I haven't paid much attention but when the dealer replaced my muffler they said they had to weld up or fabricate some parts so that they could retain the catalytic converter. make sense? It is relevant now as it seems like cat replacement would not be a bolt of for me, so I am forced to turn it over to a shop. I'm not even sure a normal garage is capable of welding up something and I want to be ready for a song and dance they they must also replace the muffler now.

As was stated, the exhaust system is one piece. One thing that happens is that the rear hangar rots away, the system sags, and gets broken at the front.

Perhaps this is what happened to your system and the dealer repaired it.

In my case, a new system did not fit our '95 854 - they even tried a second new system - same results!

They showed me the two new systems on the shop floor - they had to heat and bend the tail pipe about an inch and a half.

As the original owner I didn't have any episodes with the bracket. ANyone know the part # of that rear hanger? The online volvo sites might not show every part, I was looking for it.

The rear hanger, behind the muffler, is not what normally fails. The tail pipe has two metal arms back there that hook into the rubber donuts, usually the arms rust off and the tail pipe sags. There are replacement "arms" that can be bought after market and clamped on to the tail pipe.

When I replaced the muffler on a 1994 850T, I had to replace the rear hanger that is bolted to the body because the hanger design was changed in later years including the "arms" location on the exhaust pipe.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Not exactly sure what you're asking, but welding in a replacement catalytic converter is a cost-effective way regain proper function-- I have had Magnaflow cats welded in to good effect for a fraction of the cost of bolt-in piece.

I am surprised to hear that a dealer offered to weld anything-- they usually push factory parts exclusively. That said, I would stay away from dealers (except to buy a factory replacement exhaust, which is of unparalleled quality). I think you will get better, cheaper service from mom & pop specialty exhaust shops.

Find a place that will put your car up on a lift, show you the problem and discuss what they want to do. Have you been told you need a cat, and if so, what were the reasons?

The NY law is strange - the entire 1995 year might be exempt from this law, just the 1 year. For the most part NY and CA require CARB (calif) replacement cats only. That often means dealer only. If the dealer doesn't have it, you might have to sell your car out of state.

My question is , was it really necessary for the dealer to weld up something? Normally entire exhaust systems are made of bolt up sections. Or maybe if I need a new cat it will come terminated with a bolt on flange , and i now don't have the matching part in my car as per the dealer repair. So the shop might say they had to order the matching muffler. Somebody would have to have BTDT.

the NY law

Not absolutely sure you can't use a generic. Who has time to study?:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/87411.html


I didn't think so. :)

On my '95 Turbo, the joint between the back of the cat and the front of the muffler pipe rusted away. I can imagine that this is an area that the dealer may have been welded to spare you from having to purchase a new cat and muffler.

I was able to repair mine by cutting both ends clean and then using a short coupling. Unfortunately, it is not a perfectly straight joint. Additional clamps sealed it up. Lasted about 4 years and is now due for a refresh.

A common failure is a break at the neck of the cat itself and the pipe, as is a failure of the joint between the downpipe and the front of the cat pipe. Both of those can be fixed by welding. The cat/pipe weld wouldn't change anything, but replacing the joint between the downpipe and the cat with a welded sleeve would require some custom work when replacing the cat with a CARB compliant bolt-in replacement.

The shops in your area should be able to tell you if a weld-in replacement cat is legal for your car-- I'd let them do the research!

Good luck!

http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/84quattro/media/PostCatPipesV850GoodShot_zpspuxjsiiz.jpg.html

This is the area they must have welded. Front part bolts to manifold, seems normal.

The down pipe to the tail pipe comes as one piece. The forward end is bolted to the flex pipe for NA cars, or, is bolted to the turbo. The rear end of the Cat has a clamp for the tail pipe, behind the rear O2 sensor.

Not sure what was welded from the photo, but appears to be the pipe coming out of the Cat.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new