[PPossum]

The steel braided wrap that covers the flexpipe has been deteriorating for a long time and now it is an exhaust leak. It's a little too loud, baffles, and CO is going in to the cabin intake a little too much. Time to fix.

I'm wondering if there is a DIY fix/repair besides replacing the whole front pipe.

There are a couple questionable youtube fixes I have found but nothing so far on MDXers. I don't have a problem replacing the front pipe myself if I need to but I don't want to overlook an easier fix That someone else may have done. Thanks

-Cheers

 

[LeftOverParts]

I wouldn't patch or recommend any kind of patch. A CO leak is dangerous. You might be able to cut and weld a new flex pipe in it's place. You could try googling exhaust flex pipe. You could look-up the part number on ehonda and then look on ebay or car-part.com for a used one. Probably $60-$150 plus shipping vs. $450+ for new. If you don't want to take the risk of getting a so-so part, maybe go back to cut/weld, or bite the bullet for new, if you're going to keep the X. A muffler shop might have reasonable cost options.

 

[habbyguy]

You can go aftermarket and replace the whole thing for $140-220 from rockauto.com...

2002 ACURA MDX 3.5L V6 Pipe | RockAuto

Strangely, that pipe for my '04 is a lot less money. Go figger.

It's possible that you could buy just the flex pipe, IF you can find one that can clamp on to both ends left if you cut the bad flex section out (right ID on both ends of the flex, plus the right length). OTOH, if the flex pipe has deteriorated to the point of failure, I'm guessing the rest of the pipe can't be TOO far behind.

This is one of the things I love about living in the desert... the exhaust systems here last forever...

 

[LeftOverParts]

That's a great price for aftermarket and with a warranty. Basically makes a used part hardly worth it.

PPossum, if you go this route, in case you haven't used rockauto, you should be able to find a 5% discount code by searching on line.

 

[PPossum]

Thanks, I found a the whole front pipe with the flex for 115 delivered so I jumped on that. It should be here to put on next weekend. I'll update this post with pics of the old and new piece.

 

[ViperGTO99]

Did you complete this project? Any photos? Tips? Issues?

 

[LeftOverParts]

FWIW to replace the rear cat on my 06, I had to disconnect the y pipe with the flex section. It's pretty basic, there are 3 nuts each at the flanges to the cats and where it connects to the 3-way cat. Links to ehonda for 02 and 06 below. The gaskets were about $5 each and those are recommended to be replaced. The nuts are self locking type - book says to replace them.

I live in So Cal so the studs were pretty rust/corrosion free. I let PB Blaster sit on them overnight. Took a 1/2 inch breaker bar with a cheater to get the nuts off. Other than being a little stiff, the nuts came right off. Bolt on is pretty basic - install the gaskets, line up the y pipe (there's a rubber hanger), and snug the nuts, then tighten. Book says torque to 40 ft-lbs for the Y and 25 ft-lbs for the 3-way cat.

http://estore.honda.com/acura/parts...tail.asp?m=2002-mdx-5-std-5at&sn=&b=B++02&dl=

http://estore.honda.com/acura/parts...=2006-mdx-5-tourpkg-nav-5at&sn=&b=B++0202&dl=

Good luck!

 

[PPossum]

Here's some pics of the old flex pipe along with a stock pic of the one that I replaced it with from eBay. The replacement came with the gaskets, nuts, bolts and installation wasn't a problem. However, it took a set of the tapered nut remover sockets to perform the removal from the cat after I soaked them with nut remover for a few hours. The new pipe brought the noise and performance level back the normal.