Exhaust is noisy, so I took a look. The leak is a the rear of the catalytic converter and the catalytic/flex/exhaust manifold are all welded together. So it looks like some hack was in there replacing the flex with a welder.

Car is a 99 v70 manual no trubo.

Where is good place for parts and how hard are O2 sensors to get out?

Thanks for any assistance.

 

The hack made the exhaust last longer. Is the flex section welded to the converter? Europarts sells a flex section replacement. I just did one, but if the flex section is welded to the converter, you're out of luck.

FCP sells a replacement manifold for $210. PartsTrain sells several converters. The cheap ones are less than $300.

O2 sensors are not hard to remove when you have the special socket, access, and appropriate hand tools. When I did my exhaust recently, I cut the exhaust and disconnected the O2 sensors to give full access to remove the sensors from the pipe.

Don't forget to use the muffler repair paste to get a good seal at the ball/socket joint between the converter and muffler.

 

Yes, the flex joint is welded to the catalytic. The flange was completely removed. So it is looking like an exhaust manifold and catalytic. I think I may try welded patch or a muffler bandage to buy some time while waiting for parts.

Looks like I have a heater core to do as well and probably will do them at the same time with the exhaust manifold out of the way.

 

The exhaust will be an easy job with all new parts.

The heater core is an easy job also. I use a plastic bag to capture the coolant inside the car. Just make sure it's a new bag with no holes - kitchen garbage bags work well.

 

I am loving FCP, IPD and Parts Geek (got a steal on a rack and pinon for a 940 last year).

Thanks for the info