GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

2003 GT

I've read other posts viewtopic.php?p=535342#p535342 about the flange at the muffler rusting, I have that issue, It is the front side, on the pipe with the converter and resonator on it, & not the muffler, alas.

My mechanic friend cut off both of his 2005's flanges and then used an AutoZone clamp https://www.autozone.com/emission-contr ... Id=2866902 and I'm considering that approach. They sell them in several sizes

• 95200 2"
• 95214 2.25"
• 95212 2.5"
• 95300 3"
• 95400 4"

but I'm not sure which is correct. Plus, I'd really rather fix the flange end. It appear the flair is what holds the floating clamp on. Does someone make a repair flange we can weld onto the pipe?

Here's the situation. The upstream flange rusted off; here's the pipe held up to the muffler's flange.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9X1ANaPfXYbVZDjYA

So after looking at multiple options, I elected to buy a flange kit from Bear River Converters
https://www.bearriverconverters.store/p ... 2628320506

They offer:
BRC811516SS 1 15/16" Exhaust Muffler Fl ... t Fit Kit , which they say is a fit for my 2003, and two band clamps:
1 7/8" 1.875" Band Exhaust Clamp Heavy ... lity Steel

This is two stub pipes welded to a pair of flanges, with bolts and springs. It should slip over the existing pipes. We'll try the clamps first; if they fail, we'll weld them in place.

Here is the update I should have posted weeks ago.

I thought I'd ordered a flange with pipe ID to fit over the original pipe's OD, but instead I got pipes the same OD.
So that meant a butting-splice {or welding}, using the 3" wide clamps I mentioned before. We used a portaband saw to cut off the rusted 1+" of the front pipe.

The flange I got matched the bolt holes on the existing replacement muffler. (That was wider than the front-pipe's; the bolts had been canted out 30 degrees.) We shortened the replacement flange pipe to fit, then used the 2" dia Autozone clamp. What we actually needed was a 1&7/8" diameter but did not find such. So we built up the front pipe with a 1.5" wide piece of of furnace duct sheet metal wrapped around it.

We gooked up everything under the clamp with muffler sealant, cranked down on the clamp''s bolts to ~80 ft-lb and let it set for hours.
Thus far, all is well.

These URL's https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZjMhNtYVeofvTpst7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/dnzoVZb1ptmum3BW8 may or may not show up so they are repeated below in raw form.

<https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZjMhNtYVeofvTpst7>
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/dnzoVZb1ptmum3BW8>