So I've had this problem on and off for like a year. Scraping/hissing noise, usually terrible on cold starts and weather, not so bad once the car warms up, occasionally it's not there, but usually it's pretty noticeable. Goes away or almost totally away when the car gets all warmed up.

I'm thinking exhaust leak.

Now, the problem is that it's somewhere in the header/down pipe area. of course... the expensive area to fix. My predicament is that there's like a 50/50 chance I'll be getting rid of it come summer. But it's a crap shoot.

So. To fix my exhaust. To replace the headers and midpipe which has to be catted because of inspection, is gonna cost like buttloads.

What's the cheapest and best way to fix my exhaust front to back, and how much will it cost me?

 

id say pass side manifold as they are prone to cracking, cheapest would be to swap a stocker, ideal would be a set of long tubes, high flow cats, H pipe and cat back

 

that's expensive though... I'm thinking I could get a GT takeoff and then see if that solves the problem. I could probably get that for 50 or 100 bucks. And then if that doesn't fix it, get new headers.

Of course I'm also tempted to say screw it and let the next owner do what they wish with the exhaust, because it will probably be another 16 year old kid.

 

Gt and V6 cat assy's are different, the common leak point is between the two pass side cats, would need to be welded, and it's stainless steel, so the shop needs to have that ability. It cost me @100 bucks to have it pulled and welded at the local muff shop.

 

I had the same problem. My passenger manifold cracked. By the time i could afford to fix it the bottom flange that connects to the piping had completely severed. At this time my drivers side manifold managed to get a leak as well from where the far top flange connects to the heads. Needless to say the sound was BADDDDDDD. At that point I bought some aftermarket manifolds, flowmaster 40's and magnaflow tips and had my divorced duals finally set up with shop fabbed H pipe cost a total of 225 for install, 160 for mufflers, 75 for the tips and 90 for the manifolds.

Forgot to mention that I first tried a cheap fix by having a mechanic weld the cracks but it just came back a few months later. Save up the money, do it right, and add a dual setup while you are at it to save future money.

 

Flanges connecting pointsr always suspect in a leak for numerous reasons. I wish u posted pics. Anyway, here's my fix on my truck. C Flange Bracket. Chk it out before someone believes this is spam. Also, chk for adequate flex of the pipes on their hangers as the engine likes to shake and move and want the exhaust to move with it.

Here's my link.
https://youtu.be/zBdFKlVRh48
FYI. it's an Amercan idea.

 

Those prices don't seem all that bad that people quoted. Would some JBWeld not fix it until you dump it?

 

Wow.

Eaglecatcher, I know it's been 8 years, but if you ever find your way back to this forum, please consider updating this thread. It would appear that you have left us hanging. LOL