Hello everyone, I recently damaged my exhaust while doing some off roading and would like some input. I will try to explain this the best that I can as I have not been able to jack the car up yet. I have a 2003 H6 Outback sedan. Basically I didn't have ground clearance in one area and bumped the exhaust on the ground/mud/dirt whatever. It is the area where the exhaust meets up and becomes one pipe. I am saying bumped because I could not see any dents or damage so  feel like it was possibly just jarred lose or something. There is heat coming out of the tip of my exhaust but I cant necessarily feel it blowing any air(just still gets hot). If I turn on the car and rev it a little I can feel air coming out on both sides of what I can best describe as a mid pipe. I can feel a slight loss of torque and the car is extremely loud but sounds cool lol. Anyway, I feel like if its going to be hard to fix or expensive, I might just install a test pipe. Is this a good idea? Also, I do not have a check engine light on but like I said the car does feel different under hard acceleration. Thanks in advance  for any help.

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=4981866&cc=1418172&jnid=390&jpid=0

 

Point out which section is broken.

It is broken at 31362

Did the flange on the pipe break?  Is there bolts with springs on them that hold that section together? Might have just messed up the

o-ring in it.

I'll post a pic when I get home

I'm having a terrible time trying to upload a photo. To describe it better, it is immediately after the 2nd o2 sensor. Maybe half an inch at most.

You broke the cat itself, Doubt you can weld that. May have to replace the whole pipe. $333 plus shipping on Rockauto. 

Good luck with that; amazing how those with the high end four wheel drives like Range Rovers pussy foot over the sticks laying in the road while Subarus have been built for off road travel for years.  I once had my CV joint come out of the joint on a class four road hiking near Monson Maine, amazing I was able to get it back in and to a shop.

Edited October 11, 201510 yr by ThosL

A competent welder can weld that back assuming the honeycomb IN the cat is NOT loose, broken, melted, missing chunks, etc. Flash a light in there and it *should* look like a screen on a window or door with perfect holes all the way across. If there's a chunk in that, it looks like a melted blob of glass, etc. then you'll need a replacement.

 

 

You actually cracked the factory weld vs. snapping the pipe. The welder will need the heat shield removed, but should be able to weld the entire thing back into place. I imagine $25-55 to weld back is typically (something like that would run me $35 locally, although that metal is strong enough I could use my $150 arc welder if it was me). A NEW factory cat will be in the mid to upper hundreds at least. Can't get them used at yards as no yards leave the cats on the junked cars. Only other options would be used from a private seller (strongly advise against) OR going NEW aftermarket. New after market runs $75 to $150 roughly.

 

Do NOT take it to a chain muffler place as they'll say "it can't be welded, you need a new one" then they'll upsell a $150 piece for 500+. You either need an actual mechanic with a welder, or a small "custom" muffler place that'll weld it back for $35-55. Just explain the cat is "solid" and OEM, and the weld broke and pipe separated BEFORE the flange and flange appears OK. Do NOT let them "have" that cat under any circumstance as they are worth more than the weld repair will run you.

The one on my 95 broke there. I welded it back together myself. A good exhaust shop should be able to weld that no problem.

That would be easy to weld back up or buy a new $40 shipped cat off ebay.

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. I hardly ever looked at my exhaust before so I didn't know that was where the factory weld was. I'll check the condition of the cat when I can. It'll suck to lose the cool sound but it's just going to get me in trouble anyway haha. On a side note, I should probably invest in some skid plates.

Be careful driving it as the only thing holding the pipe up is the heat shield. Hit a hard enough bump and the rear section can drop. If moving and it drops into a pot hole, it can do some serious damage not only to you/the vehicle, but possibly others behind you. 

Would it be an ok idea to remove it until I can get it fixed? I've already gone close to 500 miles with it like this...

Would it be an ok idea to remove it until I can get it fixed? I've already gone close to 500 miles with it like this...

 

If it were me, I'd at least try and force the pipe back into the cat, then maybe hook some bungee strap hooks to the flange around the springs, pulling tension forward towards the cat but not touching the actual cat as the heat will melt/burn the rubber. Maybe secure opposite hooks to crossmember for trans or other solid anchor point w/o letting the rubber touch wires or lines or hooks being able to slip and rip those out. Wouldn't hurt to pinch the hooks slightly (with vice grips, channels locks, hammer it slightly, etc. they are soft metal) so they don't pop off from bumps or air turbulence, then get it fixed asap.

 

I don't know how far the pipe can drop if that heat shield breaks. I do know those heat shields break fairly easily over time near the bolts w/o having to carry weight, so better safe than really sorry. A driveshaft dropping at the front is very dangerous and while the exhaust is weaker, don't wanna see what carnage it could do, especially if it somehow poked through the gas tank while scraping on pavement (sparks ). That's a worse case, but if something happened to a passenger or other car on the road, attorneys would rip you apart and this thread would haunt you.

Edited October 14, 201510 yr by Bushwick

Wire it up so it won't drop.

 

There are horror stories about what happens when a drive shaft breaks at the front u-joint and hits the road.  Like a car on a pogostick... This exhaust pipe could do the same thing.  Then, you will need a new cat and a new resonator section, for even more money than a simple weld job.

Yeah I've been trying to use a relatives suv when I can and I plan on getting it welded up sometime this weekend. I wish they made more aftermarket exhausts for the H6 because it sounds amazing except that it is definitely too loud.

 

Also I was wondering what the best way to protect the exhaust system would be. I know you can get skid plates but I don't think they will protect a good bit of the exhaust. I can lift my car but that won't be for a little while. Then again I try to drive the best I can when I'm off road to hopefully avoid hitting the exhaust.

Putting an all-new stainless exhaust from the header back would add more strength, but those are stupid expensive. Skid plates would help if they cover the exhaust.

 

 

If the vehicle is bottoming out, you need a better suspension set up. Probably wouldn't hurt to learn the trails better and not push a stock car past it's ability too.

Yeah I did fine but pushed it a little hard at the very end (was going up a crazy steep hill with deep ruts) and banged it at the top of the hill. Anyway, I've been looking to lift it for a while so maybe I'll do that before I do anymore serious off roading. I definitely try to pick good lines because I know I'm limited a lot by my ground clearance(at least where I was).

 

I should have my exhaust welded back up this weekend and that's probably the best route to go and the most cost efficient. Thanks for recommending a ss exhaust... I wonder how much stronger it would be in case I ever did that.

Thanks for recommending a ss exhaust... I wonder how much stronger it would be in case I ever did that.

 

Similar to a new OEM exhaust minus the rust and stress. As long as you aren't tossing cheap aluminized crimped piping on, the factory piping after welding will probably hold up for some time. Unless you are wanting to increase pipe diameter, it'd be way cheaper to ditch the muffler and resonator and have a lighter muffler welded up (with whatever tone your ears like). 

Well I went to an exhaust shop and they put in a new pipe and welded it all up for $80. Exhaust is pretty much back to normal now.

Did they say why they went with a new pipe instead of just welding what was there back? Pretty sure that's either stainless from the factory or some high quality steel. Should have been able to knock the surface rust off and just weld back.

 

Regardless, $80 is way cheaper than a new cat, and I bet your neighbors are happy