How to Weld Exhaust Pipe- A Complete Guide

The exhaust pipe is an essential part of an engine vehicle or a stove. This pipe makes sure the reaction gases go out from the engine or stove. Most of the engine vehicles or stove designs with one or multiple exhaust pipe. If you are a vehicle repairman, then it is essential to know how to weld exhaust pipe.

Or if you are a DIY lover and do your car repair at your garage, then you should know how to weld an exhaust pipe. The exhaust pipe welding is not complicated work, but you are going to need basic knowledge of welding to perform this welding job.

In this article, you can get a guideline for exhaust pipe welding. Before writing this article, we have researched enough to find out the easiest way to weld exhaust pipe. We also try to answer some questions about the exhaust pipe and the best way to weld exhaust pipe. If you read this article, then you can know what exhaust pipe is and the welding exhaust pipe cost.

Exhaust pipe

Before we do exhaust pipe welding, we need to know what an exhaust pipe is and the type of exhaust pipe. An exhaust pipe carries toxic or harmful gases from the place of origin. So, this pipe does an essential job of keeping the user safe. Generators, furnaces, or gas burning vehicles should have an exhaust pipe to push the reaction gas and keep the engine cool down.

There is various type of exhaust pipe you can find in the market, and it can construct by steel, aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber. Every kind of exhaust pipe fulfills different purposes.

In-vehicle you can find single or multiple exhaust pipe design. Multiple exhaust pipe use to increase the power of the vehicles. So, a powerful car like trucks comes with duals or more exhaust pipe to push out the gases and keep the engine cool as much as it can.

How to Weld Exhaust Pipe

Now I am going to tell you about How to Weld Exhaust Pipe as well as how to weld a broken exhaust pipe properly on your own and save some money. The standard exhaust pipe welding process requires four simple steps to complete. But there are also other ways to fix the small problem of exhaust pipes.

Check for the damage

It is essential to find out where the exhaust pipe is broke, and it is possible to repair it on your own. If you are sure that you can fix the damage by welding, then you should think about the tools you need and the protection for welding.

Before performing any kind of welding, make sure you fulfill all the safety measures. Now make sure what the metal type of the exhaust pipe is and always do welding in open places for safety.

Equipment you need for welding.

To do your work correctly, you should have all the weld exhaust pipe kit. You are going to need an exhaust pipe, chain saw or hacksaw, eyeglasses, mask shield, hand gloves, grinder, C-clamps, and a welder machine. If you have all the equipment, then you are ready to do exhaust pipe welding.

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The exhaust pipe welding is not an easy task, and it is not like a regular welding works. Here is the step you need to follow to the weld exhaust pipe. To do the weld exhaust pipe properly, you need to follow four steps.

• Correctly cut exhaust pipe
• Use a clamp to put pieces together
• spot weld
• Finish the welding

Correctly cut exhaust pipe

The exhaust pipe welding success depends on how to cut and weld exhaust pipe. So, it is essential to cut the exhaust pipe correctly to make the pipework again and place it properly. You need to measure the tube accurately to fit into another tube perfectly.

After you measure the pipe correctly, you can start to cut the tube by using a chain pipe saw, or you can use a hacksaw. You can use any of these two cutters, but you have to make sure that you cut the pipe straightly.

If you do not cut the exhaust pipe straight, then it will be hard to fit into another tube. Because of that, you can damage the pipe, and it can cost you a brand new exhaust pipe to replace the damaged one.

Try to cut them nicely as much as you can. Sometimes the pipe can comes with tiny imperfection after the cut. You can use the grinder to clean the extra metal, paint, or dirt on the pipe and prepare for welding. And never forget to wear safety equipment before doing anything.

Use a clamp to put pieces together

Once you clean the pipe now, it’s time to assemble the pipe. Most of the times you are going need to use your both hand during welding, and it became hard to place the tube correctly. In this case, you can use a C-clamp to keep the pipe in steady and let you work smoothly. The C-clamp has widely used in welding work to keep the objects together.

Before start welding, makes sure the exhaust pipe joins correctly and makes the join as you want them in the system. You have to care about the fitting of the pipes because once you weld the exhaust pipe, it is nearly impossible to try it afterward.

Spot weld

It is not a good idea to start welding on the exhaust pipe without any guidelines. First, you should put four or five spot welds on the tube to follow the welding line. Because if you make any kind of mistake, then you could damage the pipe if anything goes wrong.

