A muffler that doesn't. [SOLVED - rusted/ broken flange]

[ae7456t]

So, after exercising the electrical demons from my M35X, and having been without it for the better part of a month, I set out to get "reacquainted" with my car...Oil Change, UOA analysis (results pending from Blackstone, and I will post when I get them), and a tire rotation...Nothing too complicated.

During the course of poking around with the wheels off, I was a somewhat surprised to see this where the flange of my passenger side muffler should attach...



I kind of expected this to be the next challenge after 11 years of mid-Atlantic, salt happy winters, so not a big shock.

I am sure that it will disappoint some, but I have decided not to go the Megan/Stillen/Tanabe route, and rather chosen a more pragmatic "keep 'em flying" approach...The cheapest option available on Rock Auto (aka Bosal).

There is plenty of rust and corrosion under there, so generous amounts of PB Blaster will be the order of the day...I also plan to be fairly delicate, lest I end up chasing this replacement all the way up to the cats.

More to come, when I get the parts and a couple of hours to dig around.

[shodog]

Dang, the salt just kills the metal under there.

[Ilya]

Been there done that, I don't mind snow...I just hate the cold and salt that comes with it lol. Get er done!

[EdBwoy]

Awesome thread title. But I bet it sounds throaty, right?
Happened to this guy too:
topic613991.html

That makes me want to go and proactively apply some POR 15 on those flanges.

[ae7456t]

Man, what a pain in the ear that was...Applied liberal amounts of PB Blaster, days in advance...One of the nuts came right off...The other one, not so much.

After several hours of drilling, torquing, Dremeling, and swearing, the 2nd one finally gave up the fight, and the replacement muffler went right in.

EdBwoy...Definitely a different exhaust note, now...Between sealing up the leak, and the aftermarket being a bit different tone from the OEM, I almost don't recognize it.

Again, thanks to all for the encouragement...I think I will get 3-4 months until the other side lets go, although, I have to admit, when I look at the back of the car, I can't stop noticing the fact the 2 sides are not the same, so it may happen sooner to calm my OCD.

[EdBwoy]

It's a pretty good design that Nissan uses (not sure if everyone else does the same), but having the studs on the side that usually needs replacement makes cutting things off less punishing.

Glad you got that done. Share some pics; and video of the different exhaust tones from left to right, just for LOLs.

[shaqdeez]

Hey ae7456t,

How is the Bosla exhaust holding up? I was planning on doing catback system from Bosla from Rockauto for 442 and not sure how loud it ended up. I want to be close to OEM sound. Only other issue is how long they'd hold up in Buffalo BY weather

[ae7456t]

@shaqdeez...Good question, and I now realize that I never posted any of the exhaust note videos EdBwoy was looking for.

Short answer is that I am happy with how the Bosla has worked out. The exhaust sounds as close to OEM as I can tell (which I was looking for, as well), and it seems to be holding up fairly well. I will try to post a picture or 2, but, so far, after 18 months, including a Philadelphia winter, I only see some light surface corrosion.

My thinking is that a 12 year old car doesn't need a muffler that will last another 10...but your mileage may vary.

[shaqdeez]

Bosla it is. I could get Cat Back for 400 Bux from Autozone coupon included AND lifetime warranty. You can't beat that if you want OEM sound.

Thx for the update