exhaust woes...
 

Yesterday my exhaust pipe broke between the cat and muffler. It finally rusted through. That pipe was sunken ship rusty so it came as no surprise.

I took it to my local meineke because i figured they'd have the tools and know-how to fix this small problem quickly and cheaply.

I just got off the phone with their tech. He says that the muffler is rusted out, the cat is "hollowed" and there is a hole where the O2 sensor goes into the downpipe. Damage: $650.

I think this is something I can tackle on my own, but I'm not up for any bending or welding. I want to (cheaply) replace my entire exhaust system with bolt-on parts.

The only place I can seem to find a replacement downpipe to fit the stock exhaust manifold is toyota itself, and for the price, I may as well get a new header that comes with one of its own.

I'm thinking this for the header:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PSM-70-1183/

But that's just a start. I've never worked on exhaust systems before though so I don't know how to piece together a configuration that will fit together and work properly.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I need to get this fixed fast - my inspection expired at the end of last month.

Oh, another thing... my truck was pinging at stock timing and good gas, working EGR system, good plugs... it was a mystery but now i'm thinking that the leak around the 02 sensor might have resulted it wacky readings, causing me to run lean, causing the pinging. Good theory?

I'm concerned that if I try to do it myself, I will inevitably run into stuck/rusty/stipped/snapped bolts and studs and it'll end up not being worth doing myself. This is a 1990 and the exhaust system looks like it was pulled out of a sunken ship.

For $650 though, I'm willing to give it a go.

Does this seem like a fair price for the work, or can I probably get it done cheaper elsewhere?

Seems a little high.. You can get yourself a cat and muffler online, heck even a header and get a good exhaust shop to put it all together for you...

That's way too high. Just had a local muffler shop fab & install a new-complete system on my '89 with 22RE I had previously installed the header and down pipe. They installed from the header down pipe to tail pipe in 2.25" dia pipe. Inlcuded a new Magnaflow Cat and a new series 50 Flowmaster. All connections are welded. All for $400.

Make more phone calls and get quotes on the work. Just make sure you tell them what you want in the system. Need to make sure all are quoting apples and apples and not apples and oranges.

Just my $0.02.

Ebay! whoohoo!

Hey man i have been thinking of doing the same thing as you. Take out the expensive part dont run a cat. You save bout 150 or so there depending on what you get. Ann just my .02 let someone weld all those joints cause in time if you just bolt it they will leak and you end up with fumes in the cab. But its up to you.

jeeez ya'll are payin out the arse for your exhaust systems..LOL

i run mine without a cat though..so that takes away some of the price..but i can get a full exhaust for my 3vz '92 4runner ( with a new downpipe that goes under the tranny) for less than $200..muffler is a magnaflow 14" or 18" magnaflow that i already have..

Catalytic converters are required in my state.

I talked with my brother about this. He knows a guy who's an experienced welder. I supply the muffler and cat, pay for pipes, and he and my brother will weld it all up for free. Nice.

The only part I'm not sure about is the oxygen sensor fitting. He'll be cutting off above that, so a new fitting will need to be installed. Not sure where or what to buy.

Also, any muffler suggestions?

That sounds like a much better solution than meineke, I just got quoted $450 for a whole new system from a local shop here in Mass but I'm gonna head over there tomorrow and try to talk him down,
he wanted $200 for the new cat but I'm gonna buy a magnaflow for $60 and have him weld it in

Pacesetter is fine... but i'd hit it with a high temp. rated paint first... theres a few people on here that put it on and 10 minutes later the paint was toast.

The OEM exhaust from the dealer actually not too expensive (except for the CAT !!). Cat-back is only $129.00.

Got a brand new, still in the box, ceramic coated Downey Header with down pipe for sale. Would sure look good!!

As far as mufflers, I'm old school.....love the sound of a series 50 Flowmaster.