Hello everyone,

I have a problem with my max.

I just had the "front right?" engine mount replaced at a shop, and 1 day later, the car sounds like it has no muffler. It makes this sound from under the front seat area.

I took a picture of the exhaust system to tell you where it makes the loud noise.

http://thekims.homeip.net/misc/exhaust.jpg

I think the thing towards the back (rusted beyond recognition) is the catalytic converter? It's the part just before the "cat" that seems to be eminating the sound. I am afraid that the guy replacing the motor mount ended up snapping the exhaust manifold studs. How would I know where the leakage is from?

Also, from the picture, can anyone tell me what the part (that is labeled as making the sound) is called?

Thank you for your helps.

-Sage

 

thats part of the y pipe. if it was your manifolds, it would make a ticking sound as you rev, if the sound you haev is constnat, its prolly just a exhaust leak. get a warpspeed y pipe for like 200something.. the pic you have looks like someone tried to repair it by wrapping another peice of metal to cover the leak

 

That area you labeled is definately the Y-pipe, and yes that is the catalytic converter. Looks like you have a small hole on the flex section too, so I would probalbly replace the y-pipe. Do what xnyc said and call warpspeed their number is at www.warpspeedperformance.com . They had a group deal on y-pipes, which was $160 shipped, which may be going on or not, just ask for the maxima.org price.

The guy probably did nothing wrong, but with a broken motor mount, your engine would move on the broken mount some. Since it is now fixed and sturdy, the flex is going through too your y-pipe more and probably loosened up that crappy repair job. I am not sure if thats right, but it makes sense to me .

 

definitely replace the y-pipe. That one looks like hell. A warpspeed one will also help with performance.

Your leak could be a hole in the pipe, or possibly the gasket has crapped out where the y meets the cat.

 

Same thing happened to my exhaust. They get old, rust, and break. There is a good chance of it happening to any car that old.

 

The group deal from Warpspeed is definitely still on. Just mention Maxima.org and get it for $160 shipped.

 

Thank you all for the help.

With the advice, I looked around and I guess my flex pipe (in that condition) MUST be leaking, as well as the section behind the flex pipe looks like a bomb went off in there.

I read about WSP Y-pipe off Craig's website. He didn't do this job himself. Does that mean I should not even attempt this?

The more pressing concern I have is, what is the chance of breaking the manifold studs from trying to remove/install a Y-pipe? I'd hate to trade in this problem for something even bigger. More specifically, what is the chance that an average joe mechanic will jerk the old y-pipe around, causing stress that will break studs???

Also, my catalytic converter looks beat to heck. I was wondering, should I be replacing that too? If I am at it, I guess I should just get the entire down pipe/muffler replaced?

If I can get catback exhaust (preassembled), new cat, and y-pipe, is the only problem getting the old y-pipe off? Also, can this be done while car is on a ramp (those drive-on ramps for oil change)?

Anyone know where I can get the best price for everything? I don't necessarily care about performance (it's a VG auto anyway) price is more of concern, becuase both my wife and I think it'll be better to hold on to this car until we can get a decent VE 5-spd (she likes manual, and she's the one who taught me how to drive manual when we were dating...). Hate to drop in more $$$ than necessary when we might not have this car for only a year or so...

Anyway, to sum,

Is this something that I can do (have done by myself, control arm, outer CV joint, front struts, brakes, radio/electrical, leather upholstry, and painting a door) with my experience? BTW, I have NO pneumatic tools.

Should I be replacing everything behind Y-pipe as well (is the cat in the picture worth keeping on the car)?

Anyone know dirt cheap price?

Thanks again,

-Sage

 

The y-pipe connects directly to the exhaust manifolds. You don't touch the studs. If they are broken already or are ready to go, they will break on their own.

You can do this stuff yourself, but messing with rusted bolts (especially without air tools) can be very frustrating.

The y-pipe replacement is a pretty straight-forward job (8 bolts, two o-ring gaskets and a paper gasket) but the bolts can be a huge PITA because they are usually rusted. It is well worth the $50 (usually the price) to pay a muffler shop to swap it out for you.

