Aksarben Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I had 2 different exhaust flange leaks that developed over the winter on my 01 Legacy. The pipes are all in too good of shape to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars to replace. The first and worst leak was at the flexible flange connection near the back of the transmission, right behind the catalytic converter. The flange on the supply side was severely rusted. I was looking for a split flange to avoid welding a new flange onto the existing pipe. The only split flange I found anywhere that was the right size was over $100! BS! So I made my own out of a flat plate exhaust flange, a couple pipe nipples and a couple bolts - less than $10 in parts. After welding the flange together, I carefully cut it in half with a hack saw. Tada! Split flange! I cut and ground the old rusty flange off the pipe. Make sure to leave a lip from the old flange to hold the new split flange in place. After some filing to get just the right fit and cutting away a bit of the converter shielding for clearance, the split flange got bolted in place. I put on the new graphite doughnut gasket and cleaned out the mid pipe flange. I used some new flange bolts and put the connection together. Done. I forgot to take pictures during the actual repair on this one, but here are some after the fact pictures to try to help illustrate what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aksarben Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 More pictures showing the repaired split flange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aksarben Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 The other leak was at the tail pipe flange. This pipe does not need to flex so I simply cut both flanges off and used a butt splice strap clamp. Pretty straight forward. The bolts were rust balls so I didn't even try to turn them. I just cut them off. Just cut the flanges off and make sure you leave as much pipe length as possible. Put the band clamp on. Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aksarben Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Finished! If you go this route, make sure you get a quality clamp that will seal the gap properly. I was very happy with this one. It cost me about $15-$20 from Summit Racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.