad considering I was charged $64 for work on an eleven year old car. That works out to an annualized cost of about $16 per year. OEM muffler parts are expensive, and would have a much higher annualized cost, while lasting much longer. I figure my 98 doesn't have many more years of service left in her. So, it's the pipe benders for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbusa Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) Take your car to a small local muffler shop (not Midas or Monroe). Many small muffler shops will repair exhausts by welding in pieces where necessary. Most car repair shops aren't set up to do this. Plus, they make a lot more money off you by selling you more parts! My 96 OBS got loud all of a sudden. I took it to a small local muffler shop (broadway service in schenectady NY) and asked them to fix it. They called me later that night and said it was done. I hesitantly asked how much I owed them and he said $40! I said $40?!?!?!?!?! He said yeah! I'm like, are you sure it's only $40?! He says, well, I can charge you more if you like! I figured it would be $300 or more as subaru exhausts are known to be expensive. The pipe coming out the back side of the cat had rusted out. They welded in a section about 6 inches long. It's perfect now. I'm sure a car repair shop would have tried to sell me an very expensive OEM system from the cat back. Edited September 30, 2009 by Bigbusa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excalibur5 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 If it all needs to be replaced, I have had good luck at NAPA, ordering their pre-bent pipes. The pipes are thicker than the tube-bending places, and seem to hold up pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleming442 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 If it all needs to be replaced, I have had good luck at NAPA, ordering their pre-bent pipes. The pipes are thicker than the tube-bending places, and seem to hold up pretty well. I concur. I went through a similar deal on my wife's old Civic. The NAPA stuff was leaps and bounds better than the Midas crap. To clarify, I was looking at the Borla cat back due to it's SS const. Jeg's has them for $497. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) Sorry I should clarify. I have noise and it sounds like its from behind the Cat. I don't think the Cat is bad and even my mechanic didn't suggest that. He did say the back piece was the worst but thought that the center section would end up being replaced because they never come apart cleanly. I always thought cat-back meant the two exhaust mufflers back to the tailpipe. I may check out a local meineke place to see what they say. I kind of don't want to weld whole sections in place though. Details: 1998 Subaru Outback 2.5L 190K its been great, i hope to have it for another 50K. Timing belt done at 115K Yeah Gary I am from outside Baltimore and yes you did help me out in the past. I really like this web site a lot and the people are great. Edited October 3, 2009 by JGromada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 bump , provided data what about muffler shop just replacing the back muffler piece? (has hole in it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 http://www.walkerexhaust.com/products/pipes_accessories.asp thats who i suggest. FInd a local dealer. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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