Hey guys. I've got a question about exhaust. Really aimed towards the folks who are mechanics and/or worked for Infiniti.

The short story.
I ran over a dead deer and it F'd up the underside of my 03 G sedan. Insurance wants me to pay a 'betterment' fee of 50% of the cost the parts :front exhaust pipe (from manifold to cats) and both cats. The 'betterment' fee is cause they say they are replacing old wornout parts with 'better' new ones. So I'm trying to gather some info before I try to fight it out with my insurance company.

This sounds a bit like BS to me. I have never heard of a front exhaust pipe wearing out through normal wear and tear and needing to be replace. Now, I do remember hearing about people having to replace their cats on older (late 80's, early 90's) vehicles. I have not heard this from anyone with a newer car.

Any input I can get would be greatly appreciated.

FYI: My G has 138,000 and before the dead deer was is great working condition. It's my baby and i take car of her.


Thanks,
Dave

 

Any exhaust will wear out. It just depends on the car and the mileage. When you consider what cats do then how long they last would be due to how much exhaust gases pass through them, and that is just for the catalyst.

Has your car had a recent emissions test which would give an indication of the condition of your cats.

 

Yep, passed emissions last year with no problems. I understand that cats can wear out, so I'm not really fighting that.
It's the front exhaust pipe (from manifold to cats, Y-pipes?) that I really question?

 

Over the years I have had issues with cast iron exhaust manifolds, steel tube headers, you name it. At 130k miles I would think steel tube headers may or may not have a problem depending on design. maybe someone here can chime in on their actual experiences. Issues with cast iron exhaust manifolds I have ran into usually involved cracking issues, especially on inline sixes.