Clamp rusted on exhaust pipe

[combhua]

To the left is the rest of the exhaust, muffler, etc. To the right is the catalytic converter. This car spent some time up north and the rust finally caught up and snapped right at the clamp.

I've since removed everything to the left and intend on replacing it, but right now, I am having a lot of trouble with the rusted clamp. I've been soaking it with PB Blaster (https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-16-PB-Pen ... B000I2079E) and smacking it around a lot, but it won't budge. It appears as though the pipe bulges a little right at the clamp, which might make removing the clamp even more difficult.

The next joint over (between the catalytic converter and the manifold) looks even less appealing since it's tucked behind a bunch of stuff and similarly rusted.

However, the whole span between those two joints is mottled with rust and if it's not too bad to take apart, I'm tempted to clean it up and apply rust converter or something appropriate.

Here's what the catalytic converter looks like:


Please advise.

[combhua]

Hmm, one of these things looks like it might work (if they're as simple to use as they claim)
https://www.amazon.com/Danaher-Tool-KDS2 ... 051&sr=8-1

Would it be advisable to cut it right at the clamp, then use a length of pipe with two clamps to make up the difference?

[jda2000]

this is one of those instances when a muffler shop can help you.

have them cut the broken section and weld a new piece of pipe. This is assuming everything else in the exhaust is OK

[bobsnow100]

You can buy that clamp at the auto parts store. I bought one at Advanced auto. It was like $6. It holds the ball and socket exhaust ends together in the middle there. Looking at your picture though, it won't help you because one side is completely rusted out and non existing.
I cut out each end of pipe and slid a new pipe over it and clamped it . You can buy pieces of exhaust pipe with various dimensions at the auto stores.You just need to tell them the Inside and out side dimensions. If I recall it was 1 3/4"od .
If you can find exhaust band type clamps for that dimension pipe ,that would work best to eliminate exhaust leaks and you would be able to seperate the pipe in the future if needed.

[combhua]

That's exactly what I wound up doing. Autozone and Oreilly had lots of options to finish up the job.

* Connectors: These were short lengths of pipe that were usually the same size all the way through. I chose a connector that fit *inside* two pipes. There was some exhaust cement stuff I used to keep the pieces in place (they fit pretty snug already) and then some exhaust tape to wrap up the final joint and keep everything sealed.
* Adapter: There was also another way to fit two same-sized pipes together using an adapter. This was also a short length of pipe with one end flared to fit around the outside of the source pipe and the smaller end meant to fit inside the destination pipe.

There were two big challenges to doing this sort of work.

Fit. Since it's metal, there's not much flexibility to things so using a connector or adapter that you wanted to overlap a bit was challenging in some places. If I left too much length, there was no way for me to position things to get it onto the source piece.
Measuring pipe diameters - There are two diameters you need to be aware of at each pipe; four+ at each connection. Each pipe has an inside and outside diameter. When connecting two pipes, you have 4 diameters to be aware of. If using clamps, you'll find manufacturers for clamps measure differently. A 2" clamp from one company may actually be a 1 7/8" clamp from another. Then you have to consider the connector or adapter itself. If the connector/adapter needs to go around the outside of the pipe, you need to ensure the inside diameter of the connector matches the outside diameter of the pipe it's going around.

Hopefully that saves you a few trips to the store

[Mr_s70GILES]

Hello ppl ......this just happen to me yesterday ......car is loud as (uknow), but yeah im hitting the muffler shop they gonna throw some extra pipe on.....weld it . and imma have them put some anchors on to support it ....because it has no support from the flex hose housing alllllll til you get to th muffler...atleast on mines its like that....but yeah 75 dollars prob. be cheaper if i was in the south....but gd luck

[Whitebird]

Hopefully that saves you a few trips to the store

Thank you for the write-up, combhua!

My underbody looked exactly like this. I used a connector that fit outside both pipes and then both exhaust cement and an adhesive-soaked "bandage" from O'Reilly's. Their connectors/couplers all seem to be about 3.67 inches. I'm a little worried that the coupler is so short that it will work loose as the pipe bounces up and down between the weight of the muffler and catalytic converter. We'll see how it holds.

[Whitebird]

We'll see how it holds.

The cement didn't hold for long. I ended up welding in a slightly longer length of pipe and that has held nicely for a year. I recommending saving your time and money by skipping the cement patch route. That stuff probably works fine somewhere that's not being bounced up and down all the time.