Technical New exhaust time..

[Pepandaros]

Hi all,

The exhaust om my 1.1 started to get rather noisy earlier this week, checked underneath but don't see big holes or bits hanging loose (just lots of rust..lol) I think it's the silencer rotted inside.
Gave it a good shake and nothing fell off yet so still going to use the car for my daily 66 miles commute. There are plenty of brands available with prices starting at £48, are there any brands to stay away from? I also want to renew the main pipe. And the main question... I did notice the bend in the pipe on the silencer, can it be changed with the car only lifted with a jack or need it to be higher of the ground?

Cheers

 

[koalar]

I change them with just the front raised on axle stands. Does get a cosy further back,

I pay around £25 per section. OEM last the longest apart from S/S, cheap and cheerful last about 5 years

I only change the required part but if you want to just change the centre section does mean twice the amount of hammering and chiselling

but it horses for courses. Depending on how long you going to keep it, how quiet you want it,

It worth putting your hand over the tail pipe and make sure the pressure builds up. Its not unknown for the CAT to crack, flexi to tear, we have even seen missing exhaust manifold gasket

 

[Pepandaros]

Many thanks, that's useful information. I didn't see prices low as yours (guess you pay trade prices?).
The flexi seems very good but from there it is very badly corroded so think it's wise to change it as I might damage it anyway when replacing the silencer.

 

[koalar]

Many thanks, that's useful information. I didn't see prices low as yours (guess you pay trade prices?).
The flexi seems very good but from there it is very badly corroded so think it's wise to change it as I might damage it anyway when replacing the silencer.

please don't just order from these, without out checking its both the correct part and the firm is okay

BM Catalysts BM50125 Pipe for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BM Catalysts BM50125 Pipe at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

just a quick search and the First I found

that price includes postage so a local motor factor should easily be able to match them if you collect

what I do is search online and find real places such as garages that also sell online. write the company name, brand of the part and price down and then phone my local motor factor. They come back with a stupid price. I say can you match xyz who is selling such a brand at xyz delivered to the door, sometimes its no, sometimes its yes and you hear some typing in the back ground. Helps if you have the part number to hand. Makes it sound like you do this all the time.

last time I did a panda I used 3 different motor factors,


euro car parts often have a online 50% off which you can also use with click and collect

 

[koalar]

If I was replacing the lot I would saw pipe through and only chisel off the front. I might get a new exhaust manifold gasket and drop the whole lot to the ground. Much easier on the bench than lying on the ground, But would it would depend on the state of the heat shield bolts

I have an old wood chisel that's handy for separating the joints. It taps between the pipes and expands the outer one.

pattern parts aren't as nicely bent as OEM. You may or may not need to adjust them slightly with brut force to get them to seat nicely. No big deal. As long as you prepared to sort it yourself.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Hi. Where do you usually buy? Do you use local factors? I like to buy locally if possible for stuff like exhausts because it makes life so much easier if you need to change bits - As koalar mentions above, I find cheaper exhaust parts sometimes don't fit so well - Try to get all the parts from the same manufacturer. Mixing and matching cheap parts is a good way to give yourself a big problem with alignment. I buy from SRS here in Edinburgh who are part of Group Auto/Alliance Automotive and their prices seem pretty good to me. I notice that there's Livingston Autoparts out your way - a business that's been around for many years - who are also now part of the same group I think? I see you've also got a Dingbro in Bathgate - their prices I found to be the most competitive - but you do need a trade connection to buy from them. Since I stopped my IMI membership when I retired they won't sell to me any more. Same with TPS for my VAG stuff. Thinking "outside the box", It can be worth a "cheeky" inquiry to a "Faster Fit" type workshop, making it very clear that you're a "take away" customer. Sometimes I've done this when I couldn't source a part from the factor and, if you're doing a "take away" I've had some good prices quoted - you have to know what's a bargain though because I've also had some really silly prices quoted too. One thing I've found with this approach is that if you also ask for maybe a gasket or side clamp at the same time they'll often just throw it in FOC. Good luck.

