AJochum

My '07 2.4 started making a sound like the exhaust was leaking. Got underneath and it appears that the "flex tube" is leaking. Has anyone had this happen?

From what I'm gathering, it appears that this is all one piece from the flex tube to the rear end.

Anyone know if you can somehow get just the flex tube? Covered under 100k warranty by chance? Any TSBs on this?

By the way, say what you want on new cars, there's not a spot of rust on my underside of the car. I use the HHR 12 months of the year with road salt hitting it 4 of those months. If this was the 70s the car would be full of rust.

843de

There is a flange at the end of the flex pipe allowing the exhaust system to be "broken" at the muffler under the center of the vehicle.

The pipe is covered under the emissions warranty that runs until 80,000 miles, when replaced a "like" part must be used by the dealer.

If you're over the 80k limit on the emissions warranty, head to a muffler shop as they can just replace the flexible section of the pipe and get you back on the road for lots less money than GM wants for a new pipe from the factory.

No TSB's on this that I know of, they do break on occasion but I'd hesitate to call it an endemic issue with the HHR.

AJochum

Guess what? 84,000 - there must be a meter somewhere inside to make it go just after warranty. Thanks for the info.

AJochum

Have looked everywhere in from NAPA to RockAuto, etc and only find most of what I don't need. Have any of you ever actually seen just the flange and the flex-tube available that Mike is talking about? I know they make these universal flexible mesh pieces but they'd have to have the 3 hole flange on it. It seems silly (and expensive) that there isn't a part available - you can see how this flex-tube would eventually go.

firemangeorge

Like Mike said, your best bet is take it to a muffler shop. They should have the part or one similar.

donbrew

I could be totally wrong, but I think that an 07 is old enough that you can just replace the pipe, flange to muffler, you don't need a cat.

Back when I needed one, I seem to remember that 2007 pipes were way cheaper than 08, because the cat was not included in the pipe. Make sure that you get the right number of fittings for the HO2s, if I remember correctly 07 only has one, 08 and on have two.

Mine broke because the GM body shop guy used a come-along to realign the exhaust system after I got rear ended.

843de

You'd need to retain the cat Don, in the states that do emissions testing with sniffers, some leeway is allowed on vehicles over five year of age to allow for the effects of time and mileage. But the vehicles still have to have all of the factory emissions equipment intact, pre-1981 model year vehicles can have their equipment removed under the current EPA regulations. Starting in 2013, pre-1986 vehicles will be exempted and can be modified without retaining their equipment.

A good muffler shop can cut off the defective flexible section and weld a new one onto the existing downpipe without too much trouble but it is a custom fab job.

AJochum

Unfortunately, all of our muffler shops like Firestone and Midas have gone out of business. I know the two guys I would normally do business with would just tell me I need the whole thing, and that's about $400 for something that should cost me about $75.

db/sb

We had the same problem about 6 weeks ago and they changed it under warranty at roughly 60000 miles. I had done some research and found that I could have purchased a replacement for less than $200 had it not been covered. The installation wouldn't have been difficult. 5 bolts and an O² sensor.

donbrew

I swear, I remember saying to myself "I wish I had a 2007" because the down pipe has a connecter to the cat. But, I just checked around and proved myself wrong!

There aren't any "speed shops" around you? That's where to look, the guys that do custom headers etc..