I replaced my Y-pipe because my dealer said to. Another dealer confirmed that yes, they do fail. Neither dealer could explain WHAT exactly failed. Can someone explain what and how something breaks in a tube a metal in a 2001 with 70K miles?

 

There are I believe two pre-cats in the y-pipe that could have been messed up. Dealer might have just been trying to get some cash out of you, but i doubt it.

 

what he said...if it was "bad" then one of the precats was messed up

 

Normally its the flex section that fails. Over time, rust builds up around the welds ir the fibers break and create a hole. Its quite odd that yours failed this early. You should look into what caused that premature failure. Is your Y-pipe all rusty? How are your engine mounts? Do you do alot of WOT or drive on bumpy roads alot?

Flex section repairs normally run about $100. If it doesn't look rusty, I would take that route rather than by an OEM Y-pipe (Which is $$$). Otherwise, look into investing into an aftermarket Y-pipe from Budget, WSP, Cattman, Stillen.

Also like others above me said, it could be a precat. In which case, if your state doesn't require any form of emissions testing, there are multiple options you can do.

 

Was your SES light on? Well, seems you may have got , but there's more to it than jsut a tube of metal. If you wanted just a tube of metal than you should've bought an aftermarket one.

 

um, on the 2k-2k1s both precats are REMOVED when you install a Y pipe (this is the case on ALL vq30 powered maximas).

 

yes they are removed when you install an aftermarket Y-pipe.. he is referring to an OEM.

 

<-- read it wrong

Yes, the stock precats do indeed melt, and cause the Y pipe to flow poorly.

 

my y pipe was replaced by the dealer for the previous owner due to precat failure. The paperworks merely states the pre-cat was not functioning properly, but nothing more. It was replaced at ~55k, and then i replaced it with a stillen at 110k. They should be replaced by the dealer under the fed emissions warranty laws.

 

just a side note.both precats are removed with aftermarket y pipe only on fed spec 2ks. if you have a cali spec 2k or any 2k1 then a y pipe, then you will only remove one precat. i have plenty of pics if you want them. when my headers went on, the second precat came down with my cattman y pipe.

 

Since you y-pipe contains precats it is covered under FEDERAL LAW. I believe it is a certain amount of years of 80K miles. That is something you should check into. ANY emissions part on a car is covered by the manufacturer for a certain amount of time. It is funny that some shops will take off an OEM y-pipe on a 5thgen and install a aftermarket one. I believe the penalty is $25,000 per vehicle. This is why mopar tip toes the line with the SRT4 aftermarket parts. Also after installing any aftermarket emissions part on a vehicle that is to be driven on a public road (if you drove to the shop that applies to you) must have a full emissions test done afterwards is your state checks emissions.

Just some things to think about with your y-pipe.

Mark

 

i thought in the cali spec version, you only lose 1 precat (hence the extension piece for the fed spec version).

 

My OE Y-pipe failed at 75K on my 2K Max, it was the flex section that failed on the side closest the engine. The flex section was rusty looking but not rusted through; it had just blown out around where it connects to the pipe. My dealer looked at it and would not cover since there was no failure of the one precat, just a failing of the flex section. The stealer want $648 for a new Y, outrageous!

I went with the Cattman with full catback setup; the sound is deep and rich and not tiresome like many aftermarket setups I have heard. I highly recommend this mod!