XL-7 Exhaust

STORMCHASERXL-7 · 04-08-2009, 04:15 PM

Hey all, my 2002 has a leak at the flange that connects the Cat and the Y-pipe. The gasket seems to have rusted very badly, and the flanges of the pipe and Cat have rust all over them. I was under the impression that the pipes and cat were Stainless. If this is true, a tech should just be able to cut the bolts, clean the flanges, and put it back together with a new gasket and bolts, right. I am currently looking at a $900 or so, bill for a new Cat and labor. Any feedback would be most helpfull.

Regards,

Ivan

XL7Limited · 04-08-2009, 08:53 PM

they all do this. You can replace just the doughnut and flange for a few dollars.. Why are you replacing the coverters?

lodnrat · 04-08-2009, 08:55 PM

Try taking it to an exhaust shop and see if they would replace the bolts and gasket and not the whole cat assembly. Unless the cat is plugged, and the exhaust shop can check that or most can!

suzuki pro · 04-08-2009, 08:59 PM

i think you're talking about the flange on the cat where the bolts thread is rusted out..
you may be able to get an exhaust shop to weld on a new flange instead of replacing the cat.

STORMCHASERXL-7 · 04-09-2009, 06:54 AM

thanks all, I took it to an independent shop, and they were not sure what they would get, due to all of the rust. I hope they can just replace the bolts and gasket. They were concerned that the cat would not have much flange left. That was the explanation for replacing the cat.