Do muffler shops use stainless steel pipes?

[Kool1]

I called five different muffler shops and none of them carry stainless steel pipes. They all said I can bring in my own and they will build an exhaust system. I guess I will go online and buy some stainless steel exhaust tubing and have a muffler shop fabricate a new exhaust system for me. The muffler shops I called don't have mandrel benders and don't carry stainless steel pipes.

Has everyone here had the same experience or has anyone had a different experience?

 

[simple_gifts]

There many types of stainless; many rust.

A rust free "304 stainless dual exhaust" i purchased in 1991 for a Buick cost me about $1200; it was custom bent.
It included resonators and mufflers; it was a 'true dual'

It was from Kepich Exhaust.

 

[The_Jeff]

Where they weld, it's gonna rust.

 

[cat843]

A local shop near me does SS if you want it. He did a tail pipe for my Jeep (from the muffler back) for $100.

But I do not think there are a lot of shops who do SS exhaust. You can buy SS exhaust but it tends to be performance or truck kind of exhausts.

Few places have the machine to bend pipe. They just order the pre-bent stuff from NAPA or whoever, but its aluminumized steel, not SS.

 

[Kool1]

I thought it's strange for a muffler shop not to stock stainless steel pipes as a lot of cars come from the factory with stainless steel exhaust. If my factory stainless steel exhaust is damaged in an accident or by going over a pothole, I would not want a muffler shop to replace the damaged stainless steel pipe with an aluminized pipe.

 

[zzyzzx]

It's all part of our race to the bottom.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Where they weld, it's gonna rust.

Not if its done right it isn't, pulse arc with stainless wire and argon gas.

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
It's all part of our race to the bottom.


No, its not stocking things 99.9% people won't ask for.

 

[Doc8404]

Originally Posted By: Kool1
I thought it's strange for a muffler shop not to stock stainless steel pipes as a lot of cars come from the factory with stainless steel exhaust. If my factory stainless steel exhaust is damaged in an accident or by going over a pothole, I would not want a muffler shop to replace the damaged stainless steel pipe with an aluminized pipe.

Yet most will.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: Kool1
I called five different muffler shops and none of them carry stainless steel pipes. They all said I can bring in my own and they will build an exhaust system. I guess I will go online and buy some stainless steel exhaust tubing and have a muffler shop fabricate a new exhaust system for me. The muffler shops I called don't have mandrel benders and don't carry stainless steel pipes.

Has everyone here had the same experience or has anyone had a different experience?


I would be concerned that they won't have the right welder or guy who can properly weld Stainless Steel. Good luck.

 

[DeepFriar]

Have you tried the OEM?

 

[Chris142]

None here do. But rust is a non issue here too. Most cars go to the junkyard with the OE exhaust still on them

 

[Kool1]

I finally found a muffler shop with a mandrel bender for my custom exhaust. The only problem is that the shop is about 300 miles away!!!

 

[Kira]

Make a day of it, as they say.

I was thinking about the same thing for my 13 year old Volvo V70. Kira

 

[Rolla07]

You could make a long day of it...but will you keep ur car long enough for a non SS exhaust to rust out?..priceof non SS vs SS and 300 mile drive and back..hotels etc..vs if its worth it...if ur car is already 10 or older..you might end up with other major issues before a rusted exhaust. Unless some other benefit other than durability..

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
None here do. But rust is a non issue here too. Most cars go to the junkyard with the OE exhaust still on them

My LS400 isn't going to junkyard anytime soon. It still have OE exhaust after 22 years 370kk miles.

 

[Rand]

that aluminized steel lasts about 3 years in NE Ohio just fyi.

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

Maybe you're just looking for stainless in all the wrong places. Here's what I'd do in your situation: Check out the cost for an aluminized or carbon steel replacement exhaust (like the local shops probably stock). Buy or borrow one. You don't need it for long; it's just a pattern.

Find your stainless pipe/tubing from ebay or a local steel supplier. You want a 300 series stainless; 304, 312, 316, 316L, etc. (400 series will rust). Take your pattern and materials and find a local steel fabricator with a mandrel bender (anybody fabricate roll cages for race cars in California)?

Don't be afraid to think outside the box!

When it comes to welding the stainless, stay with a filler wire which begins with a 3. You want 308, 310, 316, 316L. Maybe ask your local welding supply for advice. Stay away from 309. 309 is used to join stainless to carbon steel and it will rust.

http://www.weldingwire.com/Images/Interior/documentlibrary/stainless selector guide.pdf

Now you need a muffler shop that can weld stainless. Good luck with that. You might need to bring them a roll or two of stainless wire from the weld supplier. Ask them what size wire they're running and offerr to buy them some in stainless. Tell them they can keep using the Argon they're already using for shielding gas. See pages 28-30 here for some starting parameters:

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/gl...316L/c64000.pdf

GMAW welding is the process that muffler shops use. This is semi-automatic wire feeding; and satisfactory results can be obtained at a reasonable cost.

GTAW is more expensive, usually called TIG welding; this requires a higher skill level (both hands must be used), it also produces higher quality welds. The fellow listed above who paid $1200 for a 1991 Buick exhaust either had TIG welds or he was ripped off. Any shop capable of this will boast of it. GTAW welding holds together NASCAR roll cages, high quality racing headers, coal and nuclear fired power plants, yes, the space shuttle, etc.

Good Luck! I'm probably 1600 miles from you, but I'm a semi-retired boilermaker and welding supervisor, don't hesitate to PM me if you have questions.

 

[Kool1]

My vehicle is only a Honda CRV but I did put on a custom exhaust on the vehicle when it had 26,000 miles on it. I now have 181,000 miles on it and it runs and looks just as good as it did 10 years ago. The custom aluminized exhaust system on there now is really thin and the pipes are brown color. I've replaced the Magnaflow muffler once and am using a Flowmaster DBX round muffler as a resonator. The sound and power is great but the pipes are getting really thin. I really want a custom stainless exhaust system and may bite the bullet to take a long day trip.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: Rand
that aluminized steel lasts about 3 years in NE Ohio just fyi.


My experience is similar, if not slightly shorter.

OEM muffler/pipe went 10 years on the car, replaced it with an aluminized version which went just under 3 years before being more gone than the OEM was when it was replaced.

The lesson learned there is, pay the extra money for OEM exhaust unless you figure the car won't last another 2 years.