Even if your cat is ugly, if it is structurally sound and flows OK, I would leave it on. Unless your car runs like crap (usually really rich), the stock cat lasts a long time. If you do get a cat, just buy a cheap high flow one. They are a lot less than an OEM replacement.

The warpspeed y, even though it is a better product and increases hp, is about the same price or cheaper than an OEM replacement y-pipe. I would definitely go that route. I think they give you a discount if you tell them you are with maxima.org.

The rest of it, the cheapest thing to do is call around reputable muffler shops and get quotes. The preassembled cat-back systems from Warpspeed and GReddy are going to cost quite a bit more than just having a muffler guy weld in some crush bent pipe and a decent muffler. Pay extra for a resonator if you want to keep the sound levels down, too.

I think if you shop around and work with a place, they could probably install a y-pipe and do all of the rest from the cat back for probably $200-$250. Add $75 or so for a new cat (carsound). The y-pipe will cost around $200 (maybe cheaper for the deal). I know $500 seems like a lot, but that is everything out the door from the exhaust manifolds to the tailpipe. A GReddy cat back is a shade under $600. I think the whole warpspeed set up is $590 (including the y-pipe) but doesn't include labor or shipping.

You can check out www.warpspeedperformance.com for their pricing.

 

Replace the cat only if necessary (costs down) -or- if u think keeping u care for five yrs ahead.

You can do it, not the loveliest job. I would let smbdy else do that... No way to break the studs by replacing y-pipe, studs will go when they go... (I suspect the harder u use, the sooner they will break).

Ramp is ok, but really getting under is best...

Y-pipe is not necessary, but gives some boost in sound and performance.

 

What he said.....

 

Becarefull when installing the y-pipe, the exhaust mani studs like to break.

 

Studs break because the manifold expands/contracts. Not because you are taking off the Y. If they fall off when installing a Y, then they were broken to begin with.

 

The y-pipe is NOT a hard job to do. My first time without a manual took me 45 minutes, including jacking the car up. My second one took 2 hours because of some seriously rusted cat bolts. If you have a good set of tools with half inch drive breakers and sockets and a pair of jackstands, it can be done quite easily. I personally don't have 50 bucks to spend on a mechanic, and trust my own work a lot more because I can see exactly what is going on. Since you are in New Jersey, and based on those pics, your bolts will probably be rusted on and not pretty. Your age doesn't suggest you are a poor college student, so maybe the mechanic would be the better route for you.

 

Not that I would like to save $50 on mechanic, I do not trust work performed by them. Even the local nissan dealer mechanics here seem to be clueless.

 

Does rich running engine kill catalytic converters?

I had a 01 pathfinder that had bad MAF, and it ran rich. I used to smell exhaust fumes after engine is started in morning. It would completely disappear after car warms up. I got the MAF replaced, but it still has the smell until car warms up.

The '92 Maxima does the same thing. I thought it was fuel lines, but I am wondering if it has anything do with the catalytic converter?

 

if a car runs rich for too long it will destroy the catalytic converter

 

What is the sign of a destroyed catalytic converter?

 

Replacing exhaust is not anything like working on an engine. Generally speaking, exhaust places don't even use mechanics. You are talking about metal fab guys. They have pipe benders and welders, not diagnostic equipment and timing lights.

They just have a lift and better tools than most people, making it far less of a headache, thus it is often worth the $50 if you can afford it. If you don't have a garage (at least a decent off-street level driveway) or decent tools, this is not that bad of an option.

 

there are many possible signs.
loss of power
rotten egg smell
there are more, but I don't think you have the equipment to do more

 

CAT may become destroyed from fuel.

I had that awful smell because of myriad problems which had been continuing some 10k miles (as I got the car 2yrs ago). Cannot say the exact point when it wanished, but TPS, connectors cleanup, groundings as explained on my website were the culprit. I have not touched MAF or O2, but now the smell has been long gone. Needed long time driving/burning the accumulated soot from CAT. Have passed exam, so CAT is still ok.