What can I do about my exhaust? That damn 2 inch piece of metal holding them together broke and I took it to the dealership to see if it was covered by the extended warranty and it wasn't. They said they couldn't weld aluminum back together --I could have sworn those were stainless steel . So they want me to pay $300 for new exhaust tips PLUS labor.

Has anyone welded these type of tips together, or fixed them some other way? If you welded them, did you use a tig/mig welder? And what settings did you use? I have a "little" welding skill, so as long as I know the proper settings, I could probably do it myself. I just don't want to blow a hole through the damn things with too powerful of settings.

I complained to SLP and told them they should have recalled the stupid tips and replaced them for free, but I bet they don't even email me back.

 

Well, you can buy the center piece from SLP for less than $300. I think they sell them for $240 in the restoration part of their online catalog (go to www.slponline.com and look on the bottom left of the page). A local, reliable muffler shop should be able to pop it in there for <$50. G/L

 

Don't worry about it. They still function and won't fall off because of it. The piece also has nothing to do with the hangers.

The tips are cast aluminum. I know you can weld Al, but not sure about cast. If you want it connected, JB weld the thing and forget about it. For less than the cost of a replacement, just grind that broken piece off and fab a new connector if you're really worried for some odd reason.

 

It's not so much of worrying about it as it looking bad. We like the 35th Anni SS to look really nice, and the right one is hanging about an inch lower than the left one, so we'd like them level again. I guess I will see what the Chevy dealership does for me, I told them to keep the old set of tips for me if they replace the tips, so I can have a spare set.

 

make another 2" piece of metal, drill two or four holes in it, then drill two or one hole in each side of the broken piece, and put bolts through. taa daa, you fixed aluminum!

 

Unfortunately there isn't much left on the left tip of the center part, so I don't think that would work.
here's a picture of the damage

 

Well, then scratch what i said. You actually CAN weld aluminum, you just need to find someone who can do it, and do it right. it is the hardest metal to weld, but it can be done.

or, maybe try this if you want. grind down the aluminum until its even with the tips. drill a hole in each side of the tips facing each other, and put a bolt through it with a nut in the other tip. paint the middle black if you want, to hide it. If you drill deep enough in the tip, you wont be able to see the bolt and nut, esp after a few hundered miles when the exhaust turns it black anyway.

 

I can't even figure out how to get the tips off the pipes, it is like they are seized onto the metal or something. Some ***hole at the dealership must have thought the same thing since my right one is hanging down more than it was before. I can't even push the right one back into place... I'm going to sue SLP at this rate for selling a faulty product and not covering it under a decent warranty.

 

You can prolly drill it with the tips on, and when you put the bolt through and put the nut on, it will pull them together.

 

I don't have a drill anymore, so that idea won't work right now. Honestly, I'd rather not drill them and mess them up, we bought this car to be like a museum piece almost, so I'm trying to keep it as mint as possible. I'm probably going to get them replaced with a new set of tips and then figure out how to weld the old set back together as a spare set. I just used some aluminum wire and wired them together to try a braces technique to try to get those "teeth" closer together and straight. If I keep tightening the wire, they should/might at least line up.

Do you think it will work? Even a little? It did correct it slightly so far if you compare to the pic earlier.

my car has braces now

 

Been there, done that. The moron at the shop that installed my GMMG broke my tips, at the same place as yours. I was able to find a fabrication shop not that far from my house that was able to TIG weld them togeather for me. I took my rhino ramps with me and was able to raise it up enough that they welded them while they were on the car.

Might see if you can find a shop that can do it with them on.

 

Alright, I'm gonna find a place that can weld it while on the car.

Just as an update, the "braces on teeth" idea is working, I just tightened the wire again and took another pic. Here are all of the pics for comparison:
crooked
braces on
braces tightened

 

Well leave that wire on there so itll be easier for them to tig it back together. Just make sure they know what they are doing

 

what about a product like jb weld or something similar?

 

I just checked SLP's website and went to the warranty section and it says:

"Headers and exhaust components are warranted for life against rust, corrosion, failed welds, cracks, and similar defects under normal use."

So... I contacted the Chevy dealership about it and gave SLP a call, so I'll see what happens.

By the way, there is nothing like the rattle of aluminum wire when you start your car, I recommend everyone put some on there