The old motor's started getting a bit noisy of recent, on inspection the exhaust pipe was found to be blowing from a crack that's opening up where it is welded at the forward end of the central silencer. This pipe is the one that has a flange with three bolts and a gasket at the cat converter end. (1998 1.3 MPi/ AMH motor). Anyone got any tips they think might help on the replacement proceedure? Any quirks the felicia might throw up to make the job awkward?

Also has anyone bought a particular exhaust brand or from a particular supplier that should be avoided because it doesn't fit or fails after a short life. There does seem to be a big difference between prices. Here in Ireland for example, Bosal seems to be a commonly supplied system, but can be very expensive. A full Bosal system costs about 500 euros; in comparison, a full system (don't know what make) from 'online automotive.co.uk' is £178 sterling (about 215 euros).

Any suggestions/ advice appreciated.

The only area of difficulty is getting the joint between the middle section and the tailpipe apart without damaging the tailpipe if you want to keep it. Pre-soak it in penetrating oil overnight if you can (easily accessed under the left sill in front of the rear wheel), and it should come apart OK. I've never seen any point in buying an expensive steel exhaust, they all seem to last a similar time; I had a cheap one on my recce Felicia that got the death beaten out of it by rocks and gravel, and never gave any problems. 500 Euros sounds like daylight robbery to me.

Thanks for the reply, I am expecting corrosion to be an issue at that joint alright. As for the cost, there's no way is anyone getting 500 notes out of me for a felly exhaust. It's equivalent to about £400 sterling.

Incidentally, of the two systems I mentioned before, the Bosal catalytic converter alone is over 250 euros; online automotive sell it for less than £60, they sell the central part for £30.

Ah, didn't realise you were talking including the cat - that would be expensive. From what I've read, the cheap ones are crap, but I never had a problem with the one I needed to fit to one of my Fels to get it through the MOT...

just cut the center box out and put a straight bit off pipe where the box is

just cut the center box out and put a straight bit off pipe where the box is

Now there's a cheap and simple solution! Out of interest, have you done this to your own motor, and if so, has it had much affect on noise and performance etc?

I bought a cat back system from skoda dealers for less than £100 including gaskets, bolts and rubbers. Fits like a glove