help, exhaust problem

[walshja]

on my wifes car, 199 528iT, the exhaust pipe going from the first muffler to the second muffler which is located underneat the middle of the car, has dislodged from the pipe to the second muffler. apparantly there are 3 mufflers on these cars? is that correct?

my wife went to a local garage, not our normal mechanic, and received a quote of $1400 to fix. the mechanic claims the entire enhaust must be replaced.

is that true?

HELP

[///Matt]

Ah, a fellow Walsh...Replacing the entire exhaust because of a dislodged pipe is nuts... This should be a simple fix that might require a new muffler at worst or a well skilled welder at best. Here are some EPC images so you can get a better view of what the exhaust system looks like. The middle "muffler" that you describe is what BMW calls a "Center Silencer." Which sounds like the same thing, but isn't. It's wishbone shape quiets the noise and sends the exhaust gas to the rear muffler. Gotta love that German confusing engineering...

[walshja]

matt, AWESOME !!!

I shall figure out exactly what is wrong with these pictures !!!

THANKS !!

although I am having difficulty figuring out how the first picture relates to the second.

if I was to line them up in the proper order, the right side of the first picture would line up with the left side of the second picture? so the single pipe coming out of the front muffler (on the right) goes into the single pipe into the middle silencer?

is that right?

again, THANKS !!!!

[///Matt]

This should make it a little clearer...

[walshja]

matt, your help I believe saved me $1250 !!!

after getting your pictures, I got under the car and saw that the pipe going from the front muffler to the center silencer was disconnected. I want to say disconnected because I really didn't see any corrosion, but it was simply disconnected at a weld location.

So, knowing exactly what was wrong I went to my normal mechanic, told them what was wrong and had the 2 pipes welded together. They did the weld, checked for leakes, and 2 hours later I was out the door for $150 !!

They had to lower the entire exhaust from the car, I guess it's bolted to the transmission and engine, then hung from the body of the car with hangers. For them to weld on top of the pipe, the entire exhaust system had to be lowered.

and the shop did confirm that the entire exhaust is sold in 1 piece, not looking forward to that day !!

[BeelZibub]

The entire exhaust is sold in several pieces
1: Manifolds
2ownpipes
3:Catalyst
4:Centerbox
5:Rear Box

My cat went, but rather than pay the £660 +vat & fitting for a BMW cat I paid £600 all in for a full custom stainless mid sports system consisting of a Highflow Catalyst, Center box and rear box - Sounds great and lets her breath out better which compliments the K&N intake.