My exhaust is falling apart

[tjsxplodr]

I can hear the rattle and noise of a fastly decaying exhaust sytem on my 91 ex. Anyone here have any tips on where i should find a replacement exhaust and what the details are to replacing it? Not sure i wanna spend the effort and money to fix it, especially since i don't think im gonna keep the rig once the motor that's in it goes. Just trying to get a feel for this.

 

[92exp4x4]

How bad is the engine? If its limping along now, find another ex and use yours for parts. You may be able to get a decent exhaust from a junkyard, but by the time you do the leg work and have it welded on, you probably could have had a cheap one installed.

It might just be the muffler rusting out. Check summit racing and the other sites. You may find a cheap one you could throw on for a while.

 

[tjsxplodr]

Probably passing 220K miles. Have had a spark plug vibrate out, and stripped those threads, we tightened it up, and hasn't been a problem again, but who knows. I've done alotta work to it, and put alotta money into it, I just don't know if I wanna hassle with replacing the motor once it does go.

Seeing the junked ex's in the yards I've been to, their exhausts don't look any better than mine...all rusted through etc. If I were to replace the muffler on back, I'm looking at just over $200 installed at a couple of the local exhaust shops. I don't know how hard it would be for me to do it myself....

 

[J_C]

Rattle isn't dying exhaust necessarily, could just be trivial things (cost) like heat shields that needs a strap, broken exhaust hanger, etc. A louder tone, or sudden performance increase is a different story, but rattling alone, it signals no high-cost parts needed to fix it.

Maybe more details would help, I didn't mean to second-guess your diagnosis.

 

[drothgeb]

If you look around some exhaust shops can cut you a deal if you talk cars with them for a little haha. That's how I got my new muffler and 2.5" pipe installed for $300..Just a thought. Pays to make friends at the shop you go with.

 

[tjsxplodr]

LOL. I don't need anything fancy. Matter of fact, I'd take someone else's stock exhaust if its in good shape. Will only the 1991-1994's fit? I know I have a hole in the exhaust somewhere, I know what that sounds like. My hubby's 91 F150 has major exhaust leaks.
I just don't really know if I wanna buy a new muffler and piping for something that I might not keep in the next year or two.

 

[shaggymane]

(incomplete post)

 

[shaggymane]

Seeing the junked ex's in the yards I've been to, their exhausts don't look any better than mine...all rusted through etc. If I were to replace the muffler on back, I'm looking at just over $200 installed at a couple of the local exhaust shops. I don't know how hard it would be for me to do it myself....

You should laugh at them when they quote 200 for just a muffler, unless it's a damn good muffler. Most shops will put on the $20 rolled seam cheapy. So, that 20$ and $30 labor is what should really happen, you know 50bucks.

Anyway, like they said get under it and look. One of my heat shields on the second Cat was rattling. I tacked it back on with my wire welder. You ask a shop to do that job and they want their minimum charge, which could be half an hour of shop rate. That sux.

I should say, if you, can support the vendors for this site.

I replaced my system from the cat- muffler flange on back with over the counter parts from Advance auto, so it is possible.

Cat to muffler $29.00

this muffler $39.00

Tailpipe with res $50.00

That's $120.00 plus you'll need 2 clamps

It really wasn't a bad job. The muffler fits loose enough to slide easily on and off if you need do overs or to check fit. it is shorter than stock so a short adapter/extension is needed.

The tail pipe assembly goes on easy after taking either or both the back shock off and the sway bar link, you'll see it. A huge channel lock helps with the rubber hangers.

oh, and I used stainless steel bolts on the flange

hope this helps

 

[Tony H]

A common failure point of teh 1st Gen 'X'.
The first place I would look on the car is behind the Muffler where the Tailpipe hangs on the Rubber hanger. That Metal loop that's welded onto the Tail pipe seems to push through the tail pipe.
If the hubby has a welder or a friend with one. You can be good to go in 15 minutes.
I've done this on mine and two other friends 'X's.
Wjen I did buy a new exhaust for mine, I reinforced that area before I installed it by welding a ring around the Metal hanger. now it's supported by the entire pipe and the weight of the pipe and muffler is not concentrated on one small footprint.
Working on your own cars... its easy to justify a welder for the money you save by DIY.
At a $100 an hour that they get around here for Labor, you can easily buy an $800 Mig welder and pay for it after just a tune up and Brake job that you did yourself.

 

[Anime]

I would definitely suggest getting under there yourself with a flashlight and doing a visual inspection before anything else.

The catalytic converter heat shields usually rusted off and rattled on the stock exhausts. You can either remove these altogether or just use really large screw-type hose clamps (or link multiple hose clamps together to make a long one) to fix this.

The stock heat shields, both on the muffler and on the body above the muffler, can rust out too, and they will then rattle as well.

There's a chance it's from an exhaust hanger rusting off, which might need to be welded back on, or that some other connection has loosened, but if you're lucky you'll just need new fasteners somewhere in the system.

If you do wind up needing any parts, the exhausts from 91-92 are what you will want, as the 93-94 has a slightly different muffler hanger, but due to this the pipes and mufflers tend to be different from the converter back.

If the stock pipes are fine and it's just the muffler that's falling apart, you could always have the stock muffler cut off and replaced with something inexpensive (Advance Auto has Thrush Turbos for $20-30) or whatever the exhaust shop has.

Replacing the exhaust isn't that difficult though, the hardest part is getting the old one off since it's all one piece. Once you cut the old one off, you have to mess with getting the rear pipe out, which usually involves removing the spare tire and unbolting the passenger side swaybar mount from the frame to provide clearance. Then you have to mess with getting the whole new rear pipe in. Then you have to bust loose the rusty conveter bolts for a new pipe. After that it's just positioning the new parts, tightening bolts and clamps, and adjusting everything so it fits as it should.

