Hi board, new member here who likes to save money and do a lot of repairs myself...i normally search Youtube and can pretty much find a how to video on anything...

So I own a 1996 Honda Accord and I've noticed that my exhaust pipe has rusted away from muffler and the car sounds awful...I'd like to order the necessary parts and do the work myself...I'm not looking at anything fancy, just basic parts...like maybe picking up the parts at an autozone...

Before I attack a project as this...would replacing an exhaust pipe and maybe a new muffler be something that a do it yourselfer could do at home without any specialty tools? Would there be any needed welding?

Thanks

 

Job is fairly easy DIY. Most difficult aspect is necessity to lift the car on 4 jack stands or better front ramps (slightly higher lift) and rear jack stands. This provides enough access to work under the car and remove the parts.

In northern states, road salt causes extensive rusting and can mean more parts may be necessary. A good visual inspection before ordering parts is indicated to be sure what needs replacement. Exhaust pipes may be leaking and require replacement. Flex-joints can fail from corrosion.

good luck

 

Based on my experience you will want to get some PB Blaster and spray all the bolts first as they will be pretty tough to get off. I agree with TexasHonda about corrosion, if your in the rust belt an impact gun might be kept close by. The Honda shop manual says too that you should replace the nuts that come off with new ones which depending on condition may be mandatory anyway. Also I found that the rubber hangers for the exhaust come off and go on very easily if you spray them with a little WD-40. Just get a small phillips screw driver in between the hanger and the rubber isolator and put a squirt of WD-40 in there and it will save you a lot of effort and time.

 

I agree with the same parts to order as the original parts if they are not to way overpriced..

WheelBrokerAng

 

you are going to need a pb blaster for sure.. Actually, I think you may even have to cut some of those bolts because, I live in new york, had to replace my original catalytic converter a few weeks ago on a 12 year old car.. Holy damn, that last bolt was such a pain, it just wouldn't cut, they were wayyyy too rusted to even try to remove without cutting..

aside from that, you just gotta raise the car and that's about it, rest of it is just time consuming work but nothing magically hard.. as far as parts, OEM are probably best but if they're way too expensive just check for reputable aftermarket brands, I would stay away from used stuff..