Exhaust leak into cabin

My exhaust pipe rusted apart on my 2014 Limited causing the exhaust to melt rubber floor plug, carpet backing, and styrofoam under carpet. Has this happened to anyone else? Also, I need to replace the melted styrofoam and insulation underneath with something less expensive and that will cover that electrical connection. Any ideas?

 

Never seen that before. Sorry to hear man but glad you are ok.

 

I'd just fix the pipe, plug the hole and keep driving.

I wouldn't do anything with the foam.

 

Common to see the exhaust fail there around that age.

Use the silver foil Noico adhesive insulation. Popular in the stereo installation circles (sound deadening) and off road circles (easier cleanup when swamped).

 

Wow, that’s a weird failure. Especially since there’s hardly any corrosion around that exhaust break.

 

This... and move on.

 

That leak must have been going on for a while. I would cover the missing foam with some sound deadening/proofing and put it back together. The kind used for car stereos. Thicker the better.

 

It happened during an 11 hour road trip with cargo area loaded down. Any suggestions on what to cover that little electrical connection with? Curious how it was covered before, by styrofoam? Never felt it while crawling around back there.

 

Do you mean that black rectangle where the styrofoam melted away? If so, I bet that the styrofoam had a relief pocket molded into it to go over it.

 

I would cover it with a section of plastic-grocery bag, ziplock, then go over it with the sound proofing or jutting material. It's inside and not critical as far as protection is needed.

 

I would also remove all burnt sections. Do they stink? That burnt smell can sometimes permeate later into the cab.

 

We smelled something during our drive home, but couldn't figure out what it was. Luckily, I rolled my window periodically, when I got tired.

 

I would cut out the damaged area. That burnt smell can last for years.

 

That’s actually a bit scary. I had a CO poisoning experience myself. I realized what was happening before things got real bad, but it’s very easy to not notice. It’s sneaky, and it doesn’t always smell while it’s happening.

Have you had the chance to look at the break in the exhaust carefully? Did it actually rust through, or fracture? It just seems like a very odd break.

 

Agreed, there isn’t much difference with or without the foam IMO