 

[DaveMcT]

You can get a full system for a 1.1/1.2 for next to nothing. It will rust but should last 2 or three years.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...H_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=car+body+mastic&_osacat=0

If you can weld, a stainless system can be made up with pre-cut bends from eBay. The back box is always the hard part as nobody makes a "universal" that fits easily.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I suppose one advantage of fitting a system which is not going to last all that long is that when you come to renew bits of it (tail pipe/silencer always rusts out before the centre pipe) you'll likely find the joints easier to separate? - compared to one that's been together for maybe 6 years or more.

 

[koalar]

I suppose one advantage of fitting a system which is not going to last all that long is that when you come to renew bits of it (tail pipe/silencer always rusts out before the centre pipe) you'll likely find the joints easier to separate? - compared to one that's been together for maybe 6 years or more.

and removing any restrictions due to clogging, not that I see any difference after changing

only a few stainless steel ones are repackable, Although no big deal on the panda as the original normally last 100K miles or 10 years

OEM back boxes as fitted to the car at the factory are real well made and quiet and double skinned.

 

[Pepandaros]

I'm not used to source car parts really so thanks for all your ideas and suggestions!

With an older car I guess it's trying to make the best decision every time something needs replaced, realistically I think I can get max two years out the car so looking for the cheapest option. Seen the mid section with flexi for £26.77 on ebay, replacing this as well would save me time messing about under the car. As Koalar suggested I'm planning to cut the lot off and pre-fit the new parts before connecting to the car.
Eurocarparts currently does a "Klarius" back box for £51.34 with discount code which I could collect locally today although seen cheaper ones on ebay, since I will have to wait for delivery of the mid section anyway I might go for the cheapest option I can find. I have pipe benders available at work in case the fitment is really out..

edit; just ordered a back box for £38.40 so adding mid/flexi section it's £65.17 for the lot. Sure this will last for two years.
another edit; I hope so...

 

[jrkitching]

OEM back boxes as fitted to the car at the factory are real well made and quiet and double skinned.

The outer skin often corrodes away quite quickly, but the system remains serviceable and will pass an MOT providing there aren't any dangerously sharp edges. If it gets really bad, just peel off the outer skin. My original OEM exhaust is now very tatty, but it's over 11 years old, with more than 100,000 miles to its credit.

With an older car I guess it's trying to make the best decision every time something needs replaced, realistically I think I can get max two years out the car so looking for the cheapest option.

Seems a sensible approach to me. If the condition of the rest of the car means you're only going to get another year or two out of it, and you don't mind a bit of fettling, then buying cheap makes sense.

But whatever you do, carefully inspect all the mounts and brackets, particularly the rubber hangers, and replace if in any doubt about their condition.

 

[Pepandaros]

My original OEM exhaust is now very tatty, but it's over 11 years old, with more than 100,000 miles to its credit.

Mine too, looks really rusty but it turns out the silencer is rotted badly inside, when shaking the tail pipe it rattles. No holes in the system anywhere, funny enough the exhaust is louder when stationairy or just setting off once on speed I don't hear any difference. (Must say the Panda's road noise is extreme unfortunately..)

 

[koalar]

. As Koalar suggested I'm planning to cut the lot off and pre-fit the new parts before connecting to the car.

you can't pre assemble unfortunately if you want best fit. There's a bit of adjustment. How much each part slides over each other and the angle of the rear silencer.

helps if you have a strong tyre lever or similar. The very rear hanger has a large mushroom on the end. With enough leverage its a trivial job but messing about with a screwdriver will really suck up a lot of time

 

[Popitinpete]

I'm not used to source car parts really so thanks for all your ideas and suggestions!

