Need new exhaust... Suggestions?

[MCNPathfinder]

Hey everyone, my Pathfinder's exhaust rusted off right after the muffler. It's now shooting it's exhaust right into the floor behind the rear seats. I had a subwoofer amp rack back there and I took it out thinking that's what was causing this burning smell... Nope... It's the carpet. It looks like it may have had a little melting action going on back there. So, it's time to replace the broken pieces before my car starts on fire. Any suggestions for exhaust as far as nice tone and better gas mileage? I think the piece that rusted off is the tailpipe and a resonator. The muffler seems to still be intact. The reason I ask is because at this point I might just end up replacing the whole exhaust as anything they weld onto there will probably continue to rust at the point they welded it.

[Towncivilian]

I'm afraid I don't know too much about exhaust replacement (no such rust issues in Florida, thankfully!). I'd suggest taking a look at RockAuto for some potential options and to get an idea of prices. If you do decide to purchase anything from RockAuto, be sure to use a 5% discount code.

[xswamperx]

I am looking into replacing my muffler..not my whole exhaust system. Got a bunch of holes in it an now its time for a new one. Ill be rolling w/ the flow soon enough. I've labeled it down to 1 of 3. The delta 40 series..the standard 40..or the more aggressive deeper sounding super44. I've got 2.5" dual inlets an a single 2.5" outlet. Ill be talking w flowmaster tomorrow ie Monday..or possibly Tuesday, to get my exact model numbers. Once I have those in hand ill shop around for it. I don't know if you've got the same setup as me, mines a 1997 3.3L. Anyway, ill pass my findings on to you. Or you can research with flowmaster like im doing if youve got a different setup.

[97pathydude]

I'm in the same boat as you "xswamp"

what made you decide on the flow 40 as a possibility?

would u mind letting me know how that ends up?

PS) if u respond, shoot me a message as to not take up any more of this thread

[yngw13]

bought my turbo cherry 2in1out in amazone for $40 then custom exhaust labor with added piping was $300
not bad but I wonder the pipes are too heavy when I go on bumps...

[MCNPathfinder]

Thanks for the replies. I've heard good things about the Flowmasters. My friend had one on an Expedition. He liked it around time, but it tends to drone cruising on the freeway, especially towing with overdrive off. I was thinking about just chopping the bent piece off so it isn't shooting into the floor. Maybe leave about 1-2" off the muffler just enough to weld on when I get the money to fix it. I'm not sure if that would just move the melting or not. The exhaust must get really hot. I wonder if I bought a cheap muffler tip from Walmart and directed the exhaust down at the ground with the 1-2" left over if that would keep it cooler.

[miamiheat3332]

I didnt read the whole thing word for word, but did it break at the bend that goes over the axle? If so, that happened to mine a few years ago now, i bought i think a 2 1/4 to 2 1/4 exhaust pipe connector and used 2 exhaust clamps and its been fine, other then its all rusted now but its holding good.

[xswamperx]

Today I finally got my driver side cat off. Passenger sides good, not replacing that one (yet). Let me tell ya, it was a major hassle getting that sob off there. The dang heat shield around the cat is impossible to take off from the under neath (97 3.3L). Had I known when I had taken my Intake Plenum off when replacing my valve cover gaskets I would of accessed it from the top side with way more ease. That being said I didn't, but still worked on it from the bottom sawzawing the heat shield bolts to the cat off. I'm picking up a couple gaskets tomorrow and will reinstall..which should be way more easier with the heat shields gone. I spoke w/ many of my friends who are mostly mechanics and they all pretty much said trash the heat shields. Granted you don't have any wires coming in contact with the cat. Which I do not. Ill be contacting Flowmaster tomorrow as well and getting their best advice on the 3 styles of Mufflers i've labeled it down to. I went Flowmaster overall just for the shear reviews of reliability and performance..Not to mention hundreds of videos. I have exhausted myself in reviewing almost every mfg of mufflers. And in my own opinion Flowmasters should be sitting king at the table. Ill repost more info when I get it..hopefully tomorrow.

[MCNPathfinder]

I'd be intrigued to know what you figure out. I always thought the heat shields were kind of important. It is the piece that bends right over the rear axle. I tried the clamps, but it didn't work that great for me. We'll see what I else I can fix up. Maybe I'll make another attempt at it. I'm supposed to be going out of town with it this weekend towing my boat, but if it's going to be a fire hazard, I'd rather not.

[Camelfilter]

Seems the axle bend break is kinda common.

My exhaust broke by the axle bend a few years ago. The rear portion was just flouncing around & dangling etc. I had an exhaust shop do a fix, it cost ~100$. Has been fine since.

[xswamperx]

The only heat shield I removed was the 2 surrounding the cat on the driver side. There's nothing in the area of my cat that could be affected by the removal of them. My o2 sensor sits about a foot and an a half away from it and the wires to it are also well out of the way. None of my local shops had the cat gasket I needed so I ordered it from Partsgeek cheap..16 bux total. It should be here by Friday.
That being said I called an talked w/ a guy named Bryce at Flowmaster and informed him of the 3 styles of mufflers I was interested in. Unfortunately none of the styles I wanted would mate up with my existing 2"dual inlet an 2.5" single center outlet. He did find they had 2 styles close to my configuration in Super 50 series (mdl# 524553)and the 70 series (mdl# 524703). You can go to the Flowmaster web site, type in the model #'s if it peaks your interest for pics. Both models have a 2.25" dual inlet and a 3" center outlet. Ill be welding a couple adapters on but that wont be a problem. The 70 series is pretty much a stock muffler with no interior resonance, overall very quiet. The Super 50 series is a mild to moderate sound and seems like the way I want to go. Do your own comparisons an decide for yourselves. My research on the 2 mufflers over the web made my choice pretty easy.
Ill be ordering the Super 50 series from Amazon as they had it the cheapest (100bux) and free shipping..even cheaper than all the dealers around here.

[MCNPathfinder]

Not a bad price at all. I figured my muffler is mostly shot. If you're feeling up to it, I'd love to hear how they sound once installed. Maybe post like a Youtube clip or something? I've always kind of wanted to do a dual exhaust setup, but on a V6 SUV, I just don't think it would sound that great. I think you've probably got the right idea. As it is now, I just cut everything off from my muffler back, except for maybe about 4 inches where I put a downpipe sleeve on it with an exhaust clamp. Sounds a little different now, seems to be a bit more peppy? Probably just all in my mind though. Basically I just needed to direct the hot exhaust off my floor so I didn't end up starting my carpet/truck on fire.

[xswamperx]

Lol good thing you did that..we don't need any fires happening. I finished up today on re-installing my driver-side cat and pipes. Even decided to put my heat shields back on..luckily I had 3 of 6 bolts I could still use to reattach the shields. So thats that..done deal. Now I'll be moving onto the muffler. Gonna order it in a little bit here today from Amazon. The Flowmaster I'm getting is not known for being loud..just slightly deeper tone than stock or the 70 series. I'm more interested in having a better air flow, a little bit more HP and a little bit better mpg. Not to mention getting rid of the old rusted out one. It'll probably get here Mon or Tues next week. Once Ive got it installed I'll let you know if there's a little or more drastic sound coming out of it.