The muffler on my car

[Altron]

Seems to be hanging lower than I recall. It's lower than the axles, making it the lowest non-tire thing on the car. Should it be doing that? I don't recall its original position.

It also has been getting noisier when I open it up. Used to be really quiet, now it sounds like a diesel truck. Any ideas?

This is like the first post not involving wimmins that I've made all week.

 

[Professur]

Stick your head under and see what's up (or down in this case). If you don't have ramps, just run the two rear wheels up on the curb. Lord knows how many oil changes I've done that way.

 

[Altron]

I did. The muffler is definetly low. Whether it's supposed to be there, I don't know. I don't believe that it's stock.

 

[Inkara1]

Make sure there's not a break in the exhaust pipe somewhere. You wouldn't want your muffler to fall off of the car while you're driving. If you were a mechanic's wife, that would be easy to explain, since mechanic's wives generally have the worst cars (it's a stereotype, all y'all mechanic-types out there)... but you're not a mechanic's wife, so you definitely don't want the muffler to fall off.

 

[Altron]

OK, there's a rather grimy pipe with a very rusted mounting mechanism coming out of the engine compartment. I'm guessing that this is the part that splits off and goes to the exhaust manifolds. It bends up into the engine compartment and I can't see it too well because it's right behind the front right suspension, so the tire gets in the way.
Directly attached to that is an object that is roughly hexagonal, about 10" long, 6" wide, and 4" high, with perforations in the bottom. Cat?
Coming from that is a kinda long pipe, probably a good 5 feet. Then there's a muffler, which is about 3-4" high, 8" wide, and 16" long. Coming out of that is a pipe which goes up at a sharp angle to cross over the rear axle (BTW, my shop manual says that I already have a 4-link back there), then comes all the way to the back of the car and bends 90 degrees, and at the end of that is the tailpipe, which takes the 2.5-3" circular pipe and makes it into a 2.5-3" by 4" rectangle-with-rounded-edges pipe.

Now, the mounting mechanisms on the exhaust system are rusty, but it seems to be mainly surface rust, where the mounts on the part coming out of the engine is badly rusted.

The long pipe and the muffler are only about 4" off the ground, I don't even need to jack it up to see them (and to see past them on both sides).

Also, I was only able to get a good look at the tailpipe mounting mechanism, and it's attached to the frame with a big piece of rubber. The whole assembly can move up or down quite a bit. It looks like the piece of rubber above the muffler may have broken.

 

[SouthernN'Proud]

OK, there's a rather grimy pipe with a very rusted mounting mechanism coming out of the engine compartment. I'm guessing that this is the part that splits off and goes to the exhaust manifolds. It bends up into the engine compartment and I can't see it too well because it's right behind the front right suspension, so the tire gets in the way.

Header.

Directly attached to that is an object that is roughly hexagonal, about 10" long, 6" wide, and 4" high, with perforations in the bottom. Cat?

Most likely.

Coming from that is a kinda long pipe, probably a good 5 feet.

Exhaust.

Then there's a muffler, which is about 3-4" high, 8" wide, and 16" long. Coming out of that is a pipe which goes up at a sharp angle to cross over the rear axle (BTW, my shop manual says that I already have a 4-link back there), then comes all the way to the back of the car and bends 90 degrees, and at the end of that is the tailpipe, which takes the 2.5-3" circular pipe and makes it into a 2.5-3" by 4" rectangle-with-rounded-edges pipe.

Yup.

Now, the mounting mechanisms on the exhaust system are rusty, but it seems to be mainly surface rust, where the mounts on the part coming out of the engine is badly rusted.

The long pipe and the muffler are only about 4" off the ground, I don't even need to jack it up to see them (and to see past them on both sides).

Too low.

Also, I was only able to get a good look at the tailpipe mounting mechanism, and it's attached to the frame with a big piece of rubber. The whole assembly can move up or down quite a bit. It looks like the piece of rubber above the muffler may have broken.

