1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Where is my exhaust leak ?

I have a Madness system that sprung a few leaks and rattles of it's own. I did get some warranty replacement bits, but I just switched back to the JCW system as the Madness was too loud for me anyway. The Madness was fine for me before I had the header.

 

So, did the dealership replace the whole thing or did they repair it? I am guessing they just replaced it.

 

Haha, just a 4Kmi. round trip, well I better go and fill up first then.

Yeah, I am gonna fix it as the rest of the system looks great and it sounds good to me when not sporting extra holes.

So, have you performed this repair many times? Common failure? Also, did you beef it up in any way to help prevent a recurrence?

 

Well, not sure if that window is large enough for the repair. However, you sure can make a proper inspection as to whether or not those hangers have broken when a customer complains of an exhaust leak.

If ONLY I had driven my car harder while it was still under warranty, then I could have gotten this fixed for free. :cryin:

Regret is a terrible thing.

 

Yes I hear ya. If the pipe has been heat cycled to the point where it is more brittle, it may just do it again pretty quickly. I will get it repaired though.

The forward hanger is rear of the resonator, so the resonator section with the flange is actually fine. Thanks for the offer though.

 

Well, my local favorite exhaust shop can remedy the issue for $50, and likely 15 minutes of MIG welding. I was able to bring it by and get it on the lift today. Hopefully I can get it there in the morning and get this behind me, at least until it happens again.

I'll snap a pic after it is done, but I am not expecting it to be pretty.

I am looking forward to a normal exhaust sound and for the cat to stop smacking the top of the X-brace (very annoying) !

 

Yes, I am planning to require SS Mig wire, but thanks for the reminder. Also, thanks for the info on 304 vs 400. And yeah, we never get salted roads here in central TX.

 

And so it is repaired.
I was not able to secure SS wire, and could not find any shop that had SS wire. So damn, I just let them use the standard steel wire to get it done. I could let them order a small reel of SS wire, but would cost me an extra $140 and then I get to keep the remainder of the reel, which would likely be 99+% left over. Definitely frustrating, but it is done!

It is not pretty, but it is guaranteed.


Worth it to me for $50. It sounds great again, with the RMW header and JCW catback with no extra holes. It is beefed-up over OEM, and I like that the two hangers were welded to each other.

It is damn close to the OEM location as the cat no longer smacks the top of the X-brace, yippee! Case Closed!

 

Well damn, thanks for the offer anyway.