Exhaust Leak

Eddie Zedder

Eddie Zedder

Zorg Guru (III)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Points
148
Location
Megawatt Valley, Notts.
Model of Z
Z3 2.0
Ok Ladies and Gents, Eddie passed his MOT yesterday but with a couple of advisories. One of which was due to a minor leak on the exhaust centre pipe at the point indicated below.

Exhaust.webp

Aside from getting a new S/S cat back system made, I was thinking that I have three cheaper options here -
  1. Bodge it the old fashioned way with a bandage and some paste
  2. Take the exhaust off and weld it (providing that there is enough material to get a decent weld).
  3. Chop out the centre box and put a straight pipe in.
I quite like the idea of option 3, so my questions are -
  • Has anybody done this with theirs?
  • Is there any benefit performance wise?
  • Will the increase in noise level be too much to live with?
  • Will it cause issues with the converters / sensors / back box?
  • Are there any solid or flexi pipe kits available for this?
Thanking you in anticipation...........
 
I've seen that, it was just a minor deterioration in the outer skin and nothing structural, a bit of high temperature silicone would do the job. The Zed I'm breaking has had that silencer chopped out and replaced with stainless pipe and interestingly the exhaust is OEM stainless, try a magnet on it. When I drove it back 150 miles it sounded perfectly normal.
 
I would have thought removing the box will just add a bit more noise to the system. If you cutting it out you may as well cat back the system in my view.( other views are availible) :)
 
Eddie Zedder said:
Ok Ladies and Gents, Eddie passed his MOT yesterday but with a couple of advisories. One of which was due to a minor leak on the exhaust centre pipe at the point indicated below.

View attachment 30072
Aside from getting a new S/S cat back system made, I was thinking that I have three cheaper options here -
  1. Bodge it the old fashioned way with a bandage and some paste
  2. Take the exhaust off and weld it (providing that there is enough material to get a decent weld).
  3. Chop out the centre box and put a straight pipe in.
I quite like the idea of option 3, so my questions are -
  • Has anybody done this with theirs?
  • Is there any benefit performance wise?
  • Will the increase in noise level be too much to live with?
  • Will it cause issues with the converters / sensors / back box?
  • Are there any solid or flexi pipe kits available for this?
Thanking you in anticipation...........
Click to expand...
How about a torch and a wire coat hanger? Frankie
http://www.lucasmilhaupt.com/en-US/brazingfundamentals/properbrazingprocedure/
 
:thumbsup: Thanks @Synclare. Now that you mention it, I recall that it mentions in the Bentley manual that all Z3 exhausts are stainless. I assume that it is fairly low grade as mine has a good covering of surface rust. As you say, the hole appears to be where the outer skin of the centre box joins the pipe. Just hoping that it doesn't extend to something bigger.
 
Antm72 said:
I would have thought removing the box will just add a bit more noise to the system. If you cutting it out you may as well cat back the system in my view.( other views are availible) :)
Click to expand...
Cheers Ant. Unfortunately a new system is not an option at the moment, got to keep the Mrs sweet. =))
 
Eddie Zedder said:
:thumbsup: Thanks @Synclare. Now that you mention it, I recall that it mentions in the Bentley manual that all Z3 exhausts are stainless. I assume that it is fairly low grade as mine has a good covering of surface rust.

I may be wrong but my belief is that stainless steel in it's pure form can become brittle and fracture, by alloying it with other materials which causes the rust you mention it becomes more ductile (if that's the word) and makes it less susceptible to fracturing. Any metallurgists out there?
Click to expand...
 
Good to hear that Eddie passed his mot Bryan :thumbsup:.
I'm sure you'll soon sort out the exhaust problem ;).

Steve
 
The box will be an expansion box to stop pressure build up after the 2 become 1. I would imagine removal should really affect it
 
Stevo7682 said:
The box will be an expansion box to stop pressure build up after the 2 become 1. I would imagine removal should really affect it
Click to expand...
I'm not sure it would stop pressure building, I think it will just the opposite and increase pressure in the back part of the system. I would get it into a garage on a ramp, I bet you'll find it's easily repairable and would last a long time Bryan.

Tony.
 
Bozzy said:
Good to hear that Eddie passed his mot Bryan :thumbsup:.
I'm sure you'll soon sort out the exhaust problem ;).

Steve
Click to expand...
Cheers Steve. It failed first time on the headlight aim being too low, but the good man who has been doing my MOT's for 25 years adjusted them for me then passed it with 2 advisories, the exhaust and nearside parking brake being a little low on force.
 
t-tony said:
I'm not sure it would stop pressure building, I think it will just the opposite and increase pressure in the back part of the system. I would get it into a garage on a ramp, I bet you'll find it's easily repairable and would last a long time Bryan.

Tony.
Click to expand...

Cheers Tony. Had a good look while on the ramp during the MOT, It looks like it would be possible to weld. The biggest problem is that the blow is on the top half of the pipe just below the floor, so the system would have to be removed to get the MIG in, which could lead to a whole raft of problems!

I think I will just try some paste in there for now. :whistle:
 
Eddie Zedder said:
Cheers Tony. Had a good look while on the ramp during the MOT, It looks like it would be possible to weld. The biggest problem is that the blow is on the top half of the pipe just below the floor, so the system would have to be removed to get the MIG in, which could lead to a whole raft of problems!

I think I will just try some paste in there for now. :whistle:
Click to expand...

Well if you're going that route mate, make a small patch to cover the hole and shape it to the repair as much as you can, then lather it with sealant paste and put a jubilee clip round the pipe to hold it in place.

Tony.
 
t-tony said:
Well if you're going that route mate, make a small patch to cover the hole and shape it to the repair as much as you can, then lather it with sealant paste and put a jubilee clip round the pipe to hold it in place.

Tony.
Click to expand...
Spot on advice as always Tony. I suppose another option would be to take it to a tyre / exhaust dealer (like Tanvic) and get them to weld it, but I would suspect that is not really their line of business.
 
Eddie Zedder said:
not really their line of business.
Click to expand...
It is at Lincoln mate, can't comment on those in Notts.:whistle: But if it's on the top as you say it wouldn't be easy without dropping the exhaust system down .

Tony.
 
t-tony said:
It is at Lincoln mate, can't comment on those in Notts.:whistle: But if it's on the top as you say it wouldn't be easy without dropping the exhaust system down .

Tony.
Click to expand...
Cheers mate. I think I'll wait till the sun shines and drop in at the Newark branch, or as my Dad say's " we'll see what develops!"

Which reminds me, my parents live next door to one of your work colleagues, can you guess which one?
 
t-tony said:
Well if you're going that route mate, make a small patch to cover the hole and shape it to the repair as much as you can, then lather it with sealant paste and put a jubilee clip round the pipe to hold it in place.

Tony.
Click to expand...
I had never heard of the term "Jubilee clip" before and had to look it up. While I've been using them for years, I've never seen them marketed by that name. When I looked up the term, I see the company that manufactures them has that name:
http://www.jubileeclips.co.uk/products/
and they are in the UK. Ahhhh sooooo......................Frankie
 
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