exhaust welds leaking?
 

so i crawled under my car last night checking my nuts and bolts after having installed my headers-catback, and noticed little black dots where the welds are. they are pin holes (i'll get some pics up later) but leak non the less. is this normal and/or acceptable? not sure if its pressure that is blowing the exhaust out, i wouldn't think so since its 2.75" or is it just from condensation buildup leaking out with carbon deposits? any insight is appreciated.

thanks

At weld points?? Sometimes with mufflers, they have weep holes to drain condensation build up, but weld points are usually areas that need complete sealing.

yup....exhaust leaks.....

going to have to go over it again.... the welds are going to look like crap now.

This is why I always suggest using band clamps isntead of welding.

kinda sucks...the only welding done was by the manufacturer. is it possible flow some solder with a torch to fill it or would it just melt? kind of a noob at this but i get the general idea.

and its definitely NOT a weep hole. i saw the weep hole on the stock exhaust, and thats why all the stock ones have black suit on the bottom of the cans.

thanks for the feedback:thumbsup:

sounds like a manufactor defect.

What welds are leaking? between the header and cat? or on your cat back system?

Is the weld leak on the ARK cat back system,or where your headers are welded to your cat back? Are you cat less with tubes between the headers and cat back ?

its on the cat back. its not a noticeable leak, one that would cause rasp or anything like that. just noticed little carbon deposits around some of the weld joints. after rubbing the carbon off, pin holes/pits were visible. not a bust on the system as they made it look clean without having big beads of weld around the seams...just annoying really. i'll get some pics up this evening.

more than likely porosity in the welds, it happens when welding over rust/ carbon, etc.. or when the gas being used with the MIG welder is low or off.

interesting...just learned something today. thanks :)

No problem
:chevy:

here are a couple pics. oddly enough, the carbon build up is on two different pipes but in the same area. almost directly across from each other. so if it were an issue with the gas, that would make sense i suppose...not a welder. did some ark welding back in shop class but that was years ago.

looks like a combo of lack of fusion and porosity.. hard to explain but its weld defects from the manufacturer

what kind of long term effects could it have on the welds?