Good morning, all. Thanks for reading my question.

I have a 2000 Civic, and her exhaust pipe has cracked in half. The damage is below / after the exhaust pipe leaves the engine but before it feeds into the muffler assembly. The split is just a little bit ahead of (IE, towards the front of the car from) the right-side rear wheel well.

This is NOT just a crack - the whole pipe is bisected and hanging loose. The bottom / "aft" section is about 10-14 inches of exhaust pipe, then the muffler assembly, then the tailpipe. If it weren't for the brace or bolts or whatever that hold the muffler in place, that whole back section would probably have fallen loose and crashed onto the ground.

So, my questions are as follows:

(1) Most importantly - where is the catalytic converter in a 2000 Civic? If it's in the muffler assembly, I'm probably spewing something deadly into the air (unconverted exhaust fumes), but if it's in the engine or the exhaust manifold, it's not as pressing. Right? Obviously it still needs to get fixed, but I could at least drive it to the repair shop.

(2) Is this anything I could fix myself? I don't have a welding torch, and would be scared to screw around with one under the car even if I did. Is there any solution involving rubber or epoxy here?

(3) If not, how much would it cost to have fixed? The muffler and tailpipe are still good, so if I got it welded, it wouldn't really need any parts. But I assume the labor bills racks up quick once the welding torch comes out.

Thanks for your time. As you can probably surmise, I know little about cars. If this ends up being an expensive fix, I might junk the car and have a bunch of perfectly good parts for sale - so stay tuned.

thx

P

 

Take it to a muffer shop and get an estimate.

 

What is this car to you? A dd? Are you gonna mod it and try to get horsepower? If so maybe go online and buy a nice exhaust section where you need it. Also it may be an expensive fix but you could always just go to a junkyard or look online for a stock exhaust.

 

Unbolting and bolt exhaust is fairly simple if you have a jack, jack stands etc. so that's something you could probably do yourself. I'm guessing it'll be cheaper to get a new exhaust section than tying to repair it

 

OK. So, people appear to be saying to get an entirely new exhaust section.

Can I assume that's because it will be easier to replace the entire exhaust pipe (after it leaves the engine/exhaust manifold) than to try to repair a crack?

So I can drive it to the shop? In other words, the exhaust fumes coming out BEFORE the muffler system aren't any worse/more deadly than they are after it goes through the muffler and tailpipe? IE, they've already been "catalytic converted" before that point?

thx

P

 

Get junk yard parts and take them to the muffler shop to have them installed.

 

As far as the exhaust fumes go with regards to health i wouldn't be too concerned, people run cars with deleted cats all the time. Personally, for environment and long term reasons id say go get it fixed, but dont worry about it with regards to driving to a shop.

Also def get a new piece, welding it will mean it will likely break again, welders are expensive, and if its a non uniform break its unlikely a shop will even do it.

 

much easier to replace an exhaust than repair it. and a lot cheaper i'm sure. and welds don't always hold.
yes you can definitely drive it to the shop. a lot of people drive with hollowed out cats, delete their cats, have high flow cats, etc.

 

Excellent. Thanks!

 

I had a similar problem with my last car. I was able to have a shop cut out the rusted and broken metal around the break in the pipe, then welded in a new piece of pipe. overall no more than 6" of pipe and 30 minutes of labor, came out to $45 at my local muffler shop. As far as your questions:

1: The converter is near the front of the exhaust, underneath the shifter. The exhaust will be louder because of the lack of muffling, but will otherwise be no more harmful. The car is safe to drive in this condition, if less tolerable.

2: The short answer is no. A welded fix or a replacement pipe from a JY car will be your best bet.

3: Price changes depending on the shop and the technician. Go by word of mouth in your local area, generally exhaust shops will be very reasonable for such a small repair.

Also if you decide to junk it, I'll take it off your hands for cheap