My girlfriend tells me I have a good sense of timing. I'm not going to argue with her! However, I'm thinking that good sense of timing extends to the Saturn as well.

On Monday, I wrapped up commuting to Effingham for my student teaching. I had been driving an hour and back every day for four weeks mostly on the highway. Then, I braved the crowds and did some Black Friday shopping. No problems except when I get a mile from my house when the exhaust suddenly become way louder than it should be. Having experienced the muffler come off a couple months previously, I knew it was something similar. But this time, the rumble wasn't coming from behind. The leak was coming from the front.

I'm not really an expert when it comes to repairing stuff, but I popped the hood anyway to see what was happening. From what I can tell, it's not a cracked header. I asked my brother if he had replaced anything underneath. He said it's all original except for the muffler which we replaced recently. So I'm thinking it's a rotten pipe or a flange failure. I'll drop it at the shop Monday morning.

 

The expansion pipe that is under the braided section of exhaust is prone to cracking with age and salt exposure. The part I'm talking about is underneath the engine, behind the oil pan. If you get under the car you will see it. You can get a new downpipe and cat assembly from rock auto for 130 bucks. It fits in just like the oem piece and has a port for the downstream O2 sensor.

Jack the car up, start it, and then get under the car with it running, and feel around the braided part for an exhaust leak.

And when I say jack, I mean to support the car with either jack stands or blocks before you get under it. Or use those little pull on ramps that any parts house has.

 

yep,

pretty easy to find if you're under there and it's THAT loud.
And PLEASE use jackstands.

The combo replacement part of which DTruck1 speaks of is the easiest roue of repair, since you need only disconnect at the downpipe and right behind the cat -- both are flanges = no welding.

Since you're at 200K on your down pipe and cat, you get those as a bonus AND your current cat might be partially clogged, so you MAY see an increase in performance post repair. (And I have land in FL to sell you)

I would use new gaskets at each end to ensure no leaks.

Of course, if that's NOT where the leak is, let us know where you DID find it....

 

I'll know by lunchtime tomorrow, and I'll pass it along! Thanks for all the info. I'll make use of it at the shop tomorrow.

 

Broken flange. Quick repair and I was out of there $50 lighter and a whole lot quieter. They did say I'd be looking into a new flex pipe a year down the line.