I've had Magnaflow stainless tips on my other truck for around 2 months now. We got our first taste of winter here and they salted the roads. I drove twenty miles in the salt on my way home. I was washing my truck today and noticed that the tips are starting to pit a little. Almost like the stainless steel is peeling off already!!!! Is there a polish that I should put on them? If they are going to pit on me, I'll just rip them off and dump the exhaust.

 

are you sure it is stainless??

i just had the "stainless exhaust" on the crown vic replaced because it rotted off. the dealer said "that's impossable, it's stainless" but it rotted off anyway, cause it was not stainless. and they replaced it with a stainless system i picked out. so i now know it will last forever.

 

Man thats annoying...I would look into seeing if those tips are in fact stainless before just dumping your exhaust..It could change your entire note. But if they arnt just get the ones that are, and fix the glitch.

 

Ha! When I used to work at an appliance repair/sales business we would run into cheaper GE stainless steel washer tubs that leeched rust if you left water in them for too long And there were stainless fridges that would be etched with 409 type cleaner if you let it sit and dry. . .

Here is an interesting Snip'it from the Stainless Steel Wiki if you're interested:
Pitting corrosion

Passivation relies upon the tough layer of oxide described above. When deprived of oxygen (or when a salt such as chloride competes as an ion), stainless steel lacks the ability to re-form a passivating film. In the worst case, almost all of the surface will be protected, but tiny local fluctuations will degrade the oxide film in a few critical points. Corrosion at these points will be greatly amplified, and can cause corrosion pits of several types, depending upon conditions. While the corrosion pits only nucleate under fairly extreme circumstances, they can continue to grow even when conditions return to normal, since the interior of a pit is naturally deprived of oxygen. In extreme cases, the sharp tips of extremely long and narrow pits can cause stress concentration to the point that otherwise tough alloys can shatter, or a thin film pierced by an invisibly small hole can hide a thumb sized pit from view. These problems are especially dangerous because they are difficult to detect before a part or structure fails. Pitting remains among the most common and damaging forms of corrosion in stainless alloys, but it can be prevented by ensuring that the material is exposed to oxygen (for example, by eliminating crevices) and protected from chlorides wherever possible.

Pitting corrosion can occur when stainless steel is subjected to high concentration of Chloride ions (for example, sea water) and moderately high temperatures.

And then this:

Type 409—cheapest type; used for automobile exhausts; ferritic (iron/chromium only).

Gotta love knowledge See if you can find an exhuast made out of some 300 series stainless and you should be fine, but I'm sure it would cost buku bucks.

 

Magnaflows tips should be made out of 304 stainless. I've had several Magnaflow tips over the years and never had any corrosion problems with them. Pretty much any metal polish for stainless will work, Flitz is a decent polish to use.

Franken truck is right, most OE and aftermarket exhaust systems are made out of 409 or 400 series stainless, which does not have the higher nickel and chromeium alloy amounts like the 300 series stainless does. (303, 304, 316 and 321)
I wonder if a high temp clear powdercoat would help protect the tips from pitting?

 

Were the roads sanded/graveled as well? Stainless don't seem to hold up to that very well either, my truck's look like *** after a couple trips on sanded highways.

 

Here are the tips that I have: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku They are actually the same as your FordF350Baby.
The roads were sanded a little, but not bad. They were paved. If they are this bad after a little .5" storm, I can't wait to see them after the winter. I really like my tone now, it could be louder of course, but I love the tone. Dumping it might not be what I want to do. I was thinking of powdercoating them black to match the black and red of my truck, but I love the look of the stainless. Thanks for the info Franken-Truck.

 

That sad news, I live in Maine, and we havent got a storm yet, but when we do I will be experience the same problem probably. Atleast I got a heads up, I will just replace them in the spring if the pitting becomes a problem. Sorry cdrmotorsports that your tips got destroyed

 

Yeah, keep your eyes open. I honestly don't even mind replacing them every spring. They are only like $90 something shipped, then whatever my exhaust guy would charge to put them on. I could probably even sell the old ones to someone who is not as **** as me. They arn't destroyed at all, but like i said, I'm extremely ****. There are three spots about half the size of my pinkey fingernail. They'll probably only get worse. I'd say that I was more surprised to see it than anything. When I thought stainless, I thought they would hold up a bit better.

 

No completely understandable, I am just like you, I need everything to be perfect bro. Do what you gotta do man.

 

What size tips do you have?

 

They are 4"x18". The tone with them is amazing. So much better than just regular pipes.

 

It shows with your truck. My girlfriend says I have to stop going over my trucks with a magnifying glass.

 

haha I know man! I cant stand when theres imperfections, I wont sleep at night, its a tad of a disease

 

Magnaflow uses 304 Stainless Steel which is the most commonly used stainless steel. It has good corrosion resistance, it can be polished, and it has good thermal properties. But these guys are right, stainless steel is not 100% corrosion proof. And raw chlorine, such as that found in salt water, can damage the metal. I would use Flitz metal polish and clean it with that. The Flitz has an anti-tarnish agent that should protect the tip from any further damage.

For the record, I live in an area where a lot of road salt is found, and have not noticed any pitting or corrosion on the stainless tips on any of my vehicles. I am not using the Magnaflow brand either, since I found Magnaflow is no better than any other 304 stainless tips.

If you have any sort of peeling, you do not have a stainless tip. I think Magnaflow is now making some chrome plated stainless steel tips. These new tips use a much cheaper type of stainless steel, and a chrome finish as a way to combat discoloration from heat. However, it would not surprise me if this design fails when exposed to salt water. This is especially true if the tips are not properly electroplated. The chrome has to be put in in layers and I doubt the .12 per day chinese laborers who make them know how to do that.