Broken Front Exhaust Rust Heat Shield Flange
 

About a month ago I hit a unmarked construction speed bump in the dark. Not my finest moment, but things happen. I pulled over and nothing seemed out of place....lucky me. Well a month has gone by and I noticed some rattling underneath. I crawled underneath when changing my oil yesterday and noticed some of the heat shield bands have broken. I went to lowes and got some hose clamps and fixed the ones that were accessible. However, the heat shield flanges around the resonators (not sure if that is the part...really don't know exhaust systems) have completely snapped and are impossible to get off without removing the front exhaust stage. If I had the right tool I'm sure I could cut them off. Are these flanges really necessary considering they are so close to the tranny? What are my part options considering replacing the whole front exhaust part is around $1000 just for parts? Are these heat shield flanges really necessary?

Nissan font exhaust assembly: Does anybody know where I can find the production date on my car?

20020-9N60A 2008.05-2009.08
20020-ZX80A 2009.08-2011.08

I found a website with people facing sort of the same issue.
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldatadiy...5789/162647863

Here is what has broken:
Attachment 20870

You are right....Nissan put the heat shielding there because of the close proximity of the CVT. The one suggestion I can give you is to wrap that area of the exhaust with some good header wrap.
I realized before I installed my Racing Line y-pipe that this could be an issue and wrapped the forward most 2/3 of the pipe in header wrap to reduce the CVT's exhaust heat exposure.

I appreciate the response. The rest of the heat shielding is very well intact. It is just those little flares that have broken off due to rusting and the obvious impact from the speed bump. The catalytic converters are in good shape as well. Are those little flares really necessary? Is it okay to heat wrap catalytic converters?
Considering the price of just the front pipe of the exhaust, buying a new one is out of the questions. The cheapest I found was $750. You can't see it in the picture but the back flange that connects to the mid pipe is quite rusted. I had awful problems with exhaust rust on my 2002 Maxima because of the incredible amount of chemicals the city of Indianapolis dumps on the road in the winter. I'm considering taking some time and dropping each section of the exhaust and cleaning up all the rust. I'm also highly considering getting some high heat primer and enamel and spraying some of the problem areas to prevent further damage.
I have a Dremel so I'm going to Lowes and buying some cut off wheels and just removing those flares. I'll be posting some pics of progress to help anyone else that wants to attack this.

Your issue may not be that big of a problem since it's just the flanges that are now exposed. That mesh between them is actually just flex material in the pipe and are not the Cats.

At this point I'm just going to cut them off but I am going to be dropping that part of the exhaust to do some rust protection. Really don't need to be dropping $1000 in a couple of years.

Nissan cut mine off when they broke free. Not needed.

I got them cut off an no more startup grinding. So happy I got that solved instead of taking to the dealer in what I thought was a transmission issue. It took my 3 hours just to get the 8 bolts and nuts loose on the exhaust. Didn't get to tackle the project. The NSM says I need to replace the gaskets if I drop the exhaust. Considering they are about $10 a piece, is it really needed? I wouldn't mind replacing them if I can replace them with aftermarket ones from autozone which has them for $2.99.

http://www.yoyopart.com/oem/6485379/...069151e01.html
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=225032_0_0_

Can anybody verify these will work for at least the front gaskets?

Depends on the condition on the gaskets, but for a few bucks just do it. Also pick-up some anti-seize while you are at the auto parts store, you'll need it when re-installing the exhaust bolts....especially important if you ever want to successfully remove them in the future.

Just take your old gaskets in and compare....

They Autozone site shows they are for 2001 Maxima so probably not.


Your best bet is probably to get Nissan OEM parts. That way you can make sure they fit.

After looking up the prices for new exhaust parts, and realizing my 02 resonator and muffler rusted out at about 120,000 miles, I decided to save my current exhaust while I could. The zinc coated hardware that Nissan uses had completely rusted out at all sections except where the front section meets the 1st stage catalytic converters. So I ended up dropping the whole exhaust so I could drill out all the stripped nuts and bolts. No amount of PB blaster or heat got these loose. Trust me I tried. If you have a newer Maxima, I highly recommend doing some exhaust rust prevention and replacing all the Zinc coated hardware with stainless steel.

