Problem: exhaust pipe rusted and broken off between muffler and catalytic converter
Budget: $150
Automotive knowledge: none
Recommended course of action?
What the heck just rip that pipe off and the muffler too, throw the catalytic converter away, and run it like a race car open headers, loud, sure, but I bet your gas mileage improves.
Do a search on "replace auto exhaust". You might be able to buy the parts for $150, but I doubt it. In theory, you could do the labor yourself but without automotive knowledge, I wouldn't try it. It's going to be $400+ if you have it done. There's a wide range in prices. Shop around.
Saying "Automotive knowledge: none" isn't going to cut it because you don't have the budget to pay someone else to fix it. Broke guys need to learn some basic automotive skills if they wish to keep cars on the road.
Your only real option is to replace the pipe. The current pipe can't be fixed, both because it is rusted out and because solder won't hold to it. The pipes themselves are cheap. You also may need one or two pipe connectors and a couple of clamps (depending upon your car), which are also cheap. Altogether this should be well within your budget.
Before you go looking for this stuff, spend some time under the car figuring the connections out. It shouldn't be too hard. You might also want to watch a couple of youtube videos showing you how to replace exhaust pipes.
Most muffler shops cut and bend pipe, and weld what you need done. I don't know where you live or I'd suggest someplace to go. If it's a straight pipe and a couple of clamps it'll be pretty cheap. And you'll get a better repair with the car on a lift.
IF there is a decent amount of metal left on the pipe, you might try an "exhaust bandage" which is fiberglas tape impregnated with a heat resistant, heat setting resin. You'll want to give the pipe a good wirebrushing first to clear the loose crap out.
At best, this would be a temporary fix. I would also bet that your muffler is on its last legs as well.
Thanks to those of you who offered serious replies. I'm taking into a muffler shop today to get an opinion. I googled something that indicated it might be a $20-40 quickie repair--if the thing I googled was what this is, which is a big if.
You took it into a shop on $150 budget? Let me save you the suspense - they are going to recommend that you replace the whole assembly. Either you have more money to spend than you let on or you don't mind burning their time and your own. But anyway, good luck with it.
Why post this question here? Makes no sense Unless you are a dancer and it is the end of the month ... and you looking for "help" In which case I will fix your car after you and your hot girl friend come on over for some physical therapy and spiritual guidance.
Suggest you Go to an automotive forum for more serious advice to avoid smart asses like us.
jared, maybe he assumed that, in a board full of grown men, at least a few might be able to give him a solid answer. I guess he under-estimated just how low the testosterone levels are around here.
I will say, immodestly, that I have already given him a good answer. Maybe he just doesn't want to get dirty, idk. That's an ok position to take when one has cash on hand, but not so much when one is strapped, but I'll leave it to him to work out.
Now granted, cars are much tougher to work on now with the cramped engine compartments and all of the electronics. But there are still things we can do for ourselves, like replacing exhaust pieces, changing tires, replacing headlight and taillight bulbs and casings, and other stuff around the exterior and undercarriage. Some people still change their own oil and air filters, though many quick lube places can do oil changes almost as cheaply as we can do it for ourselves after the cost of supplies and disposing of used oil.
Gee Ricky boy you are so poetic in your dis to the fun loving TUSCL community you forgot to include, a few girly men and dudes! My testestorone level is just fine, how's you're estrogen level it seems kind of low or maybe it's just your stiff neck that's bothering you.
first cut up tin cans to cover the destroyed area. then clamp it. then if that doesn't work... DUCT TAPE. that truly won't last. just have the pipe replaced.
Actually, duct tape would probably catch fire, but honest-to-God aluminum HVAC tape used door joints in vent ducting and gas water heater exhaust pipes would probably do a decent job as a temporary repair.
I'm sorry for posting here. I thought this community had become like a family to me; I guess not.
I have read some articles online and watched some YouTube videos on how to do this relatively common repair. It's just that my lack of knowledge or experience in this realm is so profound that it's hard for me to understand all the information well enough to feel competent enough to attempt the repair on my own--I don't even know what parts to buy. Oh, the perils of being groomed for a white-collar life, but falling into blue-collar reality.
I grew up in a time where middle schools and high schools had shop classes. Some even had auto shops. That seemed like a smart way to prepare people for adulthood. I also recall home ec classes which taught people budgeting.
I think the world would better if they brought back these classes.
Mark, I agree 100%! When I went to high school 400 years ago, they had a Science, Tech and Trades option which I opted for at my mother's horror (she thought I needed to know Latin, despite my desire to be an engineer). I had courses in auto mechanics, woodworking, machine shop, metallurgy and welding, electricity, drafting and electronics. Another option was business skills. Approximately 80 percent of our high school graduates were trained to make a good living even if they never spent a day in college. Not so much these days, with college centered school boards and the fear of liability suits. :-/
I remember some schools had business classes where students would form companies and sell some small item they designed and manufactured. A tie rack, or some such.