By putting spot weld, you can prevent the thin pipe from warping and deforming if the heat increases. If the tube moves during welding, then it can spoil the welding by creating gaps. So, it is essential to do the spot welding first then go for complete welding.

Finish the welding

If you follow all the steps and done everything correctly, then you are ready to do the finishing touch of your welding. Make sure you put welding all around the pipe and fill all the gaps. By performing perfect welding, you can get leak free best welding results.

This is the standard way to do exhaust pipe welding works. And this is how to weld two exhaust pipes together. You can use different welding methods to perform exhaust pipe welding. It’s up to you which welding method is suitable for you and how to weld on exhaust pipe.

Read our in-depth Guideline About Choosing the Best Pipeline Welder here.

Exhaust Pipe Welding Processes Using MIG, TIG, Flux Core, and Stick welder

Now we are going to discuss some welding processes you can use to perform exhaust pipe welding.

How to weld exhaust pipe with MIG welder

The MIG welder machine is easy to use and suitable for different kinds of works. For exhaust pipe, TIG welder is ideal, but you can use a MIG welder machine if you want. MIG welding also can produce perfect welding on exhaust pipe if you know how to use it.

Best MIG welder

To weld exhaust pipe with MIG, you need to make sure your place is neat and clean. First, clean the base metal and make sure the tube is dust and rust-free. You can use a grinder to clean the pipe and expose the metal.

The MIG welding process uses gas to shield to prevent oxidation on the base metal. In this case, you can use argon and carbon-di-oxide as a shielding gas.

By using MIG welder, you are going to use a lot of heat in short weld time. You need to put 5 or 4 positions for the heat range, and this is almost the highest power. But the pipe is thin, so you need to put wired speed to match the heat. Try to use manual pause time and start welding by setting a shot range of weld time. This is how to MIG weld thin exhaust pipe without making a mistake.

After setting everything, you can start welding. Weld in short weld time and wait to cool down the welding area. Always keep eyes on weld thickness to get perfect finishing. And this is how to weld exhaust pipe with a MIG.

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But if your car has a stainless steel exhaust pipe, then you better use small spool for stainless steel wire and use regular MIG welder machine, and this is how to MIG weld stainless steel exhaust pipe.

Before starting, welding wears hand gloves, face mask, apron as protection from spark, and light.

PROS:

• Produce high-quality welding within a short time
• This welding process can work on different kinds of metal
• Can use a manual to semi-automatic function to perform weld

CONS:

• Need gas to shield the welding area
• Not suitable as TIG welding

Check out Daddy’s best 10 MIG welders under $400

How to weld exhaust pipe with flux core

Flux-core welding is not perfect for exhaust pipe welding, but you can use this welding process to cut your budget. By using this process, you do not need gas because flux-core protects the base metal during welding.

Best flux core welder

To perform flux-core welding on exhaust pipe first, you need to clean both of the pipes. Make sure all the dust and rust clean. Then you have to set the voltage and wire feed speed. Keep both amps and wire feed speed at the middle range. Because flux-core can produce high temperatures, so keep it low.

The wire feed speed also important because if the wire feed speed is high then you can spoil the welding and do not get a satisfying result. So, reduce the wire feed speed and weld in a short time to keep the welding area cold.

The MIG welder machine supports flux-core welding, and you can use a MIG welder machine to do that. If you want you can buy a flux-core welder machine, and they are cheap. By using MIG welder, you can MIG welding exhaust pipe without gas.

In flux-cord welding, the spark can harm, so wear hand gloves, helmet, and apron to stay safe.

PROS:

• Can weld without using a shielding gas
• Better penetration then solid MIG welding
• Continuous wired feed facility
• The low budget welding process

CONS:

• Can damage the pipe if use too much heat
• Not ideal for exhaust pipe welding

How to weld exhaust pipe with Stick welder

The stick welding process is hard to operate, and it is not easy to learn. If you know how to work with a stick welder, then you can use it to the weld exhaust pipe. But the stick welding process is not suitable for this kind of works, but it’s not impossible to perform.

Best welder for Stick welding

You need to clean the tube to get perfect welding like other welding processes. Stick welding can work on dirt, rust, or paint, but cleaning is best practice.

Then use the suitable rod to do the welding. You need to use thinnest rods to weld exhaust pipe because the pipe is thin itself. The 1/16 is perfect for doing this type of welding.