Also worth pointing out, you can get a whole Dynomax cat-back performance system for ~$150

 

[msilver]

i just went threw about the same thing, one of my exhaust hangers broke and my exhaust rattled around for about 3 months then on day the pipe started to break finally it broke all the way, lucky mine broke about a foot after the muffler, the previous owner had changed the muffler to a flowmaster, but all i did to fix it was cut off extra pipe and put on a dump or turn down right after the muffler. i also had lost 2 exhaust hangers so i made some of my own out of strap metal, its been on for almost a month now and is holding up great, the whole fix cost about $30 and i rattled caned everything to make sure it did rust out again soon, the best part about it is the exhaust sounds way better than it did

 

[brandon mitchell]

LOL. I don't need anything fancy. Matter of fact, I'd take someone else's stock exhaust if its in good shape. Will only the 1991-1994's fit? I know I have a hole in the exhaust somewhere, I know what that sounds like. My hubby's 91 F150 has major exhaust leaks.
I just don't really know if I wanna buy a new muffler and piping for something that I might not keep in the next year or two.

Using a used one is the practical thing to do these days. If it's in good shape why not try them.

 

[tjsxplodr]

Yeah, I am gonna look underneath again. The whole thing is very rusted, and so I'm thinking lots of things are rusted through lol.
I don't have access to a welder, nor can we afford to buy one. Grrrr this annoys me lol. Might just have to make do with some do-it-yourself parts, which isn't a big deal for me.

If I KNEW I was gonna keep this suv, it would make the decision sooo much easier.

 

[brandon mitchell]

You never brought your car to a mechanic?

 

[tjsxplodr]

Are you kidding me? I'd rather take the time and learn how to do things myself than pay some grease monkey hundreds of dollars to fix something, unless its something I really can't do.

 

[J_C]

Well... decide, are you going to keep it or not? I just spent $800 on an Olds '88 that I *hate*, but it made sense due to the mileage and cost to replace it. Cars just aren't free, (I wish), so you have to decide how much initial work you will do to FIND the problem... then tell us what it is... or just skip us and DIY w/o.

That's always the situation, deciding to keep it or not. Decide, do you WANT it, then go forward.

 

[Anime]

It'd probably be a good idea to fix it anyway, since it will run better in the meantime and be worth more without exhaust issues if you sell it.

Rockauto has a smokin' deal on some exhaust parts.

They have a closeout on the 91-92 Explorer Walker Quiet-Flow muffler (part #22592) for just $36.79 (regular $67.79) and the converter to muffler pipe (part #43470) for just $11.30 (regular $22). There's always 5% off coupons as well, plus no tax.

They don't have the Dynomax rear pipe anymore (which I'd suggest since it's mandrel-bent for better flow, and costs the same or less than the crush-bent regular replacement pipe) but you can get that at Napa/Advance.

You'll still need other things like the converter pipe gasket and spring bolts, plus some clamps, to replace the exhaust, but it's fairly straightforward once you have all the parts.


In the meantime, you might be able to get away with using some kind of strap hanger or something else for a temporary repair instead of replacing the entire exhaust once you locate the source of the rattle.

 

[J_C]

I've gotten away with using a couple strap hangers and a U-bolt for several years now b/c my rattle was only broken strap studs, consider it a permanent fix as it will probably last longer than the original welded-on strap studs did if I were to buy a new part just to get those (or re-weld some on, if there's even enough metal left to do so). I caught it early on though, if it had been left rattling awhile longer it probably would have torn up part of the exhaust.

 

[tjsxplodr]

That's just it, I HAVE to decide whether or not I'm going to keep it. Is it really worth the money to restore this beast to better condition than what it is now, or would I be better off just fixing what's wrong with the exhaust and selling it for a newer model? Is there a newer model that doesn't have very many issues? I'd LOVE to get a V8, but none of the V8's have 5 speeds. I've often thought of swapping out the 4.0 for a 302, but if its not worth the hassle of doing that and restoring the beast, I might as well sell it as is. Any opinions???

 

[Anime]

Each particular generation of Explorer has it's own issues. It usually comes down to how many miles are on it and how well it was cared for. Even so, a one-owner Explorer that was babied and cared for by a professional mechanic will still have whatever known problems that just happen from how the thing was designed.

If you're not that attached to your '91, then maybe you should sell it and get a newer gen. You could possibly sell it together with the engine you have as a package deal. List it on here and see what happens. Lots of people seek out first gens for trail rigs.

If you like having 4 doors and a 5 speed, you might want to hang onto what you have.
There were still 5 speeds in later gens, but they made less and less of them. A 302 swap is doable, but you're talking about gathering alot of the needed parts, then the downtime to swap it in, and the days/weeks/months of working out the bugs afterwards.

There are brand new 5 speed transmissions for the later gens for $500-600 though, so you could always get one of those and swap it in to whatever you find, too.

You might be able to find a V8 Explorer and look into a manual tranny swap. If you wanted 2WD and a V8, maybe you can find one of the 2nd gens that they made before making the V8 come with the control trac drivetrain.

Best bet is to find what YOU like the most, whether it's a particular year of Explorer, or even another make/model. Having something you enjoy, both looking at it from the outside, and from the inside when you're driving it, counts for a lot. Life is pretty short, you might as well have a vehicle that thrills you.

You're on the right forum if you want another Explorer though, people sell them fairly often, and they're usually a really good deal.