heartless Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 have recently developed a couple of leaks in the exhaust of my 90 Legacy wagon... leak #1 at the junction of the left hand head pipe & cat converter - I realize this means replacing the cat/Y-pipe section and I have one with lower miles and in better condition leak #2 is at the juction of the midpipe and rear section - "doughnut" type gasket - correct? the problem is the midpipe itself - the flange at the cat side is pretty much gone. If I try to remove it from the cat, it is going to fall apart and be useless. I do have another midpipe I can use, but I will have to remove it from the cat that it is attached to (that cat is not in much better shape than the one on the car now) question is - what do I need for a "gasket" between the midpipe & cat??? while searching for the gaskets I found two different styles: 1 - looks like a metal ring 2 - is a 3 hole triangular flat gasket - similar in construction to the main exhaust gaskets at the heads so which one do I need? or do I need both? the diagram I found shows the metal ring type, but I am not sure how accurate that diagram is... HELP, Please! I am getting a major headache right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupedUpSubie Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You need the metal ring, that is the doughnut gasket. The flange that normally goes is the one on the cat although the one on the midpipe might be junk as well. I ground the old flange off the cat and went and got a new one from the local NAPA. They don't have the exact flange last I knew but they should have one that you can slightly modify and use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 thanks! the replacment Y-pipe/cat has a decent flange on it (have to get one broken stud out tho), but the midpipe that is on the car is shot (rust belt) so both the Y-pipe/cat unit and the midpipe will be replaced with pieces from parts cars that are in better overall condition/lower mileage. ok, next question - does the mid pipe to cat connection just get bolted on, or should I get the spring loaded connectors for that too? not really sure since the exhaust on this car was kind of cobbled together in the first place... I know the midpipe to rear gets the sping loaded connectors - or at least that is what is on the car now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupedUpSubie Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 If your exhaust has been hacked up a bit then I'm guessing things are in the wrong place. On my 95 impreza the spring loaded connection is the cat to midpipe for the doughnut gasket. The midpipe to axleback or extension pipe is a solid connection. When you assemble everything I recommend lathering the bolts with antisieze. Won't do much for the spring connection but the others it should help a lot, the spring connection is easily cut while the others are not. I replaced everything from the cat back with new parts for about $200 using a thrush turbo muffler which sounds decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 when I got the car, the exhaust was pretty trashed, we patched it up as best we could with cheap stuff - mostly from the resonator back, then picked up a couple of parts cars and re-peiced things with genuine parts - lol. ok, so spring connectors at cat/midpipe connection (3), regular bolt together at the midpipe/rear connection (2) - Got it! Thanks again for the help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupedUpSubie Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Exhaust work isn't half bad when you can just cut out the old and slap all nice new stuff in there, which I recommend if you live in a state which has car eating roads. If you plan on keeping the car for a few more years I would go with nice stainless fasteners when possible that have been dipped, yes literally dipped into a good anti-seize. Expect to have your sockets and wrenches coated at the end of the job. I did this for one connection on mine and it is still dull grey. I live in Maine so I know the pains of rusty exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 cant afford "nice new stuff", unemployed for more than 2 years has that effect, so "used in decent condition" it is. Graduating school soon, need the car to be in "decent" shape for job hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 How are you guys installing new FLANGES on old pipes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 How are you guys installing new FLANGES on old pipes? welding. but this only works if there is enough metal left in the pipe to actually weld to without burning thru it. Stock pipes are pretty thick compared to the cheap aftermarket stuff, so they tend to last longer - at least that has been my experience - YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I don't think I've ever seen a used pipe on a Subaru that looked like a good candidate for welding a new flange on. At least not one where the flange was in bad enough shape that it needed replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 final repaired update had to order a new midpipe, there was just no way around it. Per the FSM, this is wrong! spring connectors at cat/midpipe connection (3), regular bolt together at the midpipe/rear connection (2) the cat to midpipe conection is studs/nuts, with a crush type metal ring "gasket" the midpipe to rear connection is the spring/bolt/nut connection. with a tapered donut gasket (actually looks like fine wires all crushed together) Found that the old Y-pipe was in even worse shape than I thought once I got it off the car - the left hand pipe was cracked almost all the way around right at the cat connection - just a tiny bit of pressure snapped it off! the new to me/used Y-pipe had the heat shields removed from the head pipes (they were already loose, figured might as well take them off now before they caused problems and/or annoyances) Midpipe was bolted up to the cat with new crush ring installed. Whole works went under the car, and was bolted up to the heads (a second pari of hands is VERY useful at this point!), then the rear connection made. Only "problem" is that the new midpipe does not have the right hanger bracket - had to do a little afro-engineering to support things. All is "quiet" on the western front again! (or as quiet as it gets with a cherry bomb muffler! LOL) YAY! Car is actually running better now as well - really surprised I hadnt gotten an O2 code with that crack being right in front of the cat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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