After that, start welding and stop in every short time to let the weld cool down. If the welding thickness is okay, then you can continue welding, and this is how to weld old exhaust pipe to make it work again.

Use all the safety tools to avoid any unwanted accidents. You need to use a face mask, hands gloves, and apron to protect from sparks. This is how to weld exhaust pipe with arc welder because Stick welding also is known as Arc welding.

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PROS:

• Can perform welding indoor and outdoor
• Easy to use
• Can handle various weather conditions
• Perfectly work with rust, dirt and old paint

CONS:

• Can produce slag and left leak on the pipe
• Hard to use during welding

How to weld exhaust pipe with TIG welder

TIG welding is ideal for doing weld exhaust pipe properly. By using TIG welder, you can use the right heat to weld the exhaust pipe and get the best welding result. You can perform welding on stainless steel, mild steel, titanium, aluminum exhaust pipes.

Best TIG welder

You may ask how to TIG weld stainless steel exhaust pipe or how to TIG weld mild steel exhaust pipe. To start any exhaust pipe welding first takes out the tube from the car and clean it. Then taped both sides of the pipe and use argon gas to take out the air inside the pipe.

After doing everything correctly, use a thin rod to perform welding on the exhaust pipe. Use middle range amps to get suitable heat to melt the metal and do welding without damaging the tube. You need to control the temperature by using the foot pedal.

Most of the exhaust pipes are thin, and TIG welder can correctly work on thin metal. By using TIG welder, you can also do a weld titanium exhaust pipe.

Check out Daddy’s best TIG welder on Amazon

Before welding, wears hand gloves, helmet, and other safety tools for protections.

PROS:

• TIG welding is the best option for thin metal like exhaust pipes
• Perfect heat control by using a foot pedal
• Can perform clean and slang free welding
• Use on various types of metal

CONS:

• A bit expensive than other welding processes
• Takes more time than other welding machines

Read daddy’s 7 best TIG welders under 1000 dollars

How to weld exhaust pipe with an oxyacetylene torch

If you are thinking, is there any other way to weld exhaust pipe like how to weld exhaust pipe without a welder. The answer is yes, and you can use an oxy-acetylene torch to weld on exhaust pipes. You can perform simple welding repair by using this method. If you are confused about how to weld hole in exhaust pipe, then you can use this method to do that.

Check out the best Oxyacetylene Torches on Amazon.

To start welding by using an oxy-acetylene torch, the first clan the exhaust pipe on the car. After that, set the acetylene gas pressure and then oxygen gas pressure. If you place both the gas pressure perfectly, then flame the torch.

After flaming, use a thin rod for brazing on the exhaust pipe and fixing the hole or leak on the tube. This is how to braze weld exhaust pipe. You can use this way of welding under the car and repair the damage on your vehicle.

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In this article, we try to find some popular way to weld exhaust pipe and explain it to you. You can use any of the welding processes you want and fix your broken exhaust pipe by yourself. By following the welding exhaust tips I provide, you can do the perfect repair at your garage.

Now you probably know which welding process is suitable for you, but you do not know how much would it cost to weld an exhaust pipe. If you go to a repair shop, then it may cost you from $30 to $300 depending on the condition of the damage. But if you do it yourself, then you can save extra labor charge and cut your expenses.

FAQs about Welding Exhaust Pipe

Q. What kind of weld is used for exhaust?

Answer: You can use any welding process to the weld exhaust pipe, but the TIG welding is more suitable for this kind of weld. And professional workers use TIG welder to perform exhaust pipe welding.

Q. How much does it cost to weld exhaust pipe?

Answer: The cost depends on which welding process you are using. Flux-core welding is less expensive but not ideal for exhaust pipe welding. If you use the TIG welding process, it will cost more but gives you perfect welding. You may need $30 to $300 to do exhaust pipe welding depend on the damage.

Q. How do you weld a custom exhaust?

Answer:  To weld a custom exhaust, you need to be a professional welder. Because you have a design, cut, and joint the exhaust pipe ideally to put in the system.

Conclusion 

I hope by reading this article, you already know how to properly weld exhaust pipe. If you know how to weld, then you should do your welding and save money for other needs.

Exhaust pipe welding is not an easy task, but once you learn the skill, you can modify your car exhaust as you want. If you do not know which welder is the best option for you, then you can visit our Best Welder for Exhaust Pipe article to find a welder for you.