Technical Is there any way to save this resonator?

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Technical Is there any way to save this resonator?

skrrt

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Hi all

I own a Fiat Stilo 1.4 petrol from 2005. The other day I was driving and my exhaust suddenly started making a LOT of noise. Like an insane amount of noise. I jacked up the car and took a look. It didn't look good. It seems what I suppose is the resonator (please correct me if I'm wrong) completely broke off from the pipe due to rust. It is the box that sits almost between the driver and passenger seats. Is there any way to save this? Its a really unfortunate place it broke off. I have attached two pictures, one is a picture to show the position of what I believe is the resonator (got it from google) and the last picture is the picture from underneath my actual car:

https://ibb.co/VJvR8Cx (not my car)
https://ibb.co/gDSzfqR (my car)

Money is a bit tight right now so I would like to find a cheap way to repair this, although I am aware of the dangers of a potentially leaking fix (carbon monoxide and so on)
 
I've seen this type of pipe failure often on many different makes of car and it's always at the weld where it fails. My theory is that the welding process causes a disturbance in the structure of the metal which then rusts more readily. Another favourite failure point is where hangers are welded to the pipe.

Long experience of trying to repair this sort of thing makes me recommend to you that the only really long lasting course of action will be replacement. However, having "fiddled about" many times trying to repair this sort of thing I've had some success by finding a piece of pipe which fits snuggly inside the existing pipe. The tighter the fit the better. Once you have it rammed into the existing pipe as far as it will go a couple of light tack welds will hold it from moving. Now cut it off so you have a short length of the new, smaller diameter pipe sicking out and ram this into the end of the silencer/resonator where the break is. The depth to which you can insert it will depend on the inside of the pipe in the silencer so have a good look into it before cutting the new bit of pipe so you get some idea how much to leave. When the whole thing is rammed together you will, in effect, have internally sleeved the repair. Do this last bit of assembly with the exhaust fitted on the vehicle so the pipes all line up correctly.

I should have said, before you started, to buff the repair area so you have clean metal to weld to because the last thing you are going to do is run as much weld round the repair, where the pipe butts up to the end of the silencer, as you can manage. You probably won't manage to get a continuous weld the whole way round due to the corrosion but you can always slap a little sealant on it just to get a gas tight finish.

I've had considerable temporary success doing this but don't expect it to last more than a few months (if you're lucky) It largely depends on how much more corrosion there is in the rest of it. Commercially I've found repairing old rusty exhausts is rarely cost effective. You invariably spend more time than you thought you would, especially at the welding stage, only to have it fail again quite soon afterwards - It's a good way to end up with dissatisfied customers. Much better to have a discussion about long term cost (money wasted on the repair) and just bite the bullet and fit a new part. Also generally takes less time unless you run into a joint which just completely refuses to come apart.
 
Thanks a lot for your lengthy reply with multiple courses of action outlined. What does it cost to have fixed professionally in your area?

It looks like i'll have to either bite the bullet and pay a professional to replace the part or buy a new car (which is sad as I like my stilo!!)
 
This might be a stupid question, but could I just saw off the resonator and bad piping and go "straight pipe" to the muffler? What would the consequence of this be?
 
Thanks a lot for your lengthy reply with multiple courses of action outlined. What does it cost to have fixed professionally in your area?

It looks like i'll have to either bite the bullet and pay a professional to replace the part or buy a new car (which is sad as I like my stilo!!)

Changing the exhaust boxes is not very complicated.. and parts should be relatively cheap now :)

But.. making a 'sleeve' to join the parts back together is certainly possible..
I did this on an ancient Renault campervan..
It worked well and lasted for the 2+ years until I sold it on
 
Perhaps the sleeve is worth a try then. I don't need the car to last more than around a year.. The part in my picture is called the resonator, right? I can see I can get one for around £100 in my area.
 
Perhaps the sleeve is worth a try then. I don't need the car to last more than around a year.. The part in my picture is called the resonator, right? I can see I can get one for around £100 in my area.

Pretty sure we would just term it the centre box: £100 seems a lot

My old 169 panda had it original 15 year old exhaust .. apart from the rear box : tailpie muffler these were CHEAP.. @£30
 
You can just cut the box out and fit a same-diameter pipe into the existing pipework.

The resonator does most of the silencing so your car will be quite "sporty" (annoying) without it. If you travel a lot on the motorways it'll boom and give you a headache. It's not that bad.. if you were 18 you'd think it was cool.. but once you have some grey hairs, you'll find it eventually annoying.

A piece of exhaust piping is cheap but remember you'll have to find someone to weld it in. If they're going to charge you €100 for labour, you might as well fit a new centre pipe and just get it fixed properly for more or less the same price.

If you can weld it yourself.. go to the scrap yard and find a piece of pipe the same size and the length you want.. and off you go.

Ralf S.
 
Regarding price. I do most of my own welding repairs of mechanical components but tend to hand over corrode bodywork (sills/floor panels etc) to the little garage which is almost next to the wee Honda garage I told you all about a while back. I was in there just passing time with him about a year or so ago when a customer turned up with a blowing exhaust. It turned out that the exhaust itself was in good order but the pipe had fractured (not so much corroded) just where it came out of the CAT. I overheard him telling the chap who owned it that he would charge in the region of £25 to £30 if the chap took it off the car and brought it in for him to weld. It had to come off because the top of the pipe was obstructed by the body of the car. The owner was happy to do this so no price was mentioned for removing the CAT from the car - which can be "agravacious" due to corroded fixings. I would think that labour to remove and refit the CAT would at least double the price. It was also interesting to hear him tell the customer to chalk or scratch a line over the break on both bits of pipe so he could line it up when welding.
 
Yes Jock

If you are welding it off the car.. orientation is crucial
Bracketry..and clearance of other parts can really catch you out.. :eek:

With my old camper..
I got a tube that was a snug fit in the main exhausts Steel tubing

Cut it 400mm long

Then cut 2 slits in the one end .. used piers and a hammer to reduce the diameter in a 'cone shape'

Then beat it into the muffler with the hammer ( not deforming the other end)

Then I slid it back into the main exhaust tube and refitted the rubber hangers

Passed both of its later MOTs without a mention :)
 
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