Exhaust support welding

magnethead

Hi Guys,
I was under my car recently for the first time in years and I noticed that most of the support for the exhaust have detached (See pics)

Is this normal for a 17 year old corolla? Are these welds weak on purpose, like barely there, so they don't blow holes in the exhaust?

Would you recommend a DIY'er poke his mig torch at these? I don't want to embarrass anyone which shots of a perfectly laid bead!

What would be the best approach to take, take the brackets off, and try to weld on(then remount on the rubber support after), or swing the brackets up to the pipe and fire away?

Any last minute safety advise? welding on the exhaust is not going to cause a fireball chain reaction going back to the fuel tank and blow the whole car up or anything?

fancy pigeon

How long do you want to hold onto the car? The backbox doesn't look the greatest along the seam

A new exhaust would be the way to go. Welding that may burn through, even set low

jeepcj

Not much metal on that bracket to weld on, mostly rust at this stage. 17 years is a decent life for a exhaust. I'd say you are looking at a new exhaust system, or at best fabricating some new brackets

magnethead

Fancy_Pigeon, I was thinking another 17 years minimum, Doing a self build this year so won't have any funds for the next 10 at least.

Jeepcj, yup, those brakets looks real bad, I might try and grind them down to fresh stuff(they might completely disintegrate though)
and weld on bit of metal laying around, until there is some kind of bridge structure holding the exhaust.

I've no idea how long the exhaust has being like this, maybe years.....HOW important are these supports anyway?

biko

You could possibly pick up replacements in a breakers and not have to worry about welding.

magnethead

you mean replace the whole exhaust system? Surely that would cost a bit? I've being meaning to give that crowd at kilcock breakers a shout for some time. I'll check it out.

magnethead

Ok, just found the answer to one of my questions: The supports are important because when they all fall off, the manifold is put under more pressure then it was designed for. I' better sort this out now

https://www.micksgarage.com/blog/exhaust-system-guide-common-problems/

magnethead

ok, just put a (temporary fix/see how long it lasts) in place......

recommended solution (But the section was a little too big in my case, I couldn't find any old Heineken Mini-Kegs)



So I got some 3.5mm galvanized 'Bul Wire' from B&Q and just tied it off, I only copped on after that, that it ratcheted up the supports back into the right positions, so if I was going to have a go at blowing holes in the exhaust with a MIG welder, at least I couldn't blame the parts not mating correctly.

biko

Yeah, I've seen that approach before. should work until you can get a permanent solution in place.

case_sensitive

If you're welding your exhaust, disconnect the ECU and battery, you're putting a decent wedge of current into the system, there's a non-zero chance you'll zap one of them.
17 years sounds like a long time to be on the original exhaust, and some of the critical parts are heavily oxidised. We're running a 17 year old Yaris quite happily at our house; though I would spring for a new-ish part if I was going to the trouble to remove and replace some or all of it.

Souhans.ie do exhaust repairs, they're up in Trim, but they will cut out pieces and replace just the sick part, so you might not need the full system repaired. .



Definitely don't buy a 10-year old exhaust, at worst find something on Fleabay for €150 or so

magnethead

Thanks BIG time case_sensitive!! I would have done damage if it wasn't for your warning to disconnect the battery.
Managed to bodge a support onto the back lip of the box, I haven't welded in about 2 years, so I forgot to switch on the gas, and got a bit of a aero bead to start, but went back over it with the gas, and left my signature weld wire design behind.