That seems a lot more valuable for future entrepreneurs than whatever they are teaching now.
A lot of people hold up European countries as an example. In England and Germany, among others, students face a choice at 16 of either entering an internship program for the trades or other non-college occupations, or doing 2 more years of college prep. That seems to work well.
@LecherousMonk fixing your own car is a chumps game only front room friendliness with your automobile when it's time to take of your seat belt take it in the back and slam it in the tailpipe
What goofy excuses for not just getting in there and taking care of this. This is not a rocket ship engine, just a broken exhaust pipe that needs to be replaced. Being trained as a white collar guy does not preclude one from being able to handle something as simple as this. If anything, someone who is overwhelmed by something as simple as this probably also has very limited upside in the white collar world, which might actually explain the predicament he is in.
Now then again, maybe I am being uncharitable. For all my white collar training, I had a blue collar upbringing and was forced to work on my own cars as a late teen and into my early 20s. I also haven't repaired my own car in a long time.
But I will also add that, when I started my business over a decade ago, I had to polish off those old car repair skills and learn new ones over those first several months in order to stretch my startup budget and conserve limited resources for business growth. I even reconstructed the front end of my SUV when I hit a deer so that I did not have to divert thousands that could be better used in marketing efforts. The project was a bitch, requiring multiple trips to the dealership for tiny specialty parts that I didn't even know existed before I took the front end apart, but I did it. There is a certain sense of pride with a job well done, regardless of whether it is a comprehensive white collar project analysis or replacing an exhaust pipe on a car.
Moral of the story: Someone who is capable enough to succeed in a white collar environment should be able to handle basic exterior car repairs that do not require specialty tools. Capable is capable, regardless of how it is applied.
Thanks for the long story, Rick, and the condescension. Sorry I can't just, "[Get] in there and [take] care of this," even with all your specific and detailed advice about how to do so. Oh, wait. . . .
Yeah, and those mechanics should grow their own food and generate their own electricity, because there is no place for specialization in the modern economy.
@Lech:. Google "muffler bandage" and you will see a variety of products, many available at your local Advance Auto Parts from $5.95 to $14.95 that should fit your needs nicely.
Caveat: Not sure if these repairs will pass muster at a state safety inspection.
Mark posted: "Yeah, and those mechanics should grow their own food and generate their own electricity, because there is no place for specialization in the modern economy."
There is a difference between necessary specializations and those that are a luxury purchase. The necessary ones are those things that are impossible or impractical for us to do for ourselves, like building our own homes, wiring our own houses, heavy duty engine repair and lots of other things that require specialized skills, equipment and, in many cases, licenses. So does growing our own food since most people simply don't own enough land to grow crops and livestock sufficient to feed themselves (and most residential areas won't allow livestock).
The luxury variety includes those who we pay to clean our houses, mend our clothes, make prepared food, tend our yards, do basic repairs in our houses, etc. And yes, I would put basic auto repair - meaning those parts that do not require special equipment and for which instructions exist - in that category (replacing batteries, tire changes, replacing wipers, other easy external body fixes, muffler and pipe repair and replacement).
The problem is that we are now turning out such helpless people that they view the luxury specializations as necessary ones. That's fine I suppose for those who are flush, but not so much for those who are broke.
"I had this car at the dealership less than six months ago, and their inspection mentions nothing about the exhaust."
A lot can happen in 6 months. If there was a noticeable problem 6 months ago the dealership would mention it as it's their chance to make money and dealerships specialize in making money.
Rickdugan: I actually have relatives who built their own houses prior to getting married. Seriously, there are parts of the country where that is still done.
Beyond that, it's nice to know that someone is keeping a detailed list of skills that men must have and shaming them when they fall short. It's an essential service.
Screw it, go ahead and "Midasize" it ! Really, if paying a shop $$ to install a new muffler and some pipe are going to break the bank, then maybe you have no business club mongering. For me, skipping a club visit or 2 will make up for the repair bill.
"Doesn't require specialized equipment": I'll cut you some slack there, because a welding torch, and associated safety gear aren't exactly everyday stuff, like a screwdriver and wrench set. I don't own welding equipment, and haven't seen that many in the neighborhood. OP said he has very little auto repair knowledge. The time /cost spent getting the right tools and parts (probably multiple back and forth trips) would take more than 1 muffler repair to recoup cost of equipment. In over 4 decades of car ownership, I've owned 10 cars, 5 of which I kept for over 100K miles, 2 for 75K or so miles. Over the course of 4 decades, I've only had to replace 5 mufflers(on 2 different cars), the last 1 happening in the mid-90's. Feel better now ?
Was just at the shop: $60, 1 hour. Do I feel like a little bit of a bitch for not figuring it out myself? Yes. Enough to spoil my elation over finally getting it resolved, and for this cheap? No.
