I need help, my exhaust is falling apart..

[BevrMitch]

Hi there, i'm sure you have heard this a bunch but i'm a longtime lurker and first time poster. I've solved nearly all my problems from searching around here (except the canadian drl delete, still can't figure that one out) but i'm looking for some fairly tailored advice to my 'unique' situation.

My issue is that my 23 year old stock exhaust is falling apart, first there was a hole in the muffler and then the whole exhaust rotted out at the flange behind the cat and the back half just fell right to the ground.

I went to my local parts shop and bought some prefab exhaust pipe 'pieces' and a muffler for ~$200 all together and with the help of some exhaust clamps it fit and worked fine, for about 6 months. My issues now are that it sounds terrible, I have a bad exhaust leak and one of my pipes just separated while driving. I cut up my old exhaust to try to use the salvageable pipe and failed quite bad and made the mistake of throwing it all out. Consequently I don't have that metal bracket near the rear axle..

My main issue is that I don't have a steady job anymore, i'm bootstrapping my online music related business that only brings in $xxx/mo and just barely pays the bills. I don't have any money saved and any extra money goes directly into adwords/facebook advertising. Don't get me wrong I sure wish I worked harder when I was younger and saved some money. My dream would be to get a supersprint exhaust but I don't believe they're easy to come by, they're out of my league price wise and i'm pretty sure my flanges are all messed up.

I absolutely love this car and it has a special place in my heart due to the circumstances in which I acquired it and the fact that it's just perfect. I figure I need a new installation from either the cat back or just in front of the cat but my budget is extremely limited. I guess i'm asking 'how can I get this fixed on the cheap, and how much will it cost' and possibly if there are any special circumstances that I should be made aware of. I'm afraid to call my local shop because i've heard some things and i'm generally fairly unsociable.

I really, really don't want to sell this car. I always promised myself (barring an accident) I would have it until the end of my days.

I truly thank-you for taking the time to read this post,
- Mitch Powell

[jntar]

I don't see a single question in your post. So in order to try and make some type of suggestion I'm going to suggest you try and find a salvage yard that may have a 318 you can salvage the exhaust from.

[roguetoaster]

It's really all a matter of timing, if you need a fix to last for 3 months, you can use exhaust paste, soup cans and wire to put it all back together. Any longer than that and you will need to fix it correctly. Surely someone somewhere has an exhaust that they can sell you or you can find one at a junkyard despite 318s being somewhat hard to find.

As to rehanging the muffler I currently have some ~1/8" stainless wire carefully twisted to replicate the stock hanger. It was only supposed to be temporary, but it works really well, has yet to rust/corrode, and cost like $8 at my local hardware store.