Temporary exhaust repair

spike7451

Hi.

I have a 206,on the downpipe from the engine the is a joint where it meets the catalytic converter,now the weld has failed where it meets & needs either repairing or a new cat.
At present I am on ESA benefit so money is tight,I have a quote of around £90 for a new cat fitted,but it'll be a few weeks before I can afford it.
Now it was suggested to me that I could apply a heat shield over the break & then use fibreglass bodyfiller to make the repair..or could it be welded again?
This I can do myself & it'd only have to last a few weeks until I've saved the money to replace the catalytic converter..Reason is I'm starting a work placement & need my car for transport.

TIA.

Notmyrealname

Usually when they go like that the metal is too thin to be welded - it just blows more holes in it trying to. Can't use fibreglass because there's too much heat - at best it'll just fall off and at worst it'll set on fire.

You need to be aware that potentially your exhaust could snap if you leave it and the damage could be quite severe or even cause an accident if the dropped down exhaust digs into the road.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I once had a similar problem with a Mini Cooper. I tried a temporary repair and it gave way at 70mph on the motorway. You've never heard such a noise and the exhaust dragged along the road, ruining that as well.

So get a proper job done. It's not worth doing anything else.

blue_haddock

try for a small crisis loan to get the job done properly?

forgotmyname

Stop driving it until you can afford the repair?

What if the front pipe fails and drops down as you drive? I think it was the MK3 escorts used to do that and more than a couple
actually flipped the car when it went.

Get a 2nd hand one maybe? But doing an unsafe repair is not wise.

As above fibreglass will catch fire so near the front pipe and CAT.

mr-angry

Find someone who can weld, as as a short term fix this will be your cheapest option until funds are available to carry out the repair.

spike7451

Thanks for the replies,as it is I'm not driving the car much but,sods law,I'm about to start work placement so I need my car to get me to & from there..Why couldn't it have happened a few weeks ago?...Thankfully I've got the start date of the work deffered until 20th Feb to give me time to fix it,I was thinking of trying the thing below as that is exactly where mine has broke..

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-your-car-exhaust-without-welding-or-po/?ALLSTEPS

Strider590

The exhaust shouldn't fall off even if the pipe breaks, as long as the exhaust mounts are solid it'll do no more than make a lot of noise.... Things have moved on a bit since the days of cars doing backflips.

Not sure if this can be fixed with a band clamp (or 2) with some heat proof material, might be possible as a short term solution. BUT do NOT feel tempted to leave it as permanent, the exhaust fumes could start to leak into the cabin, causing asphyxiation or making the driver pass out long enough to cause a major incident.

colino

Better to have your local, friendly independent repair it with a weld (fibre glass will not work) and check out your engine mounts too.

TrickyWicky

spike7451 wrote: »

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-your-car-exhaust-without-welding-or-po/?ALLSTEPS

I was about to suggest this method myself having done it previously on an exhaust back box.

Be very careful with the can you cut up though, sharp edges are not nice.

Use firefum (from halfords) inbetween to seal up the gaps etc. Also put it over the sharp edges of the can etc. Start engine, leave running for about half an hour and the gum will set solid creating a seal.

Not perfect but it'll do the job. Just keep an eye on it though as it can come apart after a week.

laurence_p

ive repaired a few of these in my time as an exhaust fabricator , i used to flare open up both ends of the break (used a hydraulic pipe bender), slide a small piece of pipe inside both and weld it up. easy enough to do if you have the equipment. try finding a custom exhaust garage.