Exhaust fabrication

[Ivan141]

Hi guys,

I'm going to try and finally make myself an exhaust system. Now I dont know how to weld, and dont have any equipment to do it, but I'm sure something can be arranged (mux? ).
I have a stainless steel ebay exhaust, about the same size and shape of
the original, only more shiny with a bigger tip and it's straight-through design. Since my old stock exhaust needs welding very often, I plan to replace the pipe from the downpipe to the back. I wont be installing a new muffler where the middle one sits at the moment since it will cost me more and probably rust faster.

I ordered 2 2 meter sections of straight exhaust pipe, 54mm diameter, I also ordered 2 90 degree bends to avoid sharp turns where it is going to go over the diff. I think 54mm is more than big enough for an ae86, it's not a turbo car.

Does anyone have any experience with this? All advice is welcome.
If any of the dutch guys happen to have a spare rear section of an ae86 exhaust that might come in handy as an example.

I dont know how to connect the muffler to the ordinary steel piping I will be using, the muffler has a 60mm diameter that will need to be connected to the 54 mm piping. They have some parts that can interconnect pipes without welding, so I'll look into that.

[robokill]

Always helping you IVAN :-) love to see this little projects

[wouter86]

i have a spare last past of the exhaust,the piece that goes over the rear axle, do you want to borrow it?

[ZaX]

I just want to say that most of the people put under-diff aftermarket exhaust.

[LevinGT]

Ivan, I've made a flange out of 0.5" thick steel, (2 pcs with bold and nut)so I can take of the muffler, this way it's easier to put the whole thing together.

[Ivan141]

How did you weld it to the stainless steel, what welding process, what metal for the flange?
@ Zax: underdiff is only practical for cars that are lowered a lot, I actually have to worry about ground clearance a lot in this country gone wild with speedbumps. I'ts going to be an over diff exhaust, I'll just have to go through a bit more trouble getting those bends to fit correctly.

If the connecting bit they sell at the carparts store fits correctly I might just go with that. Having a bit of pipe or a flange welded to it is preferable, but it'not very easy to weld stainless steel from what I've heard. The best place to have a flange for the muffler is around the part where the exhaust goes over the diff. That way it's easy to remove and install the whole system.

@wouter: Yeah it would be great if I could borrow it for a couple of days, that way I could start puzzling the correct shape together before even taking the exhaust off the car. Send me a PM with your location etc. and I'll see what we can work out.

[LevinGT]

used co2 to weld, only thing is that where steel meets stainless , rust appears so some sort of rust protection is needed.

[Ivan141]

Yeah that's what I was worried about. I cant think of anything that will adequately protect such a weld from rusting out. It looks like I dont have any choice but to either weld a normal steel flange to the muffler and accept the fact that it will rust soon, or I'll need to find someone to weld a stainless steel flange to the muffler.
Does co2(mig/mag right?) work for welding stainless steel together? Most people tend to say TIG is the way to go, which is a bit annoying, since almost no-one has acces to TIG welders or knows how to use them.

[The Doctor]

Isn't it possible to protect it with a thick layer of heatresistant paint?

I painted my scooterexhaust a few years ago with that sort of paint.
It did'nt rust anymore (not even @ exhaustport, wich became really hot every time i drove it).

I believe it was from Ninja or something like that.

[Mux213]

Ivan,

I know one person who welds TIG at home and has experience building exhausts but he isn't cheap..