The Twenty Minute Muffler
fettcols
Wagonist
Okay, it took 25 but I was taking photos... It should take you less time after reading this.
My muffler was shot so I went to the local Advance Auto Parts and ordered a new Walker muffler for $99 and a seal for $6.
Tools used- 12mm ratchet
First: take off the old muffler by removing the 12mm spring bolts and rubber isolators.
Then, take a few seconds to compare the old and the new.
Take the rubbers off the old, inspect and put them on the new.
Put the new seal on the the exhaust system, you may have to clean some of the old off, mine came off pretty clean with the muffler.
Raise the new muffler in place and hang it up there with the rubbers.
Put some anit-seize on your bolts in case you have to do it again. The muffler did come with a lifetime warranty but they're probably betting on the lifetime of the car.
Now the hard part, the spring bolts need some pressure to get started. I had to push pretty hard on the back of the ratchet while starting them. Make sure you do it gently and don't cross thread them.
Now give it a good shake and see if you have any clearance problems.
Start it up and make sure you have no leaks and admire your handywork.
This was all done in the driveway. I didn't even have to get my jack or jackstands out for this one.
My muffler was shot so I went to the local Advance Auto Parts and ordered a new Walker muffler for $99 and a seal for $6.
Tools used- 12mm ratchet
First: take off the old muffler by removing the 12mm spring bolts and rubber isolators.
Then, take a few seconds to compare the old and the new.
Take the rubbers off the old, inspect and put them on the new.
Put the new seal on the the exhaust system, you may have to clean some of the old off, mine came off pretty clean with the muffler.
Raise the new muffler in place and hang it up there with the rubbers.
Put some anit-seize on your bolts in case you have to do it again. The muffler did come with a lifetime warranty but they're probably betting on the lifetime of the car.
Now the hard part, the spring bolts need some pressure to get started. I had to push pretty hard on the back of the ratchet while starting them. Make sure you do it gently and don't cross thread them.
Now give it a good shake and see if you have any clearance problems.
Start it up and make sure you have no leaks and admire your handywork.
This was all done in the driveway. I didn't even have to get my jack or jackstands out for this one.
Comments
I didn't mention the fact that I'm not a big fan of Advance Auto and did leave out the fact I ordered it on Sunday and it was supposed to be in Monday morning. Needless to say it didn't come in until Tuesday with some lame excuse from the counter guy who asked me twice if it was an accord wagon when I ordered it.
My local Advance Auto can NOT get me a driver's side axle for my car. Twice they ordered what they thought was the right part, and it's over a foot longer than what I pulled out of the car. They were both for a FWD - RT4WD has an intermediate shaft. So I'm still running my old axle on that side. Fortunately it's in fine shape - it was the passenger side axle that fell to pieces when I removed it.
I figure I'm going to keep the section that goes into the muffler around for a while. If I run into a hatch or crx in the junkyard that has one of the fancy dual outlet SI mufflers I'll have take some measurements and maybe buy one and break out the mig welder. I really like the dual outlet look and I actually swapped out my DX hatch with one back in the early 90's.
I didn't really have time to gamble on ordering one and trying to make it fit the wagon, couldn't afford the downtime.
And something else, in the photos it looks like the muffler is already rusty, it's not thats just flash from where it was welded together. If you look at my cardboard in the photos you can see it started raining on me and I didn't take the time to wipe it clean.
i got my Borla muffler for $80. then just needed to weld on 2 90 degree elbows and done.
still looks good though man. good job
Around here they salt the roads and rust is a big issue. The car I have came from Oregon about three years ago and it's pretty clean as far as rust goes but one of the first things to go is the exhaust system. You can see what three years of salt can do to a muffler in that second photo.
The few wagons that I've found in salvage yards around here seem to always have the rocker pannels and quarters rusted clear through.
The Bosal muffler alone cost $68 from Rock Auto. So yeah, $135 was a total ripoff.
I had to assure my gf that no, really, my brand spanking new exhaust ISN'T already rusting...!
Salt sucks...
That Walker looks OK but it seems the oxidation process has begun before installation.
You can kinda see the nice shiny muffler.
Those spots are heat flash from the welds. I didn't bother cleaning it up first.
Will a dual tipped muffler from a 4wd swap into a 2wd?
yes
did it come as a whole set up as pictured? tail pipe, imput pipes, and hangers?
Does it matter if its for a 2wd or a 4?
It looks bigger then the stock, does this affect the sound? hope its lower?
And last but not least, did you drill the drainage hole?
you buy that muffler as a complete unit: tailpipe, muffler box, hanger extensions, etc.
does not matter if its 2WD or 4WD
piping is stock size. will not affect sound.
just drill a small drainage hole if you need, but it will make a very small hissing sound
So do you drill a hole in the bottom or the side?
Nevermind, fettcols picture is worth a thousand words