Hello all,
some of you may have heard a little bit of my story before. I have an aveo LS 2008 115000miles.
Last year the flex pipe was loose after shop inspection so I had it replaced (cut and weld a new flex pipe).
I have an engine light since I had the repair performed: code P2096: Post Catalyst Fuel Trim System Too Lean Bank 1.
Today I went under the car to take a look at the flex pipe and upload some pictures for you guys to help me:
front weld:Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
what you see on the second picture is not really a crack, it's a "bulk" of material.
Back weld:
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
I then moved my car on a sidewalk to get more space to try to get better pictures.
front weld:
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
back weld:
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
you can see that the pipe is leaking at the weld. It was dry and when I started the car to move it I could notice that. I
I was about to replace the O2 sensor until I found that.
Here are my questions (some might be obvious):
It should not be leaking anything at the flex pipe correct?
Can the leak at the front and back of the weld be the reason for the code to appear?
As the flex pipe is brand new, can I have the leaks fixed without replacing the flex pipe?
How to fix the leak? re-weld,
other options? (i saw online a video that uses clamps, tailpipe sealant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ1tpiHrl0Q)
If the shop is responsible for the defect, I don't have any warranty anymore and I tried through the BBB without success, so I need to either fix it myself or in a shop.
Thank you very much for your time looking at this topic.
Ben