2008 S6 Flex pipes

Hey guys…

Heard a nice little ticking sound from under the car a week ago and saw that the passenger side upstream flex pipe has rusted out and is leaking (And I’m guessing the driver’s side isn’t too far from doing the same, either!).

Question I have is has anyone heard of someone being able to cut out the old section(s) and weld in a new flex joint without having to basically drop the entire exhaust? I had this done on my old 2.7 without much hassle from a local muffler shop that had a pretty skilled welder. Is there enough room for a skilled welder to let the exhaust hang a little on the 5.2 and then go to town?

The passenger side doesn’t look too bad if it has to be dropped but the driver’s side looks to be a total pain in the ass given how far up the bolts are. I’m not opposed to tackling this myself but if I can have this fixed for 5/600 USD then I say that’s money well spent. I really HATE exhaust work. ;D

Just trying to weigh all my options here before pulling the trigger and committing to a given direction.