Welding Ti Exhaust

EzGlider · Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:02 pm

I have an exhaust that is Titanium (tubing & Muffler). The muffler endplate cracked and a section was lost. The muffler inlet and exhaust is on the opposite side. The failed end is just a flat plate. I am wondering what the experts here think about the ability to repair this. My simple thinking would be to fabricate a patch to completely cover the failure. Drill a hole at the end of each crack to end the crack migration and then weld the patch on. I am wondering if this failure is telling me something (maybe metal fatigue) and I should just get a new exhaust system. I would like to fix this one because it is very light and reasonably quiet. Most of the aftermarket are louder and I run the car at race tracks that have sound limitations. This system never fails.

I am in Richmond VA and have had trouble even getting welding shops to take a look. I called welding supply stores and asked if any of their customers might weld Ti, but again no takers. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. I do not have the equipment to do this weld. I am just a basic stick welder for primitive things like fixing a tractor, etc.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

cj737 · Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:06 pm

The repair approach you describe can work, but, welding a Ti exhaust that is already heavily used will be problematic. To successfully weld Ti, it must be surgically clean. And that is an environment alien to exhausts, especially mufflers.

I would venture a guess that the reason it failed was due to poor welding technique to begin with. Or severe usage? I may know someone locally (I'm in Richmond area too) who could repair it. It won't be cheap: flat stock, filler wire, serious cleaning, etc. Expect the welding to be ~$300 plus material costs, plus prep time. If you' re still interested, you can send me a PM and we can synch up. (It won't be me repairing it, but a buddy who is fully certified on Ti to a nuclear process level, so the expertise will be there).

Oscar · Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:30 pm

If it is available to purchase new, it will likely be the better route, as it will be time consuming & expensive to fix as it was mentioned. That being said, I will fix it for free if you get me the flat-stock, pay shipping both ways, and give me plenty of time to clean it.

The only thing I was wondering is, how the heck did it get damaged like that!?

Spartan · Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:17 pm

cj737 wrote:Expect the welding to be ~$300 plus material costs, plus prep time.

Wait a minute... I thought automotive repairs were only worth about $20 for the welder to "just run a quick bead on it". At least that's the response I always get when I tell customers what it will cost. They all make the same face about it, too

BillE.Dee · Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:58 am

famous last words of fame ...

It will only take 15 minutes to fix this

It takes longer to connect the welding leads than it does to make the repair.

Hold my beer and watch this.

EzGlider · Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:52 am

Oscar wrote:The only thing I was wondering is, how the heck did it get damaged like that!?

How the failure occurred is a mystery to me. This part of the muffler faces the inner rear fender on the car. There is no way anything of size could have hit it based on how tightly it is placed in the car. Angles and clearance just don't support it. The car is regularly run on track and this particular day we were at VIR running. It occurred in the 4th 30 min session, no bang, no track debris hit, no tire coming apart. The car is running in the 3-6500RPM range for those 30 mins , but I would expect Ti to be able to withstand the heat in this application. Nobody has seen one fail like this in the car forum either...

Oscar · Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:11 am

EzGlider wrote:
Oscar wrote:The only thing I was wondering is, how the heck did it get damaged like that!?
How the failure occurred is a mystery to me. This part of the muffler faces the inner rear fender on the car. There is no way anything of size could have hit it based on how tightly it is placed in the car. Angles and clearance just don't support it. The car is regularly run on track and this particular day we were at VIR running. It occurred in the 4th 30 min session, no bang, no track debris hit, no tire coming apart. The car is running in the 3-6500RPM range for those 30 mins , but I would expect Ti to be able to withstand the heat in this application. Nobody has seen one fail like this in the car forum either...

I see. Well the offer still stands.

cj737 · Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:12 am

EzGlider wrote: How the failure occurred is a mystery to me. ...but I would expect Ti to be able to withstand the heat in this application. Nobody has seen one fail like this in the car forum either...

I suspect this is a similar situation:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-gt3 ... ement.html

Spartan · Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:23 am

BillE.Dee wrote:famous last words of fame ...

It will only take 15 minutes to fix this

It takes longer to connect the welding leads than it does to make the repair.

Hold my beer and watch this.

I’ve been flat out turning down any automotive repair quote requests for awhile now. 90% of them legit expect you to spend half a day welding under their vehicle for $50 or less, and have no concept of prep and the time it takes when doing automotive welds. I suggest to those folks that they learn to take up welding themselves and wish them luck.

EzGlider · Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:11 am

That failure on the Porsche exhaust is very similar to mine which was from a Corvette...

TraditionalToolworks · Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:13 pm

EzGlider wrote:That failure on the Porsche exhaust is very similar to mine which was from a Corvette...

I didn't realize that was a Porsche exhaust. I have an '84 911.

Have you seen those amazing Titanium exhausts that Chris McQuay (Unobtanium Welding) does for P-Cars, Lambos and McClarens? That guy is frickin' amazing.

If you haven't seen them, check them out on InstaGram: https://www.instagram.com/unobtainiumwelding/

Oscar · Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:09 pm

TraditionalToolworks wrote:
EzGlider wrote:That failure on the Porsche exhaust is very similar to mine which was from a Corvette...
I didn't realize that was a Porsche exhaust. I have an '84 911.

Have you seen those amazing Titanium exhausts that Chris McQuay (Unobtanium Welding) does for P-Cars, Lambos and McClarens? That guy is frickin' amazing.

If you haven't seen them, check them out on InstaGram: https://www.instagram.com/unobtainiumwelding/

I wish I could have work like that come in. Here it's basically a very big ranch on the border.

I even have titanium filler ready! CP, CP2,Gr5, Gr23. 035 up to 3/32".

TraditionalToolworks · Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:34 pm

Oscar wrote:Here it's basically a very big ranch on the border.

I'd rather have a big ranch on the border any day of the week.

My lake property is unfortunately inside city limits so I can't have livestock other than some chickens. I wish I could raise my own pork and beef, that would be ideal.

I have plenty of projects to weld up though, and a titanium exhaust on my 911 won't be one of them.

I do have some welding to fix some body panels on my '46 Chevy Pickup..., but the exhaust has been replaced on it.