so i was chillin at Darrel's mufflers today after school while my buddy gary was getting a muffler put on his bug, and was thinking, heck, i'm at a muffler shop, why not get mine checked out? so when gary was done, i put my aero on the ramp, and when they lifted it up they checked it out and said i'd need a new headerback system, minus the flex pipe. then they said if i could find one a new cat system and y-pipe would cost around 3-500, and a new muffler and muffler back pipe would be about 150. so... is there any place that sells cats and what not for less than 300?

also... i've seen it done on muscle cars (i know my aero isn't a muscle car) but do i NEED the pipe that goes from the muffler over the axle and out the side? i was thinking just having a pipe come out about say... 4" and have it angle downward out the back of the car.

this does open doors for the 4.0l exhaust system i was thinking of some day having installed on my 3.0. that agressive y pipe bugs me...

 

Kinda strange your system is all bad BUT the flex!!?? Maybe it's been replaced more recently, cuz its often one the first things to go.

If your cats are clogged i can see replacing them, if you gotta meet emissions test, or if they're somehow broken or falling off. Otherwise I'd run the old cats until they fell off.

If it's loud & the muffler needs it they'll usually replace the tailpipe too. Often the rusty tailpipe is hard to re weld onto a new muffler. Or the new muffler may have a diff sized pipe and it's about as easy to stick on a new one than fart around rigging the old one.. of course they maybe just wanna make a lil more money so they gotta sell ya something!!

Cheap old Advance Auto & maybe other stores used to sell cheap do it yourself exhaust parts. if you wanna try, you could hacksaw the old one off & clamp on some new stuff for half or less than a shop charges. If you're not mechanically reclined get a friend that is to do it for ya if they feel 'froggy'. Warning: these cheap clamp on systems can get loose and need retightened & wont last real long either. A couple years maybe unless they use road salt where u are.

If you got the bucks, hey, pay a shop to put on a slick new system and enjoy the new sound!

Oh, about the short pipe, you'd really need to have it turned out from under the car somewhere. I've seen ones that blew straight against the rear axle that cooked the axle oil & the rear end failed! Turning the pipe down is hardly any better cuz all that heat is still blowing out under the van, but you might get away with it. A catalyst super heats the exhaust when its working right & its just better to blow that stuff out into open air. What if sparks came out & set some grass on fire under there & you didn't realize it until it set part of your van on fire?

 

Ok, first off, this is right up my alley. First things first, most muffler shops do not understand is that flow does not equal power. Yes, you want things to flow freely, but larger is not always better. The best rule of thumb, is to use the smallest pipe that will not restrict the exhaust. For the 4.0L, you can use either 2.0" or 2.25". Anything larger is too large. The Y-pipe on the 3.0L should be 1.75" and the 4.0L should be 2.0". There is nothing wrong with the way the factory cats flow, so I would leave them alone, and instead modify the y-pipe. I'm not saying there are not better cats, I am saying that they should not be the first thing to look at replacing. The 3.0L should be 2.0" all the way to the muffler. This helps keep the velocity as high as possible. This high velocity maximizes torque and horsepower in the part of the powerband you use in everyday driving. To maximize peak horsepower, you eliminate unneeded restrictions, such as the factory muffler. There are plenty of good performance mufflers that will work well for your application. I do not recommend Magnaflow, been there on my parents 3.0L It drones too much, and while my mom likes it, neither me nor my dad do. On my 4.0L I used one of our 50 series, and I like the sound, and it is not too loud inside the vehicle. However, my van is not set up for passengers either, so I don't know how loud it would be from the back seat. Replacing the stock restrictive muffler is a good idea.

I rarely see the factory cats on these vans go bad. So I see no reason why you would need to replace yours. Any good muffler shop should be able to improve upon it, like a better y-pipe would be nice. And if you really need me too, I could have a direct bolt in replacement put together for a custom job. But be advised that building a custom cat assembly is not cheap and would likely exceed the budget you want. Otherwise, I can get you replacements that are built to OE specs for a reasonable price, but with shipping I'm sure you'd still be spending more than you would want though I could look into it a bit more closely on Thursday. They might be less expensive than I originally thought. If you really want to go with new cats you may want to get them custom built, since the factory y-pipe doesn't come together the best way. I think the union is too aggressive. And that combines with the fact the O2 sensor comes into the most restricted part of the exhaust stream. If they put the O2 sensor into the front of the first cat, that would be better. If you went to our website (we are listed in the sponsors section) and filled out the contact form, we can get back with you and discuss the available options. I think we can do what you need and meet the price requirements you are after. We can also decide what would suit you best as far as mufflers are concerned.

And on the tailpipe, I will second Handyman's opinion, take it out the side. You could take it out the back as well, but I think it looks the best on the side. You probably get better draw out the side too, as large vehicle produce too much turbulence to get a consistent draw out the back.

 

Ok i'm liking what i'm hearing. I'm not 100% sure why they say the flex pipe is fine, because it is actualy leaking from like 3 pin holes or so (there is visible carbon build up and i can feel the exhaust blowing out those holes). The muffler shop said that my cats were pretty much hollow, because there was some rattling nois when they were hitting the rear cat. however, one of the heat sheilds was broken half off, and the mufflers' completely rotten so idk.

DEQ isn't required untill march, so what i think i'm going to do is just have a new muffler put on and a new tail pipe as well... the old one is litealy destroyed. there's holes in it every where, and pretty much wherever the seam of the pipe is its rusted through. also, i've actualy seen the tail pipe come out the back of an aero, i don't like it. it just looks... weird. if i don't pass deq (idk why i wouldn't, aero's are some of the cleanest running cars i know of) then i'll deal with that. besides, i could always take it to a shop and have a deq test run couldn't i?

bearriver - i deffinatly like the sound of a custom header back exhaust system. I know that i will eventualy be purchasing one of them, just not un till i need it, or untill i have a better income. i'm mainly worried about the fact that its crazy loud, and i don't want to poison my passengers.

If i knew where i could get a custom bent tail pipe, i'd deff. just buy all the stuff and weld it together myself, i took/am taking shop classes in high school, and for shop class i'd say i was a fair wedler (no were near as good as the pro's, but i did get good penetration, a good bead built up, and didn't blow out my metal.) so replacing the muffler my self wouldn't be a problem at all.

but yeah, i don't see the reason to buy new cats unless i start noticing performance drops or i don't pass DEQ or both. but muffler, yes thats going to be next payday's deal.

thanks alot!!

 

If you can use someone's welder & lift that's the way to go! Exhaust systems are thin so have fun trying not to burn thru!

They used to gas torch weld them a long time ago, prob use wire feed welder set on low setting now. Down south here the newer stainless systems last the life of the cars so I aint seen them do one in a while.

Call around to auto parts stores & ask if they can get exhaust system parts for your van. Just check "prices & availability". They may have to look up the part numbers. They'll prob have muffler in stock but hafta order tailpipe and maybe flex coupling.

The do it yourself ones are thinner & can go together with clamps (these come from the cheaper auto parts stores), the regular ones may have to be welded and are heavier metal.

Just check & see what's available, how long till they can get it in, and the price. I'd guess the better ones aren't much more than the cheapo ones.. (Doubt there's any guarantee much on either.)

Then compare these prices and the hours of work you'll do to a couple estimates from muffler shops for just the flex, muffler & tailpipe. I just paid $150 for flex, muffler & tailpipe on my '97 4.0. Another shop quoted $140 and a third was wayy high like $300.