Solution:


Wire coat hanger. Hoist the whole shebang up, wire it to what you can to keep it from dragging, carry on with your life, and mail me $85 for services rendered.

 

[majestyx]

If you were a mechanic's wife, that would be easy to explain, since mechanic's wives generally have the worst cars (it's a stereotype, all y'all mechanic-types out there)

I guess I don't fit the stereotypical 'mechanic's wife'. My vehicle is very well maintained.

 

[Altron]

Isn't there a right way to do it?

 

[majestyx]

Isn't there a right way to do it?

Take it to a muffler shop. From your description of the sound it is making when you 'open it up', you may need a new muffler.

 

[Inkara1]

I'm surprised you don't have a resonator in the mix too. Rexonaters look woven, so it's pretty obvious if it's there or not.

Maj, it's an old, old stereotype... Kruz is the resident mechanic here and his wife drives a very nice Grand Cherokee.

 

[Altron]

I mean, a right way to do it in my driveway for less than fifty bucks.

 

[Inkara1]

Wire coat hanger. Hoist the whole shebang up, wire it to what you can to keep it from dragging, carry on with your life, and mail me $85 for services rendered.

If the car's antenna breaks off, do you stretch a coat hanger into a diamond shape and shove it into what's left of the antenna, too?

 

[Altron]

I'm pretty sure my antenna is shot. It looks like it used to be a power antenna. Now there's just a short metal stick and a big antenna looking thing that just slides over it. Radio works though.

 

[Inkara1]

I mean, a right way to do it in my driveway for less than fifty bucks.

The best thing you can do for your exhaust: cut a hole in the side of the pipe and enjoy the aggressive sound... and when you want quiet, shove a potato in the hole.

 

[Altron]

Can I just saw it off at the outlet pipe, unscrew all the bolts, and put it back on when I need to pass inspection next July?

Shop manual says the rusted curved thing is the outlet pipe, connecting the crossover pipe from the left manifold to the right manifold, not the manifold itself.

Manifold = header, right? The things that take the exhaust from each cylinder then bring it together into one pipe, so that it goes from 8 pipes to 2 pipes. Then the outlet pipe and crossover pipe turn those two into 1, right?

 

[SouthernN'Proud]

Laugh all you want. Right, wrong, or indifferent it works. Want a pro job? Pay somebody. Want a quick cheap fix? Use the fuckin coat hanger and get off my ass.

 

[highwayman]

The best thing you can do for your exhaust: cut a hole in the side of the pipe and enjoy the aggressive sound... and when you want quiet, shove a potato in the hole.

Better yet, just take the damn thing out...You dont need the friggen exhaust...

 

[Kruz]

sounds like the muffler hanger broke\rotted out.
you can get a universal hanger at the local parts store and install it yourself. or take it to a muffler shop to do it.

(and yes, I have used a coat hanger to hold it up)

 

[Altron]

Well, I'm really piling up the hours, and my pay from the 10th to the 23rd should be somewhere in the area of $550 pre-taxes.

So, it's time for some car work!

Current tires are Goodyear Regatta 2, 235/75R15 all around. Front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.

Now, I'm toying with changing the tire size. Face it, my acceleration is horrible, and how often do I reach the point where the really tall tires help? Most of my driving is to and from work, where I barely get it into overdrive.

I dig the wire HUBCAPs, so I definetly want to keep 15s. The wheels are plain ol' steelies, five lug.

I'm thinking of going from this to this
Which should shave a bit off of the diameter of the tire, and give me a bit more traction. I'm thinking 235-275mm tread, 50-60% aspect ratio, 15" wheel., giving me somewhere between 20mm (275/60R15) and 70mm (235/60R15) off of the diameter, and a wider tread. It doesn't take much to spin the current tires.

What do I want to do about the front tires, tho?

Now, from what I've heard, Tire Rack seems to be the best place for tires.

What about brakes? Is it possible to convert to disc brakes on the rears? How much am I looking at for replacing the current discs and pads on the front and getting completely new discs and pads on the back?