Tools you will need:
Metric Hex tools from 13mm to 16mm ( A pneumatic wrench would be preferable but if your exhaust is rusted enough, you will just strip the nuts and bolts.
PB Blaster
New gaskets: Maybe not needed but they are cheap at Autozone. Just make sure they have them in sock. I used:
(4) 60905
(1) 60458
Jacks or Ramps
Anti Seize
Stainless Hardware (replacing the stock Nissan. If you want the stock nissan parts, here is the part numbers: http://www.nissanpartszone.com/parts...e-muffler.html)
3 Cans of High Heat paint and 1 Can of High Heat primer
Steel Wool, Wire brush, and/or wire brush attachment for drill

I ended up dropping the exhaust by unbolting most of the hangers.

Attachment 20747

You can see how badly my mid flange was rusted:

Attachment 20748

Gaskets and Paint:
http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56825338.jpg

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...psbd65ff9a.jpg

Attachment 20749

I ended up having to drill out the two mid flange bolts and the four muffler flange bolts. They all broke even after two sessions of overnight PB and torching them with heat. The stock nissan ones are 10mmx1.25 thread but it is highly expensive to find stainless steel hardware this size and pitch. All exhaust hardware should be stainless anyways. I'm fully convinced automakers use Zinc coated so they will rust out faster and make it impossible to do work yourself without damaging parts.
So I decided to drill and tap up to the next standard size. I went to my friendly Sullivans Hardware down the street and got a 7/16" - 14 (course thread) tap, a 25/64" dill bit (tap and drill chart:http://www.physics.ncsu.edu/pearl/Tap_Drill_Chart.html), bolts, washers, and nuts (all SS). In all it cost me around $15 for the hardware.

I used a wire brush and removed as much rust as possible. Then I wiped the whole thing down with wax and grease remover and then proceeded to primer and paint. The good thing about this paint is it also come in the brush on kind so touch ups should be easy.

Attachment 20750

Attachment 20751

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/...psd67ea886.jpg

I also managed to polish up my tips with some metal polish. I'll definitely snap some install pics when I put it back in today.

Attachment 20752

Hmm... my muffler pipes don't have the built-in chambers that yours have.

Attachment 20744

Could have something to do with the fact that I live in Indiana which has some pretty loose, if any, emission standards. Although I really don't know where the car was made. Would be really interested to see the difference in sound. I still don't know my production date but it could also have something to do with it especially if I have one of the earlier 09s.

First you did a good job, and second I have the resonators the same as u...I wonder why his doesn't

I have an early 09 and have the pre muffler resonators.

Maybe after the 09s were produced, Nissan thought the exhaust didn't have the right tone and changed them for the 10s. Next time I'm at my parents house I'll look at my dad's 14 and see if he has them. Anyways here is the final result.

Attachment 20729

Attachment 20730

Attachment 20731

Looks good bud, and I have a 2010 with the resonators so idk

Heat shield flanges rattling
 

MJ:
I'm replying years after your original post. I hope your entire exhaust system is holding up well (if you still have the car). I had the same issue on my 2011. Only recently did I hear all kinds of rattling and metallic sounds from under my car. Especially when I first fired up the engine after sitting overnight. Those flanges were looses and rattling around, as well as the sheet metal heat shields. The flimsy hose type clamps which are wrapped around the shields were busted and doing nothing.

The flanges: I took some standard aluminum foil from the kitchen and made a couple of "ropes" which I wrapped around the gaps on the flanges, then finished them off with a couple of hose clamps from Home Depot. Hose clamps for sheet metal heat shields also. Not a sound now!

Hey, I always wondered about that air tube going to the cat converter. Mine has always looked like a hose should be connected to it, but yours looks the same. Strange that it's open like that and not sealed to water, grit, etc.
Mike