Well, this winter, Gretta (my '88 245) decided to let her rear muffler get ripped off. The axle pipe had rusted through right at the muffler some time ago, but a snow bank popped it right off.

Luckily i recovered the muffler (intact, with the bushings still in place!) and I went to go put it back on this past weekend. This is when I found out her entire exhaust system was welded together. AFTER of course buying a new axle pipe from eeuroparts for $22 :(

After cutting off the rusted clamps with a dremel and straining for hours to get it apart, I finally gave up. I could have busted out the torch and cut the thing off, but using a 5300 degree torch 3 inches from the gas tank seemed rather dumb. Laying there working through it all in my head I realized that except for the rust around the original clamp on the rear muffler and some surface rust, the axle pipe was still fine. THEN I remembered something really interesting, and that is this: Advance Auto sells exhaust couplers. So I ran down there and grabbed a 2"OD to 2.25" ID coupler for 2 bucks. A $4 package of JB Weld from the local Lowes and I set to work. The rust had rusted a line about an inch down the axle pipe so I was able to pinch it together and pressure fit the narrow end of the coupler on, while the wide end fit nicely over the tag end of the muffler pipe. Liberal amounts of JB Weld to fill in the gaps and seal each end and TADA! $6 repair.

Now all I have to do is file the RMA for eeuro for the unused Axle Pipe or maybe I'll keep it for when I have to redo the whole system anyway. :)

BTW, I have used JB Weld for many projects and thoroughly recommend it for all sorts of car repair. It's a great high temp 2-part epoxy that is damn near indestructible once it sets. It even resists gasoline and oil! Link for anyone who doesn't know about it: http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php