Exhaust - improve bad welds before installing new parts?

Hello,

I have purchased the cat-back components for my 1995 Passat VR6 -
Walker brand. I noticed on the 'suitcase' or center muffler there is a
bad quality weld on the outlet pipe. There is a crevass underneath the
weld or a place where the weld overhangs and does not contact the pipe.
I do not know how to explain it better than that. My general question
is;

Does anyone have an idea how muffler welds could be potted, sealed,
protected or otherwise improved to help longevity? I first thought of
JB weld but learned that that should never be put on exhaust systems
because they get too hot. I have "muffler mender" by Victor Products
but I am not sure if that product would work in the long run. Isn't
muffler putty known for being only a temporary fix? I only intended to
use this product to seal the new joints under the clamps.

If I cannot find some DIY treatment or product the best I can think of
is to take the part to work and have a coworker add some weld in this
one region to seal up the open area. I live in the midwest- Wisconsin
so salt attack is the concern. btw my stock muffler has lasted 10-11
years.

Thanks in advance!

It sounds like you mean the weld missed the metal joint. probably because it
was machine welded. My suggestion is to take it or send it back, Walker is
decent quality and should take it back. Your other option is to weld it
yourself. I weld on new exhaust parts most all the time. there's usually
something marginal about a weld somewhere. Salt here too. Then put some cold
galvanizing on it ,or silver high temp paint. You could use a mig, or gas on
new muffler steel. If you want to just cover the slot up, then use high temp
red rtv. or muffler cement. it might burn off eventually.
"Mark" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I have purchased the cat-back components for my 1995 Passat VR6 -
> Walker brand. I noticed on the 'suitcase' or center muffler there is a
> bad quality weld on the outlet pipe. There is a crevass underneath the
> weld or a place where the weld overhangs and does not contact the pipe.
> I do not know how to explain it better than that. My general question
> is;
>
> Does anyone have an idea how muffler welds could be potted, sealed,
> protected or otherwise improved to help longevity? I first thought of
> JB weld but learned that that should never be put on exhaust systems
> because they get too hot. I have "muffler mender" by Victor Products
> but I am not sure if that product would work in the long run. Isn't
> muffler putty known for being only a temporary fix? I only intended to
> use this product to seal the new joints under the clamps.
>
> If I cannot find some DIY treatment or product the best I can think of
> is to take the part to work and have a coworker add some weld in this
> one region to seal up the open area. I live in the midwest- Wisconsin
> so salt attack is the concern. btw my stock muffler has lasted 10-11
> years.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>

I had the same thought about the weld...that it was possibly welded by
a robot that was not set up exactly on target. I had also thought
about sending the part back but I dread the idea of having to ship the
part back since I bought it online. overall it might be easier for me
to deal with the problem myself.

I am not familar with cold galvanizing - I will do some searching about
that.

Has anyone out there used high-temp RTV with success. Looks like it
has a temp rating around 600F... I doubt the outlet of the center
muffler would get that hot.

none2u wrote:
> It sounds like you mean the weld missed the metal joint. probably because it
> was machine welded. My suggestion is to take it or send it back, Walker is
> decent quality and should take it back. Your other option is to weld it
> yourself. I weld on new exhaust parts most all the time. there's usually
> something marginal about a weld somewhere. Salt here too. Then put some cold
> galvanizing on it ,or silver high temp paint. You could use a mig, or gas on
> new muffler steel. If you want to just cover the slot up, then use high temp
> red rtv. or muffler cement. it might burn off eventually.
> "Mark" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I have purchased the cat-back components for my 1995 Passat VR6 -
> > Walker brand. I noticed on the 'suitcase' or center muffler there is a
> > bad quality weld on the outlet pipe. There is a crevass underneath the
> > weld or a place where the weld overhangs and does not contact the pipe.
> > I do not know how to explain it better than that. My general question
> > is;
> >
> > Does anyone have an idea how muffler welds could be potted, sealed,
> > protected or otherwise improved to help longevity? I first thought of
> > JB weld but learned that that should never be put on exhaust systems
> > because they get too hot. I have "muffler mender" by Victor Products
> > but I am not sure if that product would work in the long run. Isn't
> > muffler putty known for being only a temporary fix? I only intended to
> > use this product to seal the new joints under the clamps.
> >
> > If I cannot find some DIY treatment or product the best I can think of
> > is to take the part to work and have a coworker add some weld in this
> > one region to seal up the open area. I live in the midwest- Wisconsin
> > so salt attack is the concern. btw my stock muffler has lasted 10-11
> > years.
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> >

I've actually used the Permatex "Ultra Black" silicone in place of
muffler cement on the joints in the exhaust of my Studebaker (I tend to
play around with it a good bit, and if you don't tighten the clamps
enough to crimp the pipes, if you use the silicone you can slide the
pipes apart again.) It seems to be working fine so far; there's a joint
with silicone maybe 18" downstream from the manifolds and it hasn't
burned out, even though the headpipes are all brown from the heat
(stainless pipes.)

nate

Mark wrote:
> I had the same thought about the weld...that it was possibly welded by
> a robot that was not set up exactly on target. I had also thought
> about sending the part back but I dread the idea of having to ship the
> part back since I bought it online. overall it might be easier for me
> to deal with the problem myself.
>
> I am not familar with cold galvanizing - I will do some searching about
> that.
>
> Has anyone out there used high-temp RTV with success. Looks like it
> has a temp rating around 600F... I doubt the outlet of the center
> muffler would get that hot.
>
> none2u wrote:
>
>>It sounds like you mean the weld missed the metal joint. probably because it
>>was machine welded. My suggestion is to take it or send it back, Walker is
>>decent quality and should take it back. Your other option is to weld it
>>yourself. I weld on new exhaust parts most all the time. there's usually
>>something marginal about a weld somewhere. Salt here too. Then put some cold
>>galvanizing on it ,or silver high temp paint. You could use a mig, or gas on
>>new muffler steel. If you want to just cover the slot up, then use high temp
>>red rtv. or muffler cement. it might burn off eventually.
>>"Mark" > wrote in message
groups.com...
>>
>>>Hello,
>>>
>>>I have purchased the cat-back components for my 1995 Passat VR6 -
>>>Walker brand. I noticed on the 'suitcase' or center muffler there is a
>>>bad quality weld on the outlet pipe. There is a crevass underneath the
>>>weld or a place where the weld overhangs and does not contact the pipe.
>>>I do not know how to explain it better than that. My general question
>>>is;
>>>
>>>Does anyone have an idea how muffler welds could be potted, sealed,
>>>protected or otherwise improved to help longevity? I first thought of
>>>JB weld but learned that that should never be put on exhaust systems
>>>because they get too hot. I have "muffler mender" by Victor Products
>>>but I am not sure if that product would work in the long run. Isn't
>>>muffler putty known for being only a temporary fix? I only intended to
>>>use this product to seal the new joints under the clamps.
>>>
>>>If I cannot find some DIY treatment or product the best I can think of
>>>is to take the part to work and have a coworker add some weld in this
>>>one region to seal up the open area. I live in the midwest- Wisconsin
>>>so salt attack is the concern. btw my stock muffler has lasted 10-11
>>>years.
>>>
>>>Thanks in advance!
>>>
>
>


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