When doing my biennial brake fluid flush, I was surprised to find a hole developed where the tailpipe joins the muffler body. I am under the car much more frequently than very two years doing maintenance or inspections, but I never noticed this developing to this degree before. The rest of the exhaust from the header back is pretty darn clean. This is an 02 Lexus ES. In our climate, rust is a non-issue and this is the only spot. Seems like an obvious condensation trap there.
I have searched quite a bit on exhaust repair techniques but I can't find something I see working in that angle. The material around the hole itself is brittle and you can poke it and flake it away. I imagine it would need to be a putty or paste of some type initially to form and adhere. Also, the pipe is quite corroded and I think if I used a wire brush on a drill to clean it up it might erode it away.
So I was wondering if there was an inexpensive way to patch it that would last vs buying a new one? If a patch would only last a year or two, it's certainly not worth the effort vs. replacing it.
I have searched quite a bit on exhaust repair techniques but I can't find something I see working in that angle. The material around the hole itself is brittle and you can poke it and flake it away. I imagine it would need to be a putty or paste of some type initially to form and adhere. Also, the pipe is quite corroded and I think if I used a wire brush on a drill to clean it up it might erode it away.
So I was wondering if there was an inexpensive way to patch it that would last vs buying a new one? If a patch would only last a year or two, it's certainly not worth the effort vs. replacing it.