exhaust leak question

[elvasoshexai]

Ok, i think i've had an exhaust leak for a while now. (my car is loud and i smell exhaust fumes inside the car) i got it checked the other day and the mech told me i have 2 choices:

a) the expensive way which is to replace everything from the cat and back (actually.. he might have said replace the front too but i can't remember too clearly)

b) get 2 gaskets and put them on somewhere which should fix the problem and would be a ton cheaper than option a) (he recommended i do this since it's cheaper)

After he told me, i'm still not too sure what the problem is... he showed me 2 spots under the car, one before the cat and one after the cat but before the resonator... i'm not even sure if it's a hole in the piping somewhere or not.. but he mentioned something about a flanche or something like that and said that supposedly there are 2 bolts or something and mine have corroded to almost nothing... so not too sure how that flanche thing is related to a leak... are the gaskets supposed to fix leaks somehow? would using the gaskets also fix the problem of exhaust fumes inside my car?

or can i just replace the piping before and after the cat but leave the original cat on?

or is the gasket thing the mech recommened better than just replacing all the piping?

[karazy]

If they said all you need are a couple of flanges, then that means that the piping is still good and solid. A gasket goes inside these to complete the seal. This is how the exhaust is put together.

Unless you want to spend more money, by replacing the entire system, this is a common fix for this type of leak.

[elvasoshexai]

the mech didn't say i needed a couple of flanges he just said i needed a few gaskets.

it's just that he said if i went to places like midas speedy etc, they would have replaced everything from my cat and back and possibly the front piping too. so i was wondering if the gasket was a good way to fix it because i thought people said it's always better to replace bad pipes than to repair

[es250nut]

Exhaust systems are usally bolted together. The metal lip(s) where the pipes are bolted are the flanges. In order to keep these areas from leaking there are large gaskets that fit between these flanges. If, as in your case, the gaskets leak, break up, or fail or the bolts holding the two sections of exhaust pipe together break, corrode, or fall out, you end up with exhaust leaks. So yes, as karazy & your mechanic noted, it would be much more cost effective to just have the bolts & gaskets replaced rather then replacing your entire exhaust system.

Oh yes: The midas touch... Those types of places don't make money on replacing just a gasket. They would reccomend replacing the whole thing, that is how they get their paycheck.

[elvasoshexai]

um.. ok wait.. so is that means there is no hole(s) in my pipes?

so.. just out of curiousity... if my pipes have no holes.. how is it leaking?

[es250nut]

Originally posted by elvasoshexai
um.. ok wait.. so is that means there is no hole(s) in my pipes?

so.. just out of curiousity... if my pipes have no holes.. how is it leaking?

If the gaskets are bad/noexistant, where your pipes bolt together.

[elvasoshexai]

o. icic. ok thnx