With an older car I guess it's trying to make the best decision every time something needs replaced, realistically I think I can get max two years out the car so looking for the cheapest option. Seen the mid section with flexi for £26.77 on ebay, replacing this as well would save me time messing about under the car. As Koalar suggested I'm planning to cut the lot off and pre-fit the new parts before connecting to the car.
Eurocarparts currently does a "Klarius" back box for £51.34 with discount code which I could collect locally today although seen cheaper ones on ebay, since I will have to wait for delivery of the mid section anyway I might go for the cheapest option I can find. I have pipe benders available at work in case the fitment is really out..

edit; just ordered a back box for £38.40 so adding mid/flexi section it's £65.17 for the lot. Sure this will last for two years.
another edit; I hope so...

One thing I do on my exhaust back boxes prior to fitting is to apply two thick coats of hammerite smooth, I do a complete coat in silver, let it dry, then coat the pipe from the join to about halfway down the silencer (keep it a neat line with masking tape, looks like it's been dipped in paint then) with what turns out to be the 'old school' original black colour hammerite.
The double coating works particularly well on the ' back face' of the exhaust box that is exposed to the stuff flung up off the front wheels.
Just done a pre mot check and even after 8 years the back box looks as good as new.
They can rot from the inside on occasions like most petrol exhausts, the trick is to not paint over the drain hole on the bottom of the front facing part of the back box, this let's most of the condensation drain out, but panda back boxes have a habit of shedding their skin in layers on the outside that usually leads to their demise.
You do get a slight whiff of hammerite paint sometimes for a couple of days after fitting as the back box gets warm but the warmth helps it creep into the nooks and crannies, but the smell soon clears, best to 'cure' the paint first for about a week by sticking to town traffic if at all possible before venturing out on the motorway as this will blister the hammerite on the hot spots.

* disclaimer* this is not an instruction, just an explanation of how get good mileage out of a panda exhaust- all work undertaken on your own car is at your own risk.

 

[DaveMcT]

The standard back box has each tube going almost to the far end of the box. It uses the end plates as baffles, forcing the gas to flow a Z shape. The downside is the end plates do get very hot. You can often see the metal's heat discolouration.

500 and Panda use (near enough) the same exhaust system. This one from eBay looks interesting

REPLACEMENT EXHAUST REAR BOX FOR FIAT 500 1.2I 01/2008-> BTP CHROME EFT850 | eBay

<p>REPLACEMENT EXHAUST REAR BOX FOR FIAT 500 1.2I 01/2008-> BTP CHROME EFT850. </p><br /><br /><p>Part Number: EFT850</p><p>Application: Replacement EXHAUST REAR BOX For Fiat 500 1.2i 01/2008-> BTP chrome EFT850</p><p>Quantity: 1</p><p>Product Description: EXHAUST REAR BOX</p><p>OEM 1 Part...

www.ebay.co.uk

And this is stainless

STAINLESS EXHAUST RACE SPORT REAR SILENCER BACK BOX FOR FIAT 500 1.2 8V 08-12 | eBay

STAINLESS EXHAUST RACE SPORT REAR SILENCER BACK BOX FOR FIAT 500 1.2 8V 08-12.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Pepandaros]

So it's waiting till the parts arrive but then that engine light came on today....

 

[Popitinpete]

So it's waiting till the parts arrive but then that engine light came on today....

Have you got a code reader?

 

[Pepandaros]

Unfortunately not, I'm wondering if it has something to do with the exhaust.

 

[koalar]

Unfortunately not, I'm wondering if it has something to do with the exhaust.

I doubt it. I snapped the exhaust behind the CAT

Ran a little rich, very loud, but no errors

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Unfortunately not, I'm wondering if it has something to do with the exhaust.

Hi. Hope you are keeping well? Engine light on means there will be a code - or codes - stored. If you ever make it across to me so we can check out that dog bone mount then I've got an older version of Multiecuscan but it should work just fine on your's - works fine on Becky, our 2010 Panda Dynamic Eco - which we could plug in and have a look at what she's got? We've got family staying and a couple of big birthday "do's" over the next couple of weeks but after that life should be back to relatively normal - grandchildren permitting.