Exhaust Rust/Replacement

[bikernate]

I have a 2000 Xterra with some serious rust problems on the exhaust system. Ive heard that this is pretty standard and Id like to replace the exhaust with a stainless one. While there are plenty of cat-back kits availabe, I havent found anything to replace the pipes between the manifold and the cat. These are in pretty rough shape and rear most metal shields after the manifolds have essentially deteriorated to the point of falling off. Has anyone had similar problems, or found a good replacement for the OEM pipes?

[OffroadX]

The Nissan stainless performance exhaust is the most complete one, it replaces the Y-pipe that collects both banks into one, the rest of the kits do not. As for anything prior to or including the cats (there are likely 4 cats on your X like mine), there are no aftermarket replacements. The exhaust manifolds on the X are tiny things hidden under metal shields, the main cats are what you see looking down from above, and they connect to the post-cats that you see from below. You can't tinker with any of this without messing up your emissions compliance.
That said, I can't see that rust is a real issue for these parts, they may have a healthy coat of rust on the surface but they should still be good for many years. Nissan would get into big trouble if they allowed the exhaust system to rust through quickly, though they do have problems with cracking exhaust manifolds.

Brent