Safe to drive with exhaust leak?
 

My sti shifter went loose and the Subaru dealer snapped one of the bolts of the front pipe when they were trying to access the shifter. Both the front pipe and the bolt are on backorder and there's no dates yet.

They said they can put the original pipe back on while we wait but there would be leaks from the header and resonator. They said it's okay to drive like this except the cars gonna be a bit louder.

Some quick googling said it's not good for the engine and might have bad gases leaking if the car is driven in this condition.

Anyone knows is it actually okay to drive with some leaks? I guess definitely no track days/auto crosses until it's fixed.
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From a mechanical stand point as long as the leak is after both O² sensors the engine should run with the problem. You need to drive and see if the noise/fumes are to much for you.

It'll be fine just don't spend a lot of time idling and sitting still.

Thanks! I guess if the noise/fumes are okay then nothing I should worry too much about.

Do you think I can attend hpde before it's fixed?


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Thanks! Do you think I should avoid doing hpde until it's fixed or it's fine?


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Tough to say. If it's a tiny leak it'll probably be fine but keep in mind an exhaust leak is blowing full temp exhaust out in an unintended direction. HPDE is going to get things really hot and a lot of heat in the wrong direction melts things. It's a personal judgement call but for me I'm not big on tracking a car where things are not setup/working correctly.

That covers everything I was thinking.

I would get that busted bolt out and stick a smaller non threaded bolt in with some washers and nuts to secure it as a temp solution until the correct hardware arrives.

Unfortunately according to subaru that bolt is stuck and they tried. Not sure if some local muffler shops can pull some magic...


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Apparently they didn't try very hard...

Maybe they should have tried a drill.

15 minutes of cussing and few new drill bits and a drill. Drill the stud out and then replace it with a bolt, nut and washers. Your not trying to save or extract the remains of the broken stud but simply just drill through it to the other side (which would also remove the broken stud)

They just didn't want the headache and hassle mate.