Leaking Resonator on both sides 2003 Pathy

[CASEY22]

I'm new to the site. I have been told by the dealership that both my resonators are leaking and needs to be replaced. They quoted $1,500 for the parts and labor and there is no way I would let go of that huge amount of cash to them. I reside in Los Angeles, California and I don't know much about cars.

1. I have read about the walker resonators that you could buy from rockauto.com but I am kinda hesitant. Will this be safe for me and my family?

2. Can I just go to a muffler shop and have them replace the resonators with whatever they have? I was told by the dealership that aftermarket resonators could cause "back-flow of emissions causing more damage in the long run", is that true?


Obviously, safety is paramount to me since I have a pregnant wife and would not risk anything to harm her or our baby. Can you guys give us any ideas on how to get this fixed?

Here are some of my vehicle details:
Nissan Pathfinder 2003 SE with 117k miles
VQ35DE V6

Thanks in advance.

[Innovazn]

just want to clarify that this is the resonators, not the catalytic convertors. Resonators being the ones running under the back seats. if that is the case you can simply go to a muffler shop and have them replace it with a pipe. Resonators are there primarily for sound resonance to make our trucks quieter (not to mention restrict flow a bit) but seeing as youre in cali i think you guys have strict emissions control and what not? not 100% sure if the resonators serve any purpose....

[yeldogt]

This is a very common problem on this model. The two resonators also incorporate the second O2 sensor fittings. What happens is the resonators split at the original manufacturing seam.

Nissan came out with a "fix" -- some exhaust paste and a couple of clamps that does not hold up -- and they charge a lot to do it. This is not a fix so don't do it.

The exhaust is stainless steel but the fitting are not and they rust -- so a lot of people have the fittings fail and the exhaust sections will separate.

What you should do is take the car to an exhaust shop and have them look at it -- some shops can just weld the seam of the resonators and then they can check the other connections to make sure that are not about to fail.

You have the two resonators then a central connection pipe with another resonator and then the final muffler that you can see at the rear of the truck. I had the "fix" done at the dealer years ago -- that unknown to me failed. I also had the rear muffler come loose at the fitting. My local shop just welded that connection for $60.00. They could not weld the resonators because of the paste from the failed fix.

If you go to Rockauto.com you can see a diagram of the parts. I got rear ended last fall at the muffler area and the hit bent the exhaust pipes so I was forced to replace the four parts. The aftermarket parts from Rockauto or anyone else are not expensive -- but they are not stainless steel so they will not last as long as the factory parts. If you can save the factory stainless parts by just having them welded that would be the way to go.

I bought the Bora exhaust and the four parts just bolted right in and we moved the 02 sensors over to the new parts. Worked out well

Good luck.

[Innovazn]

This is a very common problem on this model. The two resonators also incorporate the second O2 sensor fittings. What happens is the resonators split at the original manufacturing seam.

Nissan came out with a "fix" -- some exhaust paste and a couple of clamps that does not hold up -- and they charge a lot to do it. This is not a fix so don't do it.

The exhaust is stainless steel but the fitting are not and they rust -- so a lot of people have the fittings fail and the exhaust sections will separate.

What you should do is take the car to an exhaust shop and have them look at it -- some shops can just weld the seam of the resonators and then they can check the other connections to make sure that are not about to fail.

You have the two resonators then a central connection pipe with another resonator and then the final muffler that you can see at the rear of the truck. I had the "fix" done at the dealer years ago -- that unknown to me failed. I also had the rear muffler come loose at the fitting. My local shop just welded that connection for $60.00. They could not weld the resonators because of the paste from the failed fix.

If you go to Rockauto.com you can see a diagram of the parts. I got rear ended last fall at the muffler area and the hit bent the exhaust pipes so I was forced to replace the four parts. The aftermarket parts from Rockauto or anyone else are not expensive -- but they are not stainless steel so they will not last as long as the factory parts. If you can save the factory stainless parts by just having them welded that would be the way to go.

I bought the Bora exhaust and the four parts just bolted right in and we moved the 02 sensors over to the new parts. Worked out well

Good luck.

Are you talking about your Catalytic Convertors?!

[CASEY22]

According to the dealership after their $115 inspection, it is the resonators. It was also verified by a local mechanic. The noise is pretty audible under the proximity of the driver and front passenger seats. It passed emissions with that problem though. LOL

Yeah that is the thing being in Cali, I'm not exactly sure if it is legal just to replace it with a pipe. I will try to visit a muffler shop here and see what they say. Thanks for the response.

[Innovazn]

According to the dealership after their $115 inspection, it is the resonators. It was also verified by a local mechanic. The noise is pretty audible under the proximity of the driver and front passenger seats. It passed emissions with that problem though. LOL

Yeah that is the thing being in Cali, I'm not exactly sure if it is legal just to replace it with a pipe. I will try to visit a muffler shop here and see what they say. Thanks for the response.

thats weird as hell because if youre saying the noise is from the front, then its the catalytic convertors..... and to be honest, it sounds like the heat shieldings causing "Rattle" i have the same problem and shrug it off till i gather enough money to do a full exhaust.

[yeldogt]

The car has two resonators that sit under the front seat area-side by side. Many mistake them for Cat Converters but they are not. In front of each resonator on the connection pipe is a fitting for the rear O2 sensor.

If the rest of the exhaust is OK -- you can get the two resonators and have an independent shop put them in. I purchased the parts from Rockauto and picked up a set of struts/ shocks on Amazon and had a local muffler shop put it all in.

[CASEY22]

hmmm.... It that's weird, they said my catalytic convertors are fine.

The noise is not a rattling sound. It sounds more like I have another tail pipe in that area...

[yeldogt]

Its the resonators -- you could have a heat shield problem also -- the bolts rust and they get loose.

[Innovazn]

learn something new everyday.....

[waxfree]

i had the same problem on my 2002 QX4. Got some muffler putty from autozone for $2.99. Filled in the cracks and it has been quiet for about 9 months and still holding strong. I figured it was worth a try before spending the money on the new resonators.

[body80]

The coolest guy in the world (body80) did alittle post about this.
Let me see if I can dig it up.

Here it is...........
screw-nissan-and-their-defective-cat-pr ... 37114.html

He maybe cool but it did screw up and called them catalytic converters. They are really resonators.
Silly guy....

[miamiheat3332]

sounds like time for a custom exhaust

[CASEY22]

Thank you so much for the amazing response guys. I will visit a local muffler shop and see what they say. I will update this thread as I get stuff done.

[funnyman82]

I had the same problem last week on my 02 qx4! I was in stop and go traffic due to snow storm and while I was stopped I heard a pop noise and when I accelerated it sounded like a motorcycle! I took it to Midas and they quoted me $900 to change whole exhaust system with aftermarket walker parts. I asked them to only fix the rh resonater cause that is what blew and after taxes was about $290. Truck is running fine now but he mentioned I have some leaks between the front resonator and the mid so eventually will have to change. He also said that he sees a lot of Nissan vehicles and they all have exhaust issues...