MikeT Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Tonight on the drive home from the theatre (of course it was after 10 PM) the exhaust got rattly. I refuelled and it seemed at a cursory examination that the exhaust strap had snapped on my OEM muffler. When I got home and removed the rear end, this was confirmed. The strap had snapped at the bottom of the muffler. This clamp is crimped on and I don't know if replacements are sold. In a way, I don't really care because I will be installing a BRABUS exhaust in a while. But in the short term I needed a fix. So I got my Rube Goldberg thinking cap on and came up with an interim repair. I used two oil pan heater straps in tandem (redundancy!) and effected a quickie repair in a bit over an hour. We need the car on the road now and I was not keen to drive it with a loose exhaust. I'll call the dealer Friday to see if replacement straps are sold, but I won't be surprised to hear that it's a $1300 strap with a muffler attached. Quote
tolsen Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 That is a good repair. Perhaps with two more heavy duty stainless steel hose clamps you can consider your repair permanent. A repair kit is available from Smart for about 30 Pounds. Looks like this: http://www.123spareparts.co.uk/cgi-bin/atm...er_page=10& Quote
bilgladstone Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 That looks a substantial DIY repair, Mike; looks pretty too. I'm not sure a store-bought fix will be much superior. The Reparatursatz kit at 30 pounds will be close to $100 landed. I'm with tolsen -- sturdy up your DIY best as can be done [s/s zip ties at the bracket?], and call 'er good :thumbup:Bil Quote
Alex Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Do you know the high quality stainless crimped strapping used for big permanent hoses and also for signs? Any industrial hose shop will have the tools, can wrap tightly around whatever bracket works best. Quote
MikeT Posted June 21, 2013 Author Posted June 21, 2013 Dealer cost of the repair kit here is $155....so I should just advance the BRABUS project. Quote
KurtMan Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 My exhaust has begun to sag lower than the rear valance and is partialy visible, would a new strap like Mike's lift it up? Quote
MikeT Posted June 21, 2013 Author Posted June 21, 2013 Even with the strap broken the mount should hold it up, so Kurt, check your engine mounts too (especially the LH one). If the exhaust is not rattling, your strap is ok. Quote
KurtMan Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Oh, I see, it could be the engine mounts have collapsed or flattened? The car has only 111,000kms on it. Quote
turbomar Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 When I first bought my car, I had to tig the bottom seam. Afterwards, I reattached the muffler/cat bracket with a double wrap of 3/4" stainless steel strapping, probably stronger that OE. here's a pic: Quote
tolsen Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 Here is mine, repaired 5 years ago and still fine. Exhaust is from 2002, only seen 11 years in service. Rusty exhausts are tricky to TIG weld. Lucky I've got 30 years of practise but still not easy. Outer AISI 304 shell is only 0.4 mm thick. Quote
AHZELA Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 Nice fix Mike. Funny... Angela's smart has just started making a mean rattle at the exahust. As soon as I saw your post I checked the strap. Seems to be ok so I think I'm going to have to swap out the muffler. Id much rather find something aftermarket rather then the $1000 stock unit. Quote
lebikerboy Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 [Actually, the stock cdi muffler is around $500.00. It'sthe particulate filter version that's around $1000.00... Quote
AHZELA Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 Great info thanx for that. A friend of mine has a good group of turbo guys around his shop all the time. They guy who does the piping says he may be able to mod a magnaflow or something tho fit. Although I guess this negates the cat so I'm torn. But the price would be close to the $500 cost you mention. First I'm calling MB to see if I can squeeze it in under warranty. Quote
lebikerboy Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 (edited) You could go with a cat and no muffler.Hopefully Wild Bil from Kelowna can chime in here...or,I have a muffler in excellent condition if you're interested. Edited June 23, 2013 by lebikerboy Quote
bilgladstone Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 One of the exhausts I built was just an aftermarket diesel cat' followed by straight pipe. It was too loud for my neighbourhood and Kelowna's new noise laws. Now I have my "Anaconda" exhaust, which has a straight-through mini-cat', followed by a length of spiral pipe. What is spiral pipe? A straight pipe with a spiral insert. I've been thinking of building one or two for resale, but first things first. Bil Quote
cheapohubby Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) Just thought I'd post a quick comment on the strap fixes. I tried something comparable with just a couple of stainless steel hose clamps, and they snapped within a few days. I think the problem was that the muffler seam was still broken and that allows the muffler to contract/expand excessively. That puts a lot of stress on the straps which causes them to snap; both the original and the hose clamps.I ended up welding the muffler back together, then fabricating a strap out of 1/8"x1" steel strap and a couple of bolt. That's been on the car for a few years and will probably outlast the muffler. Edited June 25, 2013 by cheapohubby Quote
MikeT Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 Well strap number 1 snapped and I have one left holding the muffler on. I have to order a new one from the dealer. Quote
Francesco Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Any signs of soot on the right side bottom seam? That's where the cat chamber is. Mine is split there and even at idle one can feel puffs of exhaust gases coming through. Mine is split there, 100% covered under the 8/130 emissions warranty. Quote
lebikerboy Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 What happened to the BRABUS exhaust project? Quote
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