The muffler on my car

Word to the Wise. If you clamp old rotted pipe to new pipe, you'll be looking for more new pipe soon.

Also, beware getting yourself into a position of buying parts and bits thinking you'll install them yourself, and can't. I've done that one more than once, and I've got the parts bolted to the top of my toolbox to remind me of it. You'd be amazed at how hard it can be to change a tie rod end in your driveway, compared to how easy it is for a mechanic to do it on a lift. I spent 4 hours beating on that fucker, and didn't move it an inch. Mechanic broke it free with 2 well placed swings .... using my own fucking hammer.
 
I'm at least trying to get the damn thing off of the ground long enough for me to find a shop to do it right, and not be under heavy pressure to pay extra for an immediate fix.

If it turns out that I can't get it in, or decide not to, then I could always re-use the $3 part I got.

This is my current Plan A
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You can see the cat and the exhaust pipe, and the rusted sections. The small bit is the pipe I bought. However, if it will place extra stress on the cat, I will not do it. I'm not sure how much of the inside of the cat is rusted. I do know that I would rather have the exhaust pipe dragging than the cat dragging or damaged. On the bottom, I showed how the tensions currently are for the pipes. Both are supported only at one end. Circled in red are the parts where I expect there to be a lot of pressure. Alternately, I could attempt to fabricate some mounts, and get something operational.

This is plan B
I would take the short piece I bought, drill a hole in it, wire it up nice and high to the frame (I'll be able to do it right, with a proper mount, since there won't be as much weight on it while I'm putting it together), then get the exhaust pipe onto that. I'd still have a giant exhaust leak under the passenger side floor, but I would be able to drive normally without worrying about the exhaust system falling apart.
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Wait a minute. You're gonna drill a hole through the side of the pipe?

Is the flange on the cat side damaged in any way?

You really don't want to straight-pipe that area. There's a flange and gasket there for a reason. It's a flex point. A parts shop should be able to sell you a flanged bit to replace it. Given that the cat is easily the most expensive part of the entire system, you really don't want to damage it if it's not already shot.
 
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See the two plates with the bolt between them? It snapped just to the left of the left plate. It seems like the left plate is part of the exhaust pipe, and the right flange is part of the cat. The right flange seems to be intact.

What I mean is that I'm going to take this 5" long pipe that i just bought, drill a hole in it, wire it up, and slip the exhaust pipe over the end. Since it's a cheap part, I don't have to worry about messing it up by drilling it, so I can mount it more securely. Instead of having to lift up the heavy exhaust pipe (keep in mind, there's only one hanger on the back part, and it's at the very back of the car. When I lift that pipe up, I need to lift up the muffler and everything) and put coat hangers around it, I can securely mount the very small and light one, then just slip it together.
 
Keep in mind that an exhaust leak that size is going to be really loud, and that's a reason for cops to pull you over.
 
I did Plan B. Doesn't seem to be scraping as often now.

Inky, I know it's loud. I can't hear the radio over the engine any more. It started out as a very quiet car, then as that joint rusted out, it got louder and louder. Now it's pretty loud. That's why I'm going to try to get someone who knows wtf they're doing to fix it.
 
YAY!

$70 to fix it at the shop my friend's dad reccomended.

Referring to the picture, the guys replaced the mounting mechanism, the entire pipe between the cat and the muffler, the clamp between the new pipe and the muffler, and the clamp between the muffler and the old tailpipe.

They charged me $70. $40 for the pipe, $25 for the mounting stuff, $5 for sales tax. No charge on labor.

I am so glad that I went there instead of the crappy places with all the advertising.

And the car is now as quiet as it was the day I bought it (after a few months, the thing started to get louder and louder, until the joint completely disintegrated)

I had been worrying about there being an exhaust leak, but I was like "ah, what the hell, who cares?". Apparantly that leak was indeed holes in the pipe, caused by the rusting out joint.
 
Actually, that thing turned out alright.

It was a mistake to believe that I could fix it with something that simple, but I did use it with great success as a supplementary support. I was able to drill holes in it and secure a bungee cord and some thick wire around it, then use it to lift the pipe a good four inches higher. It allowed me to drive normally for two days or so, without having to worry about scraping it on the ground. I could have done without, but it made raising the pipe easier, and raising the pipe was certainly a major improvement.
 
Well, saturday was a great day for things breaking down here. First my car decided not to start, then my main desktop gave me a fright and cut out suddenly.

Fortunately it was just the northbridge fan on my desktop that had died, so I replaced it yesterday with a zalman passive heatsink I had kicking about in a drawer.

The car however is a different matter, I'm just about to call my garage. I suspected it was the alternator, or just a flat battery so I called my roadside breakdown service. The mechanic recharged the battery and tested the alternator. Unfortunately he couldn't get it going. The alternator is fine when it's idling, but is overcharging when you put your foot on the accelerator and has damaged the battery so I need them both replacing.

I've then got to phone the breackdown guys again after I phone the garage so they can transport the car as a non-runner. Talk about a pain in the bum...
 
Yup, blew the regulator in the alt. Back when we used generators in the cars, the regulator was a separate part.
 
The worst part is .... they take your old one, put 10 bob of parts in it, and sell it to the next sucker in line for 115 aswell.
 
I put petrol, oil, antifreeze, washer fluid and brake fluid in it... and when it breaks down I usually know what's wrong with it... Beyond that I'm no longer physically capable.

I imagine that is the price for a new one, hopefully my mechanic got a reconditioned one with a guarantee on it, a bit cheaper.
 
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