Hi,
If there's some solid material left on the exhaust pipe on either side of the break, a cheap yet solid repair can be made. You need some thin steel, not aluminum, sheet, not foil, about 0.05 mm should be right. A piece long enough to get a couple of centimeters onto the solid material and wide enough to wrap about twice around the pipe will do the trick. You also need two clamps, often called hose clamps. They're the ones with the screw that tightens the strap. Wrap the sheet around the pipe (you might want to pre-form it around a smaller pipe first) and clamp the two ends down. Then carefully wrap it with the Magic tape, paying special attention to where the sheet ends. The main danger is an exhaust leak into the passenger compartment, but if you do a tight job, you should be fine.
Good luck.
--Pete
Quote:If I had a repair shop fix it with a new pipe, it would cost me more than the car is worth, so I won't go that route.What a car is worth from a sales standpoint is not necessarily what it's worth from a utility standpoint. An older car in good condition *might* be worth fixing for more than it would sell for when compared to buying a replacement.
Quote:I found a product at a hardware store called Muffler Tape. . . . Does anyone have any experience with this stuff?Yes. I've used it a few times. Unless you really really really clean the area where you plan to apply it, the tape will stick to the rust, but the rust will not stick to the pipe. Even if you put it on right, the tape continues to harden, and eventually gets brittle. At that point, it will usually crack at the joint you fixed and you'll be back to where you are now. I've never had a tape only fix last more than about six to eight months. Oh, and did I mention you really need to clean the area? Try Rust-Oleum to remove the rust (not the paint).
If there's some solid material left on the exhaust pipe on either side of the break, a cheap yet solid repair can be made. You need some thin steel, not aluminum, sheet, not foil, about 0.05 mm should be right. A piece long enough to get a couple of centimeters onto the solid material and wide enough to wrap about twice around the pipe will do the trick. You also need two clamps, often called hose clamps. They're the ones with the screw that tightens the strap. Wrap the sheet around the pipe (you might want to pre-form it around a smaller pipe first) and clamp the two ends down. Then carefully wrap it with the Magic tape, paying special attention to where the sheet ends. The main danger is an exhaust leak into the passenger compartment, but if you do a tight job, you should be fine.
Quote:The other option as I see it is to call up a custom exhaust shop and have them weld the thing back together. I am not a welder, so I have no idea if it is at all possible. The area has some rusted out pipe, but it's not more than 1/2" from the break at the most. The rest of the exhaust is fairly rust-free. I just don't know what the wonders of modern welding science can do these days.This is probably the best bet of all. They can cut the pipe back to where it is solid, and then replace the rusted part with standard stock. If there isn't any good pipe at the flange end, they can cut off the old, and weld new to the flange, or even replace he whole flange. I've no idea how much this would cost, since back in the days I did this kind of thing, is was barter between friends.
Good luck.
--Pete
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