Exhaust System
 

I havent seen meny posts on this,and my cd doesent give me any part names so i will try to discribe the problem. I found a small hole in one of the pipes going to one of the ovel THINGS, there are two, one pointing to each rear door[sorry for the crude explanition]. The hole is about 1/2'' in diameter and it is on top of the pipe.I am sure this assy. is very expensive and since the rest of the system seems to be in good condition i would like to repair it.Any suggestions on a good patch?

ANYBODY!

I imagine you're talking about Part TV 126128 (picture is for an 88 420SEL, courtesy of Timevalve.com). Without seeing the hole, it's hard to suggest a repair. Is it on a flat area?... or at a weld?... or corner? How thin is the metal adjacent to the hole?

For stainless steel exhaust systems - which is probably what you have - failure is typically by fracture at a weld. It is not commonly repairable using inexpensive methods. Once it fails at a weld, the only thing you can do is replace the entire system. It's hard to accept this fact considering the rest of the stainless steel system is in relatively good shape. (Don't you just love welds over clamps! It's another manufacturing cost-saver that lowers the price of new cars, yet increases the cost of repair!!) Conventional aluminized low-carbon steel generally degrades over a broader area on the exhaust system.

Unless you can put a muffler patch over the hole, or find some creative way to seal the hole, it's time for replacement. Muffler patch is sold in most auto supply houses.

Kestas: Thanks for the reply. The rusted out hole is on the top of one of the round pipes leading into the right muffler on part # tv126128. There is pleanty of room between welds.

Go ahead and see if your local auto supply house has a product I think is called "muffler bandage". Try it -- you have little to lose.

Another trick that may work is to get an old piece of muffler pipe, cut a half-round or something that fits over the hole, and patch it using a muffler clamp. Don't have an old piece of pipe?... the same store may have some small pieces for sale.

Thanks again! I will try pep boys.

Just take it to an exhaust shop and have them fix it. They do that kind of stuff all day long.