99 E300 exhaust question

[BlueMax]

I have a 99 E300 that has a cracked weld where the tail pipe goes into the muffler. It now sounds like a beater. My questions are as follows:

• Will a leak in the exhaust prior to the muffler affect performance?
• Would this leak cause the clacking or I think it may be called nailing?
• The MB dealer wants over 800 bucks for 1 piece of the exhaust rear section. I bought a Bosal part for 350. Did I buy a good quality one?
• To Install do I slide it in from the rear or slide it in the opposite way. (no pun intended here) Not sure if it has to go over the Axle. I will know that when I lift it up in my garage. By the way, How far up do I have to lift the car?

99 E300 210 Glacier white with Java interior. 130k

Thanks for any advice

[98E300TDman]

Well, I have the exact same problem...... my very reliable local mechanic has quoted me $900 for the part and labor. The local Midas place quotes about $500, and I see the online parts available for $250 or so.

What did you end up doing...? Are you happy with the results?

Can the junction between the rear pipe and muffler simply be welded...? Is that an option?

Regards,

98E300 (152K)

[KarTek]

Yeah, you're treading on new territory there and I'd be interested to see how things went as well.

[nhdoc]

This is a VERY common failure. Find a good custom exhaust shop and have them fab a new center pipe and weld it to the back of the muffler at the inlet and you will be good to go for a number of years, assuming your muffler was in as good shape as mine was when the same weld failed several years ago on my E300.

I went to Lou's Custom Exhaust in Manchester NH (they are a NE chain) and they did the repair for about $125 if I recall correctly. They said no aftermarket muffler is as good as the OEM one and I was better off with their fix than replacing it and I believe it was good advice.

[e300D97]

Becareful not to run the muffler without the tailpipe. Mine rusted and was hanging on but a small shard, it actually deformed the lower bumper valance. I had only driven 150 miles.

[98E300TDman]

The junction is rusty, at the input of the muffler. I can get an exhaust shop to replace the pipe, but how do I know if the pipe needs replacement...i.e. can't the "ring of rust" be repaired itself...? Why an entire new pipe.....

Similarly how would one know if the muffler still has life in it?

Trying not only to save some $$, but also, I do not want to have to redo the job in a year.....

[JimSmith]

I replaced the aft section once a few years ago at maybe 110,000 miles. Last year I had another growing exhaust noise. So I got under the car and started checking things out. Seems the pipe coming out of the mini-keg of a cat has two near 90 degree bends. The OD of the pipe in the bends was completely eaten away. Big holes, like things you could nearly put a pool cue ball into...

So, I had TimeValve fabricate an entire new exhaust system from the mini-keg aft. I made a mistake and asked them to oversize the diameter of the tube so they could slip it over the nipple on the mini-keg. The larger tube came with a slightly thicker wall. Now at full throttle the machine is a bit noisy and makes me think maybe the mini-keg is empty...no Diesel stink or increase in smoking though. But, the heavier gauge stainless from TimeValve should last for the life of the vehicle which I hope is extraordinarily long.

Jim

[F18]

Originally Posted by 98E300TDman

The junction is rusty, at the input of the muffler. I can get an exhaust shop to replace the pipe, but how do I know if the pipe needs replacement...i.e. can't the "ring of rust" be repaired itself...? Why an entire new pipe.....

Similarly how would one know if the muffler still has life in it?

Trying not only to save some $$, but also, I do not want to have to redo the job in a year.....

Yes.....I had the repair done on the inlet side of the original muffler on my 98.
It bought me a little time.....may be another 50K miles. But eventually the repair flang that was fabricated and the reinforcement that was welded on finally rusted through. There is no galvanizing coat on the fabricated parts or welds unlike the original muffler and pipe system. So it is even more prone to rust.

[BlueMax]

I got a bosal replacement. It fit like a glove and took me about 45 minutes to change out. after 130k miles the clamp came apart so easily with a little liquid wrench soak. I re-used the clamp because it was engineered so nicely. Some work needed to remove the clamp from the old pipe... Spot welded on but take your time and you can remve it.

The Bosal cost $350.00 it is about half the quality of the original but it fits nice.

The rear Rubber hangars should be replaced. You will need a 13mm socket to remove the bolt. I used a small jack stand to hold it up while I re attached the hangar. I will wait for the next time it is on a lift to replace the center rubber hangar.

I kept the old section because it looked servicable or repairable. So I stored it out by the trash cans. After a few weeks the red headed war department told me I had to do something with it. It is so difficult to find a welder these days...

I decided to cut it up and put it in the trash. Got out my sawzall and after the first cut I was kicking myself for not repairing it. The steel was so thick it would have outlived the car.

I have a friend who retired as the pricipal metalurgist for a fortune 50 chemical company look at it. He said it failed due to the air flow in that spot. A swirl and turn with the first part of the sound dappening. So yes... Weld and re-use... I would find a small piece of stainless and use 308 rod...

[nhdoc]

Originally Posted by BlueMax

...I kept the old section because it looked servicable or repairable. So I stored it out by the trash cans. After a few weeks the red headed war department told me I had to do something with it. It is so difficult to find a welder these days...

I decided to cut it up and put it in the trash. Got out my sawzall and after the first cut I was kicking myself for not repairing it. The steel was so thick it would have outlived the car.

I have a friend who retired as the pricipal metalurgist for a fortune 50 chemical company look at it. He said it failed due to the air flow in that spot. A swirl and turn with the first part of the sound dappening. So yes... Weld and re-use... I would find a small piece of stainless and use 308 rod...

Yes, as I said, the shop who repaired mine said the OE muffler is very good and mine was still in perfect shape and unless I was willing to spend nearly a grand on a new one I should just let them repair it. This was not the first one they saw fail this way

They said the best fix is to replace the pipe from the mid joint back (I think they used a heavier gauge steel and maybe extended it so it protruded into the muffler body a little more) and did a very nice job welding it. My bet is it will last at least as long as the original - which was about 9 years and 160K miles.

I elected to go that route but had I not I would have done the Bosal replacement too - I'm sure it will give you decent service for the money.

[98E300TDman]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. This morning, I took my car into the local Midas shop, and for $279 they cleaned and then welded the bejesus out of the junction between the pipe and muffler. Then, they applied a sealant although, due to the thickness of the weld, it probably was not needed.

Car runs very well now.....I will expect to have to address this once again in about 50K miles. Nearly everyone I spoke to said the aftermarket systems were not as good as the OEM system, in that the steel is of lesser quality.

Midas did not provide a "lifetime warranty" LOL

thanks to all

[nhdoc]

Originally Posted by 98E300TDman

Thanks for all the helpful comments. This morning, I took my car into the local Midas shop, and for $279 they cleaned and then welded the bejesus out of the junction between the pipe and muffler. Then, they applied a sealant although, due to the thickness of the weld, it probably was not needed.

Car runs very well now.....I will expect to have to address this once again in about 50K miles. Nearly everyone I spoke to said the aftermarket systems were not as good as the OEM system, in that the steel is of lesser quality.

Midas did not provide a "lifetime warranty" LOL

thanks to all

IMHO $279 is a lot for just welding the old pipe to the muffler (without fabbing a new one) but it is still less than replacing it with an inferior one so you did well, enjoy it. I'm guessing if you went to a couple of other exhaust shops you could have gotten it done for less than $100 but Midas does turn everything they touch into gold