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Hey there all, I hope this finds you well...Merry Christmas!

Well my car (1997 Subaru Impreza Sportswagon, Ej20 5sp) has a hole in its exhaust just on the 2nd resonator...the larger diameter cylinder on the exhaust about mid-ship with the conical section on each side.
I've been quoted $300 I think for a new system, and I really don't want to spend it if I don't have too...

So my question is how easy is it to remove an exhaust system from the header back to weld it up? Any tips/hints how best to do it? I'm pretty handy with the old gasless mig or Arc welder. How do I test it?

Any tips for loosening bolts? Or is the time spent worth less than the $300? I don't need it every day, I'm still on my l's...19 and on my l's..lol, I want to do the drive test in my car but it has to be roadworthy.

Thanks guys;

Braden

You should be able to unbolt that section and take it out. Make sure you CRC or WD40 all the bolts the day before you do it.

Then you can blow more holes in it with your mig sorry mig it up.

TOONGA

if its rusted out probably not going to be able to weld it

its christmas!! stop talking cars and go enjoy the day!!

lol
davo

D3V1L wrote:its christmas!! stop talking cars and go enjoy the day!!

Already done that, in wind-down mode now

Don't weld up the holes, put a plate over the holes and tack it in, then weld it in small sections to reduce the heat build up and thus blowing holes in the exhaust pipe.

To make sure it's sealed, replace on vehicle, start it up, and with a welding glove put your hand on the exhaust pipe and hold it there until it stalls - not easy to do but it can be done. Have a mate get under the car to check out if there are any leaks

Cheers

Bennie

Thanks heaps guys, you're all champs!

I'll be sure to check in when I've had time to do it I won a defensive driving course at Sandown on the 29th, and I'll be going with Dad in my car so it has to be done by then

I also bought one of those exhaust strap/putty kits, which I will go over the affected section with after welding. It should hold till I put a new system on it

G'day Bradenrm

D3V1L wrote:its christmas!! stop talking cars and go enjoy the day!!

lol
davo

They are enjoying the day...talking Subarus lol

TOONGA wrote:You should be able to unbolt that section and take it out. Make sure you CRC or WD40 all the bolts the day before you do it.

Then you can blow more holes in it with your mig sorry mig it up.

TOONGA

Been there?

Bradenrm wrote:Thanks heaps guys, you're all champs!

I'll be sure to check in when I've had time to do it I won a defensive driving course at Sandown on the 29th, and I'll be going with Dad in my car so it has to be done by then

I also bought one of those exhaust strap/putty kits, which I will go over the affected section with after welding. It should hold till I put a new system on it

Awesome! Be sure to get the instructor to teach you proper hand-brake turn technique

Be sure to tell us all bout it.

D3V1L wrote:its christmas!! stop talking cars and go enjoy the day!!

This comment has been playing on me - worked out why the other day... BECAUSE IT'S IRONIC!!!

nachaluva wrote:Awesome! Be sure to get the instructor to teach you proper hand-brake turn technique

And if you're ever doing it in an MY or L series, don't be trying hand brake turns - they don't work!! Bloody front wheel hand brakes!

Cheers

Bennie

D3V1L wrote:its christmas!! stop talking cars and go enjoy the day!!

lol
davo

Then WTF were you doing on here?? lol

El_Freddo wrote:This comment has been playing on me - worked out why the other day... BECAUSE IT'S IRONIC!!!

And if you're ever doing it in an MY or L series, don't be trying hand brake turns - they don't work!! Bloody front wheel hand brakes!

Cheers

Bennie

But then they would do awesome reverse 180 deg turns hehe

Kids don't try that at home!

nachaluva wrote:But then they would do awesome reverse 180 deg turns hehe

yeh, if you dont end up in a tree! at least on the gravel over here you just lose all steering and continue to plow straight ahead without wiping off any significant speed.

so you just go full lock with the steering and stop within less than a meter even on a wet road or a loose gravel road.

don't try this on newer cars though, it doesn't work, and full lock isn't like it is
on the L series. I suppose ABS is supposed to save us in the newer cars.:???:

fredsub wrote:I suppose ABS is supposed to save us in the newer cars.:???:

You supposed wrong - ABS is there to take control of the situation, meaning one less thing for a freaked out driver to worry about or control.

ABS is dangerous offroad in a lot of situations, you can literally loose your braking when you really need it, even at low speed - you just won't stop!

The more cars are packed with "safety system features" the more the driver thinks that the car will get them out of a potential accident - which to me means that it takes responsibility away from the driver's actions because a "safety feature" will correct it. WHY NOT just drive sensibly in the first place with some common sense!?

Cheers

Bennie

Hehe hijack alert

Bradenrm, how did you go with the exhaust?

How did the driving course go?

El_Freddo wrote:You supposed wrong - ABS is there to take control of the situation, meaning one less thing for a freaked out driver to worry about or control.
...


Bennie

I thought I was being ironic:mrgreen:

nachaluva wrote:Hehe hijack alert

Bradenrm, how did you go with the exhaust?

How did the driving course go?

Hey mate, my bad-it's the 29th of January!
And the exhaust bolts are soaking now I've got a hold of this pretty fantastic stuff, Chepark Rust Lubricant. I use it a lot at work and it does the job admirably

So I soaked the bolts...no dice. They're nicely rusted in there :/ the nut started to strip (I used a nice ring spanner?) so I improvised. Off came the heat sheild (this is the section of the exhaust on the side of the flange on the engine side of the system, under the fuel tank in a GC series 1997 impreza sportswagon)

After I got that off I found the problem...it had copped a knock on the ground side of the tube, which was enough to pop the quite rusted seam of the tubing into 2 bits in one place. And it wasn't too flash for a fair length. So I unloaded 2 packets of exhaust putty and stuck some exhaust tape over the top...let it cure for a bit then took it our for a half our, just to get some heat into it and cure it (as directed). Seems to have worked well, although we all know it won't be for long. Time for an upgraded system I think! Headers and a 2.25 system hopefully not a cannon

Try finding a 2nd hand exhaust from someone upgrading to a 3" system. If you look around you may be able to find a newish one on the cheap

nachaluva wrote:Try finding a 2nd hand exhaust from someone upgrading to a 3" system. If you look around you may be able to find a newish one on the cheap

Do you know if a turbo cat-back system would bolt up to a set of standard headers?

I dont know but I would doubt it.

Perhaps someone else would know...