My maxima is off the road currently because of an exhaust leak(And thus it won't pass inspection.)

I've jacked the car up to check it out, and it appears to be two problems..

The gaskets are gone, and the pipe with the weaving-type pattern on it(don't know what the proper name is) has a small hole where it looks like it just burned.

What is that pipe called, and about how much should I expect to pay to fix this? I'm planning on doing the work myself, of course.

I'll have pictures in a bit...

 

man took me a min to figure out what's your saying. you need a new y-pipe. the weave part you mentioned is the flex pipe. the O2 sensor is after the flex pipe. if the leak is bad the O2 will pick up a false reading (more O2 in the exhaust)...hence the reason why you're not passing the emission test.

here are your choices...
aftermarket y-pipe - stock replacment
aftermarket performance y-pipe - check out www.warpspeedperformance.com
weld in a new flex pipe - your local muffler shop can do this.

if you're going to do this yourself you better be armed with a welder.
repair cost anywhere from 50-150..YMMV...cut and paste new flex deal.
aftermkt y-pipes goes for 200 and up...again YMMV..(200 for non performace deal).

check the pipe..if the pipe is ok then cut and paste...if the pipe is rotted out then replace the entire deal.

 

the pipe your talking about is the y-pipe. warpspeed sold them for 160 shipped (old group buy, call them up maybe you might be able to stil lget it for that price.. www.warpspeedperformance.com ) and you can change them on your own as long as you have a jack and some tools. you can bring it into a junkyard muffler repair shop and have another non-damaged flex section welded onto your stock one. should cost around 80 bucks (at least in ny it is), if you wanna buy a warpspeed pipe, i think alpicone is selling his. id suggest you browse around the forums and read some more of the threads since you seem new and havent made that many posts.

 

haha danny got to it right before i finished

 

i'm a fast typer

 

No emissions testing here in New Hampshire, they just check to see if there are any holes, that's all.

My other car is a 1987 Porsche 944, and I do all the work on that, I just haven't fooled around with japanese cars at all.. the Maxima was given to me by an uncle who was moving to europe, and winter is coming soon so I need to get the Max back on the road.

I have a jack, lots of tools, and oxysetaline torches, so welding isn't a problem. I wouldn't mind having a nice performance pipe, but money is a big concern here, so it looks like I'll be going with a standard y-pipe for now.

I haven't really had a good long look at it, but it looks fairly straightforward... are there any tutorials around? <searches>

 

well it's basically 6 nuts at the manifolds...2 bolts/nuts in the back by the cat...1 O2 sensor...MAYBE one clamp/holder at the front by the tranny that's probably rotted out like crazy.

well i hope you're good w/ the oxy torch....that metal is not exactly very thick. generally people mig weld the flex back on....but use whatever you want...he11 tig it for all i care..LOL

 

he could always go real ghetto and just clamp in a new flex section, that'll hold for a week maybe

 

Is there any way I could patch it?

 

what you suggest to use to patch it?

keep in mind it has to be strong enough to hold pressure. It has to be able to withstand high temps. it has to be flexible enough to bend. if if you attempt to weld it shut the mesh will not be fixed and it'll break in a very short time.

it's such a stressed area it's hard to "patch" it with anything. best suggestion is getting a new flex section.

 

I think that I'm going to get just the flex peice and weld it in for now, just to pass inspection...the rest of the pipe seems good, and I just want to pass inspection for now so I can drive the car, and later on I will get a performance Y-pipe...

Is there a specific size flex pipe I need to get?

 

errr...total guess....2.5"? measure the tube that's on the car now to make sure.

 

I just got my Y-pipe for 160+shipped today dude. It rock, He say you can have the flex pipe for 50+shipped. his #479-246-9811