Header Pipe/ Y-pipe Leaking Exhaust/loud

[hammer008]

My header pipe appears to be leaking :cries: . The 2 fasteners for the pipe that is coming from the rear engine exhaust are rusted off but the rest of my y-pipe seems good except for the mesh that is about 5% gone. Can this be repaired or do I need a whole new header pipe (y-pipe)?

[justin97]

My header pipe appears to be leaking :cries: .  The 2 fasteners for the pipe that is coming from the rear engine exhaust are rusted off but the rest of my y-pipe seems good except for the mesh that is about 5% gone.  Can this be repaired or do I need a whole new header pipe (y-pipe)?

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fasteners? u mean the bolts that hold it together ? iis do just ind some new ones and bolt it down tight.

and is it leaking near the mesh? those can be replace.

[hammer008]

n/a

[tckcumming]

I am talking about those 2 round clamps and not the flanges that connects to the engine manifold.

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I've owned 2 first gen ES300's, both had the same thing happen at around 150k. The flexible mesh joint fails - usually the smaller of the 2 goes first. I tried to get just the flex piece replaced, a couple of muffler shops said they'd do it if I insisted, but no guarantees. They all said the same thing - that they had done this kind of job for customers in the past, and just ended up with unhappy customers because the second flex joint almost always fails soon after the repair. I had the whole crossover pipe assembly replaced at a local Speedy, total (inc. tax etc.) was around $500 CDN. Pretty steep, but I understand that the '95 and later ES300's are a lot more expen$$ive because the catalytic converters are integrated into this pipe as well.

My advice (for what it's worth)?... bite the bullet and replace the whole front pipe assembly. You could probably adapt a '93 or '94 pipe to your '96 if the cost is too great. Shouldn't be too hard to weld a new flange on your converter to fit the pipe.

tck...

[hammer008]

Thanks for your advice, I bit the bullet and got the whole assembly repaired with bosal pipes. The only thing now is that when it idles the low frequency murmur/noise at a stop sign 750rpm appears loud only on Drive and not on neutral. As soon as it goes above 800 it is dead quiet though...very smooth.

[SKperformance]

sounds like an exhaust leak

[RPrindl]

Thanks for your advice, I bit the bullet and got the whole assembly repaired with bosal pipes.  The only thing now is that when it idles the low frequency murmur/noise at a stop sign 750rpm appears loud only on Drive and not on neutral.  As soon as it goes above 800 it is dead quiet though...very smooth.

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I also had a Bosal Y-pipe that leaked! It was due to poor assembly (made in India) and had to be "massaged". Problem was where the gasket meets the flange. The pipe didn't allow the flange to sit flat. Your mechanic should fix the leak. :chairshot:

[nsarin]

Sorry to hear about your 96'...I have an 01' ES exhibiting similar problems...but with a different configuration that that of the 92-96'.

It's quite loud upon acceleration...sounds like a deep growl (more like a pontiac grunt) than a quite lexus!

Can anyone help here? i took it to my mechanic who seems to think that that 01'ES has a 'racier' design than the 96' version. The exhaust pipe is throatier with the new config than in the 96' version...in order to give better acceleration and torque. I'm skeptical of this opinion...has anyone else had this problem or had a 97-01' series emit a low hum/growl upon accerlating normally?

Thanks!

[SKperformance]

Without seeing the actual car is is hard to say .

[hammer008]

I also had a Bosal Y-pipe that leaked! It was due to poor assembly (made in India) and had to be "massaged". Problem was where the gasket meets the flange. The pipe didn't allow the flange to sit flat. Your mechanic should fix the leak.:chairshot:

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I went and had the the work checked...no leaks. I guess the bosal just SOUNDS different. Actually, I prefer my original ypipe...but the new pipe feels MEATIER with a slight Growl that I never experienced b4 with my original pipe. Is it possible that the ECU is re-adjusting to the new configuration?...since I was driving with the Ypipe leaking for about a week.