'98 Avalon XLS: failed front exhaust pipe

I have a trustworthy dealer here in western New York state. Today I had the service manager offer an opinion on the source of a new throaty sound in the engine compartment. His verdict: possibly an insulted gasket from the recent tear-down for replacng the internal timing belt (at a different dealer's shop), but more likely the front exhaust pipe failing after 85K miles and eight salty winters.

He quoted the cost of the latter replacement as $1200 - $1500 because the front exhaust pipe includes a catalytic converter, separate from the CC farther along in the exhaust-parts sequence.

The rest of the the exhaust system is original and solid.

Does anything about this narrative strike you as out of the ordinary for a babied, rigorously serviced '98 Avalon?

Reply to
Pemaquid
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I must admit I have no clue as to whether this is a good or bad price for the parts and labor involved, but my question to the group is, if the service manager is pretty sure about what needs to be done, why is his cost estimate so far-ranging? If the parts ($xxx) and the labor ($xxx) is known up front, I would think he'd be able to narrow it down to a fairly solid figure. If it were a transmission that may or may not need certain parts, which nobody knows up front before it's torn down, I can see that there'd be such a vague estimate, but not when the parts to be replaced are already known, and the time allowable is also known in advance.

Comments?

($1200-1500 does sound a little dear to me)

Reply to
mack

I agree with Mack - the range sounds too wide to me. Also, an exhaust leak is fairly easy to pinpoint with 2 people. One person jams a rag over the tailpipe, and the other listens for the source of the leak. I would want a more positive identification of the source of the leak before proceeding. The good news is, if you get the exhaust at a Toyota dealer, you will have a lifetime guarantee on it (but not the cat).

Reply to
Ray O

To me too, but the car has been rock solid. Averaging this and the timing belt over its 8 years still leaves me satisfied with my choice.

I learned after that conversation that there are two different front exhaust pipes possible, depending on whether the car did or didn't have to meet California emission standards. This dealer (but maybe not this service manager) knows that mine has always been a New York car.

That's a valuable suggestion.

I'm 70, Ray. Everyone's happy to give me a lifetime guarantee. :)

He made another comment that gnaws at me in retrospect. I mentioned that I could go to a muffler shop but that I'd rather saty with Toyota quality He replied that an independent shop might replace the pipe with one lacking the CC and then I'd have trouble with emissions tests.

Would an independent shop really do that? I'd hope not.

And wouldn't the absence of the substitute pipe's CC's impedance affect the behavior of the engine?

I thank you both for your comments. You've helped me.

Reply to
Pemaquid

Some east coast cars like Massachusetts have to meet California emissions standards, I'm not sure if NY falls into the same category or not. A label in the engine compartment would identify the emissions system the car has, as would the original window sticker.

I doubt if an independent shop would completely eliminate the catalytic converter since that would be an illegal modification, but it is very likely that they would install a cheap one that would work fine for a while but have a relatively short life.

I thought that the CC was a separate component and that it would be possible to re-use the old one, assuming that it is still working properly. I would ask that question of the service department as well.

Reply to
Ray O

I don't think front pipes/Cats are covered, Ray. AFAIK, it's only the SS one-piece welded exhausts, cat back...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Check the exhaust warranty, but I think the front pipe is covered but the cat is not.

Reply to
Ray O

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