Y Pipe Repair - Advice Needed

[dandandan]

To my surprise, I recently discovered that my car had been fitted with the genuine PE Y pipe (stamped plate welded on).

The car has PPK1 and the stock muffler.

The exhaust clamps used aren't BMW and from what I can see, it looks like both pipes are/were leaking from where the Y pipe connects.

Anyone have a good idea on how to have this repaired so the Y connections are leak free?

I was considering ditching the non-stock clamps and getting the BMW ones, however, the clamps are $100 each and I'm not confident they will resolve the leak. Also, the non stock clamps are tack welded in place so the surface will be a bitch to smooth out.

Anyone know of a quality exhaust shop in the GTA that can weld like its a Picasso?

I'm thinking the easy solution is to keep everything in place and weld around the seam where the Y meets the cut sections of the mids.

Attached are pics of the connections.

Anyone with the Y pipe able to confirm if the design from the factory allows you to slip the cut sections of the mids into a wider section of the Y? I have a feeling BMW may have changed things at some point.

It's hard to tell from new Y pipe pics online if the mids slide in and clamp down or are simply joined by a clamp.

Thank you!

[rob24ert]

Zorro muffler. They will just cut the bad section and Reweld

[rod.bearings]

Don't bother with clamps, just get an exhaust shop to weld them. It'll be cheaper too

[derekh]

Originally Posted by rob24ert

Zorro muffler. They will just cut the bad section and Reweld

I second Zorro, they built a full header back exhaust on my last car and it was great. They do very good work.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by dandandan

To my surprise, I recently discovered that my car had been fitted with the genuine PE Y pipe (stamped plate welded on).

The car has PPK1 and the stock muffler.

The exhaust clamps used aren't BMW and from what I can see, it looks like both pipes are/were leaking from where the Y pipe connects.

Anyone have a good idea on how to have this repaired so the Y connections are leak free?

I was considering ditching the non-stock clamps and getting the BMW ones, however, the clamps are $100 each and I'm not confident they will resolve the leak. Also, the non stock clamps are tack welded in place so the surface will be a bitch to smooth out.

Anyone know of a quality exhaust shop in the GTA that can weld like its a Picasso?

I'm thinking the easy solution is to keep everything in place and weld around the seam where the Y meets the cut sections of the mids.

Attached are pics of the connections.

Anyone with the Y pipe able to confirm if the design from the factory allows you to slip the cut sections of the mids into a wider section of the Y? I have a feeling BMW may have changed things at some point.

It's hard to tell from new Y pipe pics online if the mids slide in and clamp down or are simply joined by a clamp.

Thank you!

The BMW factory clamps aren't $100. They are more in the ~$40 range. Ask another dealer for a parts quote. IF you decide on getting someone to weld up your pipes... make sure they KNOW how to weld! There are some hacks out there. Also make sure they disconnect your battery ground so no ECM's get fried during the welding.

You need two 60mm clamps... bmw p/n 18307560779






BMW uses these clamps on MANY types of cars...
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...33#18307560779

DIY installing N55 mid pipes on a N54...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=90


I would remove the old clamps, use some sand paper or 3M scotch pads and clean up the old pipes. Then use the new c-clamps from BMW with some high temp silicone exhaust sealant on the fittings. I used this Liqu Moly paste...

Liqui Moly 3342 Auspuff-Montage-Paste...
https://www.amazon.de/Liqui-Moly-334...+auspuff+paste

[dandandan]

Thanks Dack.

My biggest concern is that the spot welds that the original "hack" exhaust shop put on the non OEM clamps will be very tough to smooth out if I go the OEM clamp route. Also, I can't get my head around how these OEM clamps make a perfect seal between the two pipes, especially if one feeds into the other.

Wouldn't there be a stair like gap?

Are the pipe connections, without the clamps, different widths by design?

Here is my crappy attempt at illustrating this:

---===

Pic 2 and 3 above shed light on this connection gap (probably a few millimetres in kink).

I need a pro welder likely. I'm well aware of so called "expert" welders.

It's sounding like the mids and Y may have to be removed for a perfect weld.