Broken Agency Power Titanium Exhaust Horrible customer service pics

[pMak26]

Pretty disappointed to be writing this, but I would like to share my recent negative experience with Agency Power's High Flow Cat Titanium Exhaust for my 2014 TA.

Cliffs: AP exhaust broken because under-engineered, terrible customer service, I’m out $3k+.

Recently I posted about a melted heat shield on the drivers side of my car. Welp, I’ve been withholding what I found out until I worked with AP to come up with a resolution. But at this point it is clear they are not interested in helping in any way so here is the full story:

I purchased this exhaust from a VOA member who initially installed it on his 2013 GTS (very nice, honest guy). At that time, the exhaust had less than 1500 miles on it. He sold the car with the stock exhaust. I, an engineer who afforded that degree by being a high end vehicle mechanic, meticulously installed the exhaust earlier this year. I have put less than 400 miles on this exhaust before it completely failed.

See pictures below. The exhaust separated from the CAT in exactly the same way on BOTH sides of the car, leaving a ~3mm gap between the broken section of 3” tube and the CAT. The drivers side must have broken first as the heat shielding on that side is comprehensively destroyed. The gap left from the broken ends is so small and still properly aligned that I did not initially realize it was broken at all. In fact, majority of the exhaust was still exiting the side of the car through the muffler. It wasn’t until the melting heat shield rested directly on the CAT, causing a grey smoke and mild smell that I realized there was an issue.

I have tried to work something fair out with AP, even offering to purchase a new mid-pipe section to replace my broken one. The only proposed resolution by AP is to send my exhaust back to AP to fix at my expense, for an unknown cost OR to purchase an entirely new system at full price. They won’t even sell me the mid-pipe separately, Catted or non-catted.

I’m gutted as I really wanted to like AP, but to me, this is unacceptable customer service. I hope others will think twice before purchasing anything from them.

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[parabs]

Brutal.

[Steve M]

I've not heard good things about Agency Power:

https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...quot-for-gen-5

https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...l=1#post345360

[Bruce H.]

Does Agency Power have a good reputation for quality and this is just an unfortunate and isolated case?

[Jack B]

Does Agency Power have a good reputation for quality and this is just an unfortunate and isolated case?

Read the links Steve just posted

[EX1]

Thank you for sharing this expierence with us. I want a Ti system for my Viper, but it seems AP does not make a quality product. Sorry that this happened to you.

[ACRSNK]

Sorry to hear about your negative experience. Guess I’ll be crossing them off my list. Hate when customer service is lacking. Unfortunately, it happens often. That’s why when a company does have good customer service, they shine. I just switched all of our office accounts to FedEx from UPS because UPS would not refund the fee on an overnight package that never got delivered. Customer service was horrendous and now they lost a good account. Some people just don’t get it.

[Special Ed]

Does Agency Power have a good reputation for quality and this is just an unfortunate and isolated case?

Nope

[stradman]

Was the join not welded? I don't see a weld line where it detached. Was it glued on???

[SRT_BluByU]

take it to a welder and have it welded togeather... /fixed

[USAFPILOT]

I think that’s what I would do, find a guy that welds titanium well and have it fixed.

[uberpube]

Jesus, even vibrant warrantied a resonator for me that broke like that.

[kriskyk]

Good luck finding a competent welder with a purge chamber at reasonable rate to weld Titanium

[pMak26]

I'm hoping my story will save others.

The break is a typical type of from a weldment. Here is the unbroken side.
IMG_20180916_162827.jpg

I will be removing the CATs and welding in straight pipe myself.

[kriskyk]

That doesn't look like any titanium welding I've seen, looks like it was brazed?

[SRT_BluByU]

I thought Ti could be TIG welded using shielding gas? Should be any competent welding shop in that case...

[kriskyk]

It can with over sized tig cups and trailing arms and inner purge setup. You'll see a lot of enthusiasts take this approach....but given this is an exhaust and for a performance car, it will be subject to all sorts of stress and fatigue wear and tear....a complete purge chamber would be the way to go

[38D]

Notice the blue color of the failed weld vs. the light straw on the good welds. Blue is indicative of too much heat.

https://www.weld.com/blog/mr-tig-blo...pection-chart/

I TIG weld a bit, and welding titanium for something like an exhaust is not for the faint of heart. You can get it to join, but having the weld last in a high stress environment is a whole ‘nother story. As stated, full purge chamber is the way to go for sure.

[Jack B]

Notice the blue color of the failed weld vs. the light straw on the good welds. Blue is indicative of too much heat.

https://www.weld.com/blog/mr-tig-blo...pection-chart/

I TIG weld a bit, and welding titanium for something like an exhaust is not for the faint of heart. You can get it to join, but having the weld last in a high stress environment is a whole ‘nother story. As stated, full purge chamber is the way to go for sure.

For high tensile strength in titanium weldments don't they heat treat parts for stress relief..

[TrackAire]

Notice the blue color of the failed weld vs. the light straw on the good welds. Blue is indicative of too much heat.

https://www.weld.com/blog/mr-tig-blo...pection-chart/

I TIG weld a bit, and welding titanium for something like an exhaust is not for the faint of heart. You can get it to join, but having the weld last in a high stress environment is a whole ‘nother story. As stated, full purge chamber is the way to go for sure.

Since there does not appear to be a lot of material thickness that is butting up against each other at all the joints, would welding two or three titanium straps (1/2" wide x 2" long" x 1/8" thick) from one piece to the other at each connection joint help make the repair more reliable and permanent? I'm not a welder....just a thought to help counteract the vibration, twisting and weight that the side pipes often have to contend with on the Viper.

[ForTehNguyen]

the way that cat housing tapers off too is more stressful than some gradual tapering. The closer a metal connection is to a right angle the more it tends to focus stress on the corner. Hence why square windows on an airplane is bad, they are all more rounded for a reason

[pMak26]

Does anyone have any idea what the part number is for item #12 listed. I believe that is the heat shield I need, albeit the Left Hand side one, but I cannot find the part number for it.

Number 12.jpg

Edit: I think I finally found it! Part number 05290149AC
https://www.factorychryslerparts.com...5290149AC.html

[1of1TA1.0]

12 5290148AC Heat Shield
Heat Shield, RIGHT
FRONT, INNER


12 5290149AC Heat Shield
Heat Shield, LEFT
FRONT, INNER

[ViperPete]

wow, sorry about that. It's not a quick thing removing the exhaust on the Viper, and worse to have it damaged and not have any good customer service.

[LateToTheParty]

What a shame. Instead of providing decent customer service that may cost them 500 bucks, I'm sure they're losing tens of thousands in sales alone -- thanks for saving us some trouble.