Escort Muffler

1997 Ford Escort: after work on the transmission, a joint in the exhaust pipe broke (between the bolted flange at the front (after/behind the catalytic converter) and the flex joint/pipe. Eddy (transmission mechanic) brazed it for free, but a few weeks later it broke again. This time I tried to fix it myself. I took the pipe off. The first bolt broke (on the flange), the second I cut off with an angle grinder cut off wheel. There is a bracket under the pipe in the middle of the car that had to come off (10 mm socket, six nuts). Then the muffler had to come off the pipe. This was held on with a clamp which was almost rusted away (like the bolts at the wharf). I disconnected the rubber brackets to pull the pipe back a little and was able to cut the clamp with the grinder. The muffler was still rusted on, so I cut the muffler pipe half way through and broke it off the pipe. Unfortunately I did not cut back far enough and it damaged the exhaust pipe. I thought that would have to be welded, but I managed to buy a small extension and an extra clamp to make up the difference.
A neighbour (Kevin) welded the broken joint back for me. I had to drive for more than a week without a muffler until he completed it. He has welded two parts in the lawn tractor for me too (the shaft for one of the blades [which I erroneously ground off], and the lever to raise the deck).
I sprayed some undercoating around where there were rusty areas and reinstalled the exhaust pipe. At first my new bolts were too short so I had to wait until the van came home to by some 1 1/2 inch bolts.
Lifetime warranty muffler: $109
Weld: $20
Clamps/bolts: $16.