What kinda shocks and springs am I lookin' at?

The front suspension is designed to allow each wheel to compensate for changes in the road surface level without appreciably affecting the opposite wheel. Each wheel is independently connected to the frame by a steering knuckle, ball joint assemblies, and upper and lower control arms. The control arms are specificially designed and positioned to allow the steering knuckles to move in a prescribed three dimensional arc. The front wheels are held in proper relationship to each other by two tie rods which are connected to steering arms on the knuckles and to an intermediate rod.
Coil chassis springs are mounted between the spring housings on the frame or front end sheet metal and the lower control arms. Ride control is provided by double, direct acting shock absorbers mounted inside the coil springs and attached to the lower control arms by bolts and nuts. The upper portion of each shock absorber extends through the spring housing and is secured with two grommets, two grommet retainers, and a nut.

Fuck, I am so glad that I don't work in data entry. This is giving me carpal tunnel.

Side roll of the front suspension is controlled by a spring steel stabilizer shaft. It is mounted in rubber bushings which are held to the frame side rails by brackets. The ends of the stabilizer are connected to the lower control arms. Rubber grommets at these connections provide flexibility and ride feautures.
The upper control arm is attached to a cross shaft through isolating rubber bushings. The cross shaft, in turn, is bolted to frame brackets.
A ball joint assembly is riveted to the outer end of the upper control arm. It is pre-loaded by a rubber spring to insure proper seating of the ball into the socket. The upper ball joint is attached to the steering knuckle by a castellated nut.
The inner ends of the lower control arm have pressed-in bushings. Bolts, passing through the bushings, attach the arm to the frame. The lower ball joint assembly is press fit in the arm and attaches to the steering knuckle with a castellated nut that is retained with a cotter pin. Rubber grease seals are provided at ball socket assemblies to keep dirt and moisture from enetering the joint and damaging bearing surfaces.

Basically, the wheel is held between these two triangle thingies. They're both attached to the frame, and there's a coil with a shock inside it.

A four link rear suspension is used on all models. The axle housing is connected to the frame by two upper and two lower control arms with rubber pivot bushings at each end of the control arm. The control arms maintain the geometrical relationships of the rear axle with the frame, oppose torque reaction on acceleration and braking and provied for the optimum handling characteristics.
Two coil springs support the weight of the car in the rear suspension. They are retained between seats in the frame and brackets welded to each axle housing tube. A rubber insulator is used to isolate the coil spring upper end from the frame seat and the lower end sits directly on the axle tube mounted bracket.
Sealed shock absorbers are mounted between a bracket welded to each axle housing tube and the upper spring seat, with the top inclined towards the center of the car. The shock absorbers are externally the same for all models (except for length) but vary in hydraulic control to provide a well controlled but soft ride.
A steel stabilizer shaft is used to improve side roll stability on models with option F41. The one-piece shaft attaches to the lower control arms and is positioned directly under the rear axle housing.
Rubber bumpers are mounted near the outer ends of the axle housing and at the center of the frame cross member to prevent metal to metal contact during compression travel or bottoming of the suspension.

Basically, there are trailing arms that run parallel to the frame and go from the frame to the outer edges of the axle. Then there are trailing arms that run at a 45* angle to the frame and connect the differential to what appears to be the crossmember. Then there are springs about halfway between the differential and the wheels, attached to the crossmember. Then there are shock absorbers about halfway between the springs and the wheels, pointed towards the differential.

So, wtf do I do?

Also, should I replace the exhaust while I'm blowing my paycheck? I tossed out the straight pipes idea in the favor of a proper dual exhaust. Two new headers, two cats, two mufflers, and two tailpipes. Quiet, but not constricting.

Even if I manage to get the current thing off of the ground, it's loud.

 

[Inkara1]

Changing the size of your tires can throw off your speedometer, just so you know.

Now, it might be possible to convert the rear brakes to discs, but that would most likely involve replacing the rear axle, too. You're probably looking at some bucks for that.