Header Leaking....

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yeah, right at the "Y" joint on the headers, there's smoke pouring out. I just went to start up the car this morning (second time it had been started in the morning) and it sounded like I had no exhaust at all....so I looked, and there's a large amount of smoke seeping out before the cat. It sounds like shit, what are my options?

[Wiscon_Mark]

well, I did some "testing" (held a piece of cardboard underneath the exhaust while my dad revved the engine and found the spot where it was spewing exhaust) and its centered right around the catalytic converter :evil:

Hi Flow cat in the future? Maybe, since its a lot less expensive than an OEM one. But, it may just be a joint leak and no big deal. The car's going in Monday, we'll have to see.

[galek_98gt]

maybe as a temp patch throw on some JB Weld.

[Wiscon_Mark]

care to expand that thought??? I've heard of it before, what is it? Just like bondo for the exhuast?

[galek_98gt]

care to expand that thought??? I've heard of it before, what is it? Just like bondo for the exhuast?

more like epoxy but for metal. comes in two tubes that when mixed you need to apply quickly cause it doesn't take long to dry.

i was at advance auto parts today and saw something called magnum steel that looks like silver putty but you apply it over cracks in stuff like exhaust pipes and it seals it up. never before seen that stuff so no idea how well it works.

[jdmconnected]

WTF? A guy from Wisconsin doesn't know exactly what JB Weld is and hasn't used it before? Are you really from Wisconsin, or are you one of those "city folk"? :wink:

Being from Wisconsin myself, I'd have to say that if you walked up to any farmer (or any guy driving a beat-up truck with a body lift) and asked for JB weld they'd have some for you in 10 seconds or less. :smt117

Just make sure when you use that stuff you get the area you're going to apply it to fairly clean and roughed up with very coarse sandpaper or something similar. If the hole is very large or you have a lot of rust on that section of pipe (almost a certainty in Wisconsin) don't plan on the fix lasting permanently or possibly even more than a few days, so start shopping for a replacement part.

You could always just leave it like is and go hang out with with the locals who have glasspack equipped trucks...

[Wiscon_Mark]

haha, I'd probably fit right in too, its pretty dang loud at Idle....

Didn't know you were from Wisconsin, Neil. How long ago was that?

As far as JB weld, well....we don't go through our cars that quickly, and no I'm not city folk, i've lived on a farm all my life....

[jdmconnected]

LOL, sorry about that, calling you "city folk" must have been a pretty big insult. :shock:

I grew up in Wisconsin, lived in Berlin until I was 10, moved to Green Bay for 2 years, headed to Raleigh for 2 years, (divorced parents...) then it was back to Berlin until I turned 18. I'm proud of my redneck roots (though I'm technically not much of a redneck), but the hiatus to NC did me some good.

I worked for a dairy farmer for 2 years in high school (yes, milking the cows), and actually that guy didn't use JB weld either. :wink:

[Wiscon_Mark]

No Kidding! That's not far away from me! I live in the Weyauwega/Fremont area, if you remember where that is....its only a 15 minute drive from my house to Berlin :D

Anyways, back on topic, my dad noticed that the headers were rusted out, and we may be looking at replacing them too....

The newly acquired Chilton's manual that I have doesn't really show my exhaust system (BG/BK/BDs must've been different from all the other Phase I 2.2Ls) all that accurately (no resonator shown either) and I want to put the car up and look at everything with the heatshields off...

[jdmconnected]

Wow, I can't remember ever being in the Fremont area, although I did go to a Great White concert somewhere around Wild Rose a few years back when I was visting. Next time I visit Berlin and Redgranite maybe we can have our own SLi meet, though I doubt I'll be sporting a Legacy.

If you didn't already, be sure to spray WD40 or other rust penetrant on your heatshield bolts (and everything else you might take off while you're under there) a couple times a few days and/or hours before you plan on taking stuff off, it'll make removal much easier and lower the probability of breaking those small bolts.

Neil

[Wiscon_Mark]

Thanks for the tip :D
Wild Rose is more westerly, I'm north of Berlin.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yeah, we're getting this fixed before those would probably come in. My dad doesn't like a handicapped car.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Update-
We had our mechanic and the dealership both look at it, and the flange that connects the second Catalytic converter is rusted out, and is leaking exhaust out the bottom...so that means a new cat. the mechanic quoted close to 1000 dollars (unless he can patch it) for both cats, and the dealership quoted over 500 bucks and they could get 1 cat and weld it on (so labor is 117 bucks, parts are 430 or soemthing like that).

I guess I have to drive it into my dad's head that the stromung is gonna be cheaper and better. However...anyone know what kind of warranty the stromung has?