@minnow: You might have missed the part where he said that he only had $150 to spend. I agree that he should probably replace the whole system. If a pipe rotted out, it's a fair bet that the other components aren't in great shape either. But he claimed not to have the scratch, so instead the advice he got is how regular folk handle things like this when they have to keep a shit box on the road on a tight budget. No welding equipment is needed for a patchwork pipe replacement - just connectors and clamps.
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Your only real option is to replace the pipe. The current pipe can't be fixed, both because it is rusted out and because solder won't hold to it. The pipes themselves are cheap. You also may need one or two pipe connectors and a couple of clamps (depending upon your car), which are also cheap. Altogether this should be well within your budget.
Before you go looking for this stuff, spend some time under the car figuring the connections out. It shouldn't be too hard. You might also want to watch a couple of youtube videos showing you how to replace exhaust pipes.
At best, this would be a temporary fix. I would also bet that your muffler is on its last legs as well.
Why post this question here? Makes no sense Unless you are a dancer and it is the end of the month ... and you looking for "help" In which case I will fix your car after you and your hot girl friend come on over for some physical therapy and spiritual guidance.
Suggest you Go to an automotive forum for more serious advice to avoid smart asses like us.
I will say, immodestly, that I have already given him a good answer. Maybe he just doesn't want to get dirty, idk. That's an ok position to take when one has cash on hand, but not so much when one is strapped, but I'll leave it to him to work out.
Now granted, cars are much tougher to work on now with the cramped engine compartments and all of the electronics. But there are still things we can do for ourselves, like replacing exhaust pieces, changing tires, replacing headlight and taillight bulbs and casings, and other stuff around the exterior and undercarriage. Some people still change their own oil and air filters, though many quick lube places can do oil changes almost as cheaply as we can do it for ourselves after the cost of supplies and disposing of used oil.
I have read some articles online and watched some YouTube videos on how to do this relatively common repair. It's just that my lack of knowledge or experience in this realm is so profound that it's hard for me to understand all the information well enough to feel competent enough to attempt the repair on my own--I don't even know what parts to buy. Oh, the perils of being groomed for a white-collar life, but falling into blue-collar reality.
I think the world would better if they brought back these classes.
That seems a lot more valuable for future entrepreneurs than whatever they are teaching now.
Now then again, maybe I am being uncharitable. For all my white collar training, I had a blue collar upbringing and was forced to work on my own cars as a late teen and into my early 20s. I also haven't repaired my own car in a long time.
But I will also add that, when I started my business over a decade ago, I had to polish off those old car repair skills and learn new ones over those first several months in order to stretch my startup budget and conserve limited resources for business growth. I even reconstructed the front end of my SUV when I hit a deer so that I did not have to divert thousands that could be better used in marketing efforts. The project was a bitch, requiring multiple trips to the dealership for tiny specialty parts that I didn't even know existed before I took the front end apart, but I did it. There is a certain sense of pride with a job well done, regardless of whether it is a comprehensive white collar project analysis or replacing an exhaust pipe on a car.
Moral of the story: Someone who is capable enough to succeed in a white collar environment should be able to handle basic exterior car repairs that do not require specialty tools. Capable is capable, regardless of how it is applied.
Caveat: Not sure if these repairs will pass muster at a state safety inspection.
There is a difference between necessary specializations and those that are a luxury purchase. The necessary ones are those things that are impossible or impractical for us to do for ourselves, like building our own homes, wiring our own houses, heavy duty engine repair and lots of other things that require specialized skills, equipment and, in many cases, licenses. So does growing our own food since most people simply don't own enough land to grow crops and livestock sufficient to feed themselves (and most residential areas won't allow livestock).
The luxury variety includes those who we pay to clean our houses, mend our clothes, make prepared food, tend our yards, do basic repairs in our houses, etc. And yes, I would put basic auto repair - meaning those parts that do not require special equipment and for which instructions exist - in that category (replacing batteries, tire changes, replacing wipers, other easy external body fixes, muffler and pipe repair and replacement).
The problem is that we are now turning out such helpless people that they view the luxury specializations as necessary ones. That's fine I suppose for those who are flush, but not so much for those who are broke.
A lot can happen in 6 months. If there was a noticeable problem 6 months ago the dealership would mention it as it's their chance to make money and dealerships specialize in making money.
Beyond that, it's nice to know that someone is keeping a detailed list of skills that men must have and shaming them when they fall short. It's an essential service.
"Doesn't require specialized equipment": I'll cut you some slack there, because a welding torch, and associated safety gear aren't exactly everyday stuff, like a screwdriver and wrench set. I don't own welding equipment, and haven't seen that many in the neighborhood. OP said he has very little auto repair knowledge. The time /cost spent getting the right tools and parts (probably multiple back and forth trips) would take more than 1 muffler repair to recoup cost of equipment. In over 4 decades of car ownership, I've owned 10 cars, 5 of which I kept for over 100K miles, 2 for 75K or so miles. Over the course of 4 decades, I've only had to replace 5 mufflers(on 2 different cars), the last 1 happening in the mid-90's. Feel better now ?