Exhaust welding consumable?

Hey guys, anyone have experience welding on the factory exhaust tubing? I am a TIG welder by trade, and I need to know what type of wire to use.
Thank you!


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Not a welder but my son is. He tried to weld some chrome parts for me a while back with TIG and told me it just spit out crap all over the place and was really hard to find the correct heat setting to make anything "stick". So we gave up.

I think the process used is the make the exhaust parts up first all welded up and then chrome the outside somehow sealing it all in. After that repairs without grinding the chrome off would be pretty tough.

I'd ask him what he used but he's up in Williams Lake BC welding something somewhere...

prairieguy said:

Hey guys, anyone have experience welding on the factory exhaust tubing? I am a TIG welder by trade, and I need to know what type of wire to use.
Thank you!


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Which model are you working with? Stock header pipe or are you starting with new exhaust stock off the shelf?

Used, stock exhaust pipes.
I have already shortened the original mufflers, which were rather beat up, so I had little to lose. I simply used some stainless tie wire which I had cleaned with emery cloth.
The header pipes are a different story, though. They get extremely hot, very quickly. I am sure that using the wrong filler wire will lead to cracking in or adjacent to the weld.
Here is the weld on one of the shortened mufflers.


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I'm just a hobbyist tig welder but I think silicon bronze might be a good choice.

I'm not sure what Alloy BMW used on their exhaust headers, so can offer advice you probably already know. If the headers are highly magnetic most likely mild carbon steel, lightly or non magnetic stainless steel, most likely 304 If you suspect carbon steel ER70s, stainless steel ER309.

Good luck, please post some photos when your done, the weld on the shorty looks good.

rguy said:

I'm just a hobbyist tig welder but I think silicon bronze might be a good choice.

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I have welded with silicone/bronze in the auto industry..030 wire and CO2/Argon shielding gas in a mig set up can produce a nice looking weld. I can think of no reason that a person couldn't use the material with a tig set up as well.

Thanks Guys, I am away from home and r100 now, so I’ll be awhile before I play with the exhaust system fabrication...


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I doubt you'd go wrong with 316L filler, it's quite compatible with most steels.
I once worked in a fab shop specializing in dairy equipment, everything was 304 or 316, 316 is more resistant to brine and in order to avoid costly mistakes we only used 316 filler. I was the machinist, so I'm not as knowledgeable with the welding but the owner knew what was what so I trust him.
I also spent far too much time polishing welds before I got into the machining gig, so although I am only a good enough welder to make things stick, I am an excellent polisher so I can still make it look good.