It became obvious that my car had an exhaust leak of some sort, so I took my car by Midas, who had replaced several parts of my exhaust in October of 2002. The manager/mechanic came out and took a look, and immediately saw that there was a crack in my header pipe. I don't know why I didn't think to just take a cursory glane underneath the car, but I didn't beforehand. Anyway, here's what can be seen, from the driver's and the passenger's sides:



My car is out of the normal warranty period, so the only thing left is the lifetime muffler guarantee--I could get a free *muffler* without the cost of install. But, I don't need that.

According to the manager, it would cost $300 to replace the header pipe, through Midas. Another option is to have them weld the crack. The manager initially said it would be $40 for them to do that, but I asked him about my warranty and that stuff and he said he'd do it for $20 since I had been in there less than two years before.

Alternately, I can buy a new header pipe from FCP Groton for $70-$100 plus shipping.

What do you think I should do? I need opinions about the efficacy of a weld on that crack above.

My thoughts are that the crack is beyond reasonable expectation of a lasting repair. In other words, I think that if I get it welded, in six months or so the pipe will be cracked again. I'm pretty ready to order a new pipe, since the one from FCP Groton doesn't seem to be expensive, and I may want to get a larger diameter exhaust at some point (which means I need good parts throughout).

Is there any good reason not to order a new header pipe? Which one do I need--the $70 pipe without an oxygen sensor there or the $100 pipe with a sensor? How can I tell what I have on my car?
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'89 244 GL -- 104,906 miles (see profile for info on car)