How Long should an Exhaust Pipe last? some pic's

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Whipcitywrencher

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Western Ma.
2003 Saturn ION, My daughters car,

I replaced this pipe 3 years ago, (walker exhaust the only one I saw listed) and it already rusted thru).
I would think an exhaust even living in Ma. would last longer than this. (Boy are they making some cheap stuff). Well I replaced it this morning with another as I don't see any other's for sale. ( Maybe it could have been welded , But it should have not needed to be welded in the first place.)
Another thing about this exhaust, when I replaced it 3 years ago, and today, I had to cut the pipe in two and put in a splice cause it was so long, I couldn't get it over the brace in the rear? I had to do the same today...Any Thoughts?
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Exhaust should last longer than this? Any Thoughts?








Other wise It's a nice car.
She has, 227,000 miles and it loves Pennzoil Plat.hm 5w30
 
Aftermarket exhausts normally rust through in 3 years in the rust belt. Cheap metal is my guess. OEM would last 10-15 years. I have a 97 Civic which I've owned since new. Still has original exhaust, I only changed the header due to a crack at the O2 sensor.

When I owned my 98 Sienna it was a replacement every 3-5 years of the aftermarket exhaust parts. OEM is too costly IMO. Seienna OEM cat pipe was over $1300. Aftermarket $300.
 
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It has been decades since I’ve had any issues with exhaust pipe. But since you are in Mass. with salt and such, I’d suspect cheaper material was used.
 
Mine have lasted forever. I drive a lot so there isn't much moisture sitting. I always have a axle back or catback exhaust and I scuff sand all the remaining underneath and use black flat grill paint. Helps fight the elements and insulates too. Used to do my manifolds to keep temps down but it also made my 02 sensors not last as long.
 
Factory is usually pretty good with stainless steel. Had the same thing happen with me on a Taurus. Ended up replacing the muffler a second time. Rockauto at least had a lifetime warranty on the muffler, I guess they figure you won't keep it that long.
 
Saturn S-series used to rot out at that flange too. And the intermediate pipe needed cutting if you don't have a lift, too.

I used to just cut the flanges off and weld 2 inches of fresh pipe in the junction. Wasn't any better or worse than other options, even if you think you want to be able to replace "that other section".
 
The aftermarket replacement stuff is typically made really cheap. Thin, usually 18g steel tubing. Down here in MD ive seen some barely last a year.

OEMs use 409ss. And typically use steel for flanges. The 409ss tubing basically will last the lifetime of the car. Most failures are at the steel flanges. I patch exhausts all the time with a piece of 409ss to match the tubing and basically delete the bad flanges.
 
I had a 1987 Chevrolet 3/4 Ton 4x4 Pick-up that had the original exhaust system on it when I sold it in 2004. Never rusted out to the point of needing replaced. I have had GM cars where the OEM exhaust only lasted 3-4 years but the issue was rust out wherever there were welds. From my observations, the flange that you have a picture of is a common rust out area, as is the fold over crimps on the ends and middle of mufflers and anywhere a hanger is welded to a pipe.
 
They usually use aluminumized steel rather than stainless except for their higher end mufflers so yes in the snow belt 3 years is disturbing but not unexpected.

I ran into the same issue and called around some local shops asking if they'd fab me a pipe from stainless and they acted like this was an unusual request, lol. Apparently the only way to get the same lifespan as the factor parts is buy them or have someone who isn't just interested in franchise volume doing the job right. Maybe order the pipe yourself and take it to them but then the cost goes up... my replacement cat-back only cost $65 or so, while a custom stainless was going to run over $200 including pipe, shipping, and the shop labor so I chose the former.

At least I know that once it was set up to work, that the same walker replacement part will fit in the same way.
 
The factory on the 2010 accent lasted until november 2014, had a recall for breaking the mounting and falling off car IIRC.

Dealer replaced fixed it (at muffler shop) after they tried ordering the exhaust part 3x and kept getting wrong sizes.(this is at dealer)

Fast forward to march 2018.. pipe was rotted out in 2 places but not covered by the 8yr 80000mile emissions warranty or 10yr/100000 powertrain.

took it to the local cheapie exhaust place.. 80bucks and 2 sections welded in later its fixed.
 
In the UK I had some success with stainless steel inserts at breaks. I would have used mild steel pipe (easier to cut) but there was a scrapyard that seemed to specialise in stainless near my home, so it was easier to use that.

I think I would have tried an insert, perhaps with welding, on that since the rest of the system looks OK and the next one is likely to fail in the same way.

Does it seem to corrode from the inside out, or the outside in? If the former, an insert before failure might buy some more time. If the latter, perhaps you could try heat-resistant paint or wrapping it in foil?

On non-cat systems I try and limit internal corrosion by adding Portland cement and beer can at the hot end. Dunno if it works, but it ought to.
 
I sanded and painted with flat black bbq rustoleum my cheap-o walker muffler before I installed it a few years ago. So far so good.
 
Our GM stuff comes factory with stainless and we have no issues up here in the salt belt. If we replace anything we either buy or build stainless...clamps and all. With exhaust..you get what you pay for and in the salt belt...fix it once...right.
 
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