February 16, 200521 yr How long does teh group think the stock coated exhaust system on a '98 Legacy L wagon driven in New England would be? It has the Cali. emisions so two cats. It is geting pretty rusty at the connections but no holes YET!! For how many of these things are used in the rust belt you woul think SOA would start puting SS exhausts on them!!
February 17, 200521 yr I've got a 96 that is still good. IT was in Alaska and now in Germany, where they love to use deicing substances.
February 17, 200521 yr Here in salty-during-the-six-month-winter Denmark, Sube exhausts are held in high esteem for their ability to last 10 years! In a coastal region, that might be shorter of course...
February 17, 200521 yr Well, I/ve just had to make some "repairs" to the exhaust on my 98 Legacy. First the gasket between the front pipe and the cat pipe gave out. Replacing the gasket didn't stop the leak as the flange is also badly deteriorated. Ingenuity and working with what I had around, I discovered a Corvair exhaust manifold donut fit between the two flanges perfectly. Issue # 2 was the flange on the end of the cat had rusted and collapsed. An aftermarket replacement flange from NAPA took care of that. Car has 128,000 miles, and I live Near Buffalo which uses more salt than anywhere else............. swi66
February 17, 200521 yr Author Anyone know of a supplier of SS exhaust for the Legacy? I do have a friend with a welder so I could fab SS pipe together?
February 17, 200521 yr Well, I/ve just had to make some "repairs" to the exhaust on my 98 Legacy. First the gasket between the front pipe and the cat pipe gave out. Replacing the gasket didn't stop the leak as the flange is also badly deteriorated. Ingenuity and working with what I had around, I discovered a Corvair exhaust manifold donut fit between the two flanges perfectly. Issue # 2 was the flange on the end of the cat had rusted and collapsed. An aftermarket replacement flange from NAPA took care of that. Car has 128,000 miles, and I live Near Buffalo which uses more salt than anywhere else.............swi66 Of what flange are you talking about? Rear first cat to second our second to pipe going to the muffler?
February 17, 200521 yr Of what flange are you talking about? Rear first cat to second our second to pipe going to the muffler? The rear of the first cat to the front of the second cat., it was the built in "ears" which the bolts go through on the back of the first cat which kind of disintegrated..........the actual bolts were pretty much gone, but for the most part the actual exhaust still seems pretty solid...........All the aluminum heat shielding has fallen off though as well................rust never sleeps swi66
February 17, 200521 yr Keep in mind that stainless steel has a tendency to "ring" and will the exhaust noise louder because of this, even with a silencer.
February 17, 200521 yr Shell gasoline will eat up the insides of your exhaust, snow (salt actually) will eat up the outside of your exhaust... Otherwise a stock exhaust system should last you about 10 years.
February 18, 200521 yr I had to replace the entire one-piece exhaust system on my Brat when it was just over 2 years old (I was the second owner so it didn't fall under warranty). After that, every 5-6 years it would fail. It was always covered under warranty by Speedy Muffler. They told me it was porcelain coated and a very cheap stainless steel... it always rusted from the inside out. My GL-10 failed after 3 years, muffler fell of coming off a sharply curved highway exit ramp... went end-over-end under the car lifting the rear wheels right off the ground... scary stuff. I'm not sure if they changed the composition of them, but in the rust belt, I wouldn't expect too much. I've learned since to get frequent undercarriage washes
February 18, 200521 yr How do you drive? A lot of short trips will allow condensate to eat it out from the inside. No best answer to your question.
February 18, 200521 yr How do you drive? A lot of short trips will allow condensate to eat it out from the inside. No best answer to your question. That's true! Short runs don't dry the water out. A 3.5 mile city commute is probably why mine never lasted very long... so if you do long runs it'll help a lot.
February 18, 200521 yr Shell gasoline? Hmmmm, do they use water as an additive? Mufflers usually go first due to condensation. I just out a new one on my 92 beemer, which is the first replacment.
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