Exhausts

Hi guys, i had my car serviced around a week ago and the mechanic noticed that the silencers/cat join was basically being held on by the bolt shaft as the head/nut have seemingly rusted away. I think the cat to manifold join is a bit flakey as well. Is it worth me getting just the bolts changed or should i aim for any parts to be replaced. The reason i ask is that overall a new exhaust system (cats/manifolds/silencers) seems to be in the region of £2000 or so and im guessing drilling out some bolts will be a hell of alot cheaper its just that the exhaust is nearly 13 years old. Cheers

I had the same problem; the bolts were drilled out and replaced. It's a pig of a job; I paid for 3.5 hours labour. If the exhausts are OK I'd leave them but clearly the bolts need to be done.

I cropped off various nut and bolts a few months ago as I had a bit of a fright when I saw how little of the nuts and blts were left holding everything together. It's a real pain in the ass getting at some of the bits. I used a dremel to cut most of the bits off. A good cobalt drills will make it possible to drill out any bolts etc. due to the high temperatures around the exhaust normal HSS drills tend to burn out as the steel has usually hardened over the years. If you are feeling like a day of grunts and curses have a go. A new set of clamps, stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers plus some copper slip or similar will make it all go back together easily. You will have the satisfaction of knowing you saved a pile of money and the fittings will come apart when you next need them to.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. im trying to get SWMBO to sign off on a nice quicksilver that sounds like[link=http://www.quicksilverexhausts.com/Porsche-911-Carrera-%28996%29---Sport-Exhaust-%281997-04%29_PORSCHE_231_productbulletin.htm] this[/link]. Is it worth trying to get the seams on the silencers welding up or is it a can of worms?

I had similar issues with my car plus a leaking seam on the near side silencer. After a bit of research purchased 2 replacement silencers from Carnewal in Belgium. These are OE silencers expertly opened up & fettled inside then re sealed to make them sound much sportier without being overly loud etc. Delighted with the results and they look entirely original but sound brilliant. Cost was 500 euros plus labour for my local specialist to fit. I did consider a DIY fit but the rusted bolts are a real pig to get off & having tried one of the bolts myself decided to let a professional do it.

Yea my first thought was unless its on a ramp its going to be a real pig.

Had all my bolts and clamps replaced by Exeter OPC last Autumn. Like yours, all the bolts were competely 'shot' and the clamps held in place by rust. Worth the effort and the exhaust is now properly secure. Both my silencer boxes lower seams have opened up with age and time. As they are SS ones I am reliably informed that welding the seams on SS is not always practical.and unless the inner seam goes then to leave well alone.