Quick Cheap Exhaust Leak Repairs

The rents due this week, and payday was a little short. Now the exhaust on the car is leaking, but taking it to the shop is out of the question right now. So what’s a person to do.

Not to fear, there are a few things you can do to temporarily address the problem without shelling out a bunch of money. Of course if you hit that last railroad track too fast, and left most of your exhaust system laying in the road, your stuck. That’s going to cost you, no matter what.

Temporary repairs, for the most part, are restricted to a small rust hole in the muffler, or a tail pipe that has developed a hole. The key word here is temporary, as these attempts to prolong the life of a failing system are just that, temporary. Do not expect to continue merrily along for a year or two. You may get by for a week or a month, but these too will fail, and more likely they will fail again soon.dparams.getadspec(‘c_billboard1’);

If the problem is a hole in the side of your muffler, kits can be purchased at your local auto parts store that will provide you with a putty like material to plug the hole. They also have a heat resistant cloth material that can be placed over the putty. Some times this is in the form of a strap that you can wrap around the offending muffler. Secured with wire, hopefully the strapping will stay in place. Hence the name, a Bubble Gum and Bailing Wire Repair, which has come down through history as a quick, and only modestly effective way to fix a problem.

To further reinforce such a repair, cover the area with a tin patch held in place by large metal hose clamps.

If you have a rust hole in the exhaust pipe, a similar approach can be taken. This time for the final covering a soup can or similar tin can is the easiest, as it is already shaped like a tube. Split it down the side, and secure it in place with metal hose clamps. This repair may last a little longer then attempts to patch a muffler.

What ever things you try in your effort to get by for a bit longer, be sure you don’t restrict the flow of exhaust. If that last 12″ of tail pipe rots off, don’t stuff a smaller diameter piece of water pipe in the end just to get it out past the edge of the body. The smaller pipe will restrict exhaust, and burnt exhaust valves in your engine may be the results in short order.

Don’t do thousands of dollars in damage by trying to avoid what would amount to a couple hundred dollars of repairs that should be considered normal maintenance in the life of your car.

With today’s stainless steel exhaust systems the likely hood that you will have any problems before the car is well on it’s way to 100,000 miles or ten years of age, are unlikely. But if they do, don’t wait. Carbon Monoxide is a deadly and odorless gas that can and does kill people every year.