Ok guys, here we go again! Bought the TRD Sport Muffler (pricey but high-quality) Tried to install over the weekend. Put car up on lift and what do I find? You know where the rear exhaust section bolts to the front section just in front of the rear wheel? Well, I find on my car, the two flanges have been cut off and the pipes are welded together.
My first reaction is to replace the front pipe - come to find out it's one piece from the header thru the cat converter thru the front muffler all the way to the flange which bolts to the rear section. So I can't just replace that section of the pipe. Those crooks at Toyota made it so that if the cat or the front muffler goes bad, you have to buy the whole stupid piece! Best price I found is $951. Well, I'm not going to do that. 1G for a flange is outrageous!
My next thought was to cut off the flange on the TRD pipe and weld directly to the front pipe, but then I was told since the TRD pipe is stainless, you can't weld it to regular steel. Maybe I could make a sleeve, weld it to the front pipe and clamp it on the TRD rear pipe.
Well, that's my story. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
