GS300 Mk3 front exhaust pipe blowing, what are my options?

[GSmk3]

 

Hi everyone,

 

After advice from a forum member, I went to a garage to check on the VSC engine light, and got confirmation that this is because of a leak on the front exhaust pipe, near the catalytic converter. This leads to the Cat system "performs under threshold", and trigger VSC light. 

Has anyone got similar problem and how do you fix it? Is it possible at all to weld the leak or we have to replace it? There are two options for replacement as far as I know, one is getting the Lexus part, two is getting a custom build from Longlife and the likes. With the latter, apparently we can reuse the cat, which is a plus I think. I will try to around for prices next week but wonder what would be the best option. My car is close to 15 years old now, I plan to drive it for 2-3 more years before retiring it and change to electrics and really don't want to spend too much on it. 

Thanks for your advice. 

 

[Steven Lockey]

Depends how good a job you want to do.

A quick fix weld would sort it for a while, but an exhaust specialist can replace the dodgy connection.

I wouldn't go to lexus as they tend to sell the exhaust section as one piece so you end up buying a lot more than you need to.

I had similar on my 450h and was fixed for under £200

[GSmk3]

4 minutes ago, Steven Lockey said:

Depends how good a job you want to do.

A quick fix weld would sort it for a while, but an exhaust specialist can replace the dodgy connection.

I wouldn't go to lexus as they tend to sell the exhaust section as one piece so you end up buying a lot more than you need to.

I had similar on my 450h and was fixed for under £200

 

Glad to hear that. Was yours blown on the front or the rear pipe? Did you need to rebuild it or repair? 

 

[Steven Lockey]

Just now, GSmk3 said:

 

Glad to hear that. Was yours blown on the front or the rear pipe? Did you need to rebuild it or repair? 

 

Was just next to the resonator, just after the Cats. They just replaced the resonator as well as they aren't
expensive and some piping. 

Of course, 9 months later the bit they hadn't replaced further back also died so I had to have that replaced
as well 🙂

Once the exhaust system starts going to generally going to die soon, its just a few pipes and boxes so not too
expensive to replace. Might be worth getting it done from the cats backwards in one go.

[GSmk3]

Update in case it's helpful for someone in similar situation.

So I went around to see how to fix my exhaust. Most local "tyres and exhaust" shop just refused to touch it. A local popular garage had a look, and they said the Y section needed replacing with £1100 +VAT Lexus part plus 2 hour labour. Lexus dealer even more. All very scary. After little more research I found custom exhaust fabrication, and to my relief, Longlife only quoted me £150 to replace the front pipe on one side, or £300 for both sides. However there was a long waiting list at my Longlife dealer. And with my MOT looming soon, I found another solution, a local welding mechanic. He removed the heat shield, wrap a layer of steel around the leak and welded things together. All at cost of £60. I will see how long it lasts, I can always go with Longlife if it ever did. 

The lesson I have learned is, most garages just look to replace your parts, it's easy money and easy work for them. It's always worth it to find specialists advice and repair it at all possible. 

 

[Malc]

OK, not the same I know BUT at the recent several MOTs my indy ( looked after my cars for about 13 years now )  has effectively and very inexpensively welded-up the ends of the front downpipe as that caused the Emissions issues to appear at the MOT

He assures me that all is very well with the remainder of the whole exhaust system, built like a tank he says .....  235k miles and 26 years young ......... and will probably outlast much of the car itself ...........  another 20+ years maybe 

HOWEVER the upshot is that he recommends to me a local'ish     eurosportexhaust.co.uk     business to just replace the front end, down to the cats etc ( which are still all very fine it seems ) ....  so this is where I shall be going a little ( or a lot )  before the next MOT ..........  due Dec 2022

I'm sure there are these specialists all over the kingdom that will offer a fine bespoke and not amazingly expensive service ( hopefully )

Malc