I was at a light yesterday and saw a car coming behind me and it looked like it was not stopping. There was a car ahead of me and on one of my sides, so I moved as fast as I could to the side but the car still hit me, it was not a light tap either. I got off the car and saw no damage, the ladies Mercedes did not fare quite as well. At first I went and questioned her whether she was on the phone or what, but it became apparent that she was high on pills or some crap. I was so pissed, that I said screw it and left after asking if she was ok as I was late for my son's school dropoff.
This morning it was quite cold here and my exhaust sounded too loud on startup. I attributed to the cold weather but as I was driving it was evident that something was not ok. It looks like she hit my exhaust and cracked/broke a hanger, probably the vibration finished it off. Lesson learned, call the cops and get people like that off the road.
Can I MIG weld this bracket on? or am I better off taking it to an exhaust shop?
I would take it to an exhaust shop but I have zero welding equipment and about the same amount of welding skill 
I have never checked what grade of stainless an exhaust is before mig welding.
I am yet to encounter an exhaust that my welder won't stick together with .023 ER70S-6 wire.
The exhaust shop is just going to buzz it back together with ER70S6, which works fine. Or if they are slow they will want to bend you up a new cat back system with cheap mufflers, crap tube, and poor fitment.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Lol, its a $2k Supersprint ... hence the want to fix it.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
The exhaust shop is just going to buzz it back together with ER70S6, which works fine. Or if they are slow they will want to bend you up a new cat back system with cheap mufflers, crap tube, and poor fitment.
This. They will likely do what you will do, but worse. I would consider getting stainless wire. Standard steel will work, but it could rust in the future.
I remember when I had an exhaust shop do some work on the Nissan Bentra. Its a miracle the exhaust ever found its way out of that system.
If it's really 304 it's total cake for someone with mig or tig skills and the time to clean it up. Removing it from the car and putting it on your local fabricator's workbench would be where I would start.
I would cut a piece out of another section of tube, weld it on then weld the bracket to it. Easy job, a decent exhaust guy, or you, should do it in under 30 minutes.
For that kind of exhaust, I'd probably start with trying to find a fabricator to repair it... But I'm not talking about Bubba down at the corner exhaust shop closing his eyes and hitting it with a stick.
With access to 308L wire, tri-mix, and some practice material, I would not be above DIY'ing it either though.
Not saying this is proper, but I've gone straight from welding on a fender to welding on a stainless muffler without changing a thing. I used a little more juice on the stainless, but it held together for years and was still fine when I sold it.
The weld itself won't be stainless, but I didn't really have the motivation to go buy a bunch of supplies to properly weld it.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
"Colin"'s downpipe is a mix of 304 stainless and mild steel, whichever I had that had the correct bend angle for that point, welded with the MIG. It'll be fine... I have done similar on vehicles that were fine 15 years later. Nobody told me it wouldn't work before I did it 
Driven5 said:
With access to 308L wire, tri-mix, and some practice material, I would not be above DIY'ing it either though.
Or if shielding gas isn't availble, some searching will find flux core 308LFC wire that's meant to be used without gas. It's not cheap though.
Should be easy to weld back in. You can use mild wire but it'll eventually rust. Stainless wire wouldn't be a bad idea. You don't need to worry about back-purging back there. You'll get some sugaring on the inside of the muffler, so the weld would be a little more brittle than if it was purged. For what it's worth, I fixed a similar issue on the SS exhaust on my wife's car a couple years ago and it's still doing as it should.
One word of caution - welding stainless releases toxic fumes. Make sure you have good ventilation.
For my custom stainless TR6 exhaust, I used stainless wire with a MIG welder. Instead of tri-mix, I used two bottles with two regulators. The primary was 100% argon (set at 25 cfh), and a secondary of Argon/CO2 mix flowing at just a trickle. The argon by itself welds too hot, but the CO2 from the second bottle helps cool it down. I believe the ideal mix is 98% argon and 2% carbon dioxide. As this article says, pushing the puddle works better than pulling it.
MIG welding stainless steel
Thanks guys for all the advise.
My first step is to remove the muffler and go back to stock for the next week. Luckily I saved the factory muffler.
If you have never welded stainless before, but have welded mild, the main thing I have found is that stainless does not transfer heat as fast as mild steel, so it is easy to put too much heat into an area and blow through, especially when trying to weld two loose edges back together.
pilotbraden said:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:
I have never checked what grade of stainless an exhaust is before mig welding.
I am yet to encounter an exhaust that my welder won't stick together with .023 ER70S-6 wire.
I agree
I have a repair to do on a downpipe for an 08? Rabbit with the 2.5 and not sure what grade Ss the piping is but once a puddle forms it explodes. Must Have a coating inside as well as outside. Gonna cut the chunk out and weld in a new piece of 304
