1996 850 Muffler Repair/Replacement

russ0519 · Post by **russ0519** » 12 Aug 2014, 06:49

Car was sitting around for a while - maybe a year or two. Had a rip in the passenger side front boot. Decided to replace the whole axle, since nobody wanted to replace just the boot.

Car just had front axles replaced as well as all the brakes and rotors. After that developed a clunking sound, Indy that did the axles and brakes said front wheel bearing assemblies needed replacing as well.

After that repair, in about a week or so, the car developed a very loud noise during idle and accelleration. Went to firestone to get the wheels rotated, when they lifted the car, saw the muffler came off.

Firestone guy said take it to meineke and get it welded.

My questions are
1. Is the muffler really broken off and needs to be welded or replaced?
2. Welding sounds like a lot of work, would it be better to just replace the whole assembly? Would that be less work and possibly come out lower in the end?
3. What muffler should I get and from where.
4. How much should the job cost?
5. Can someone recommend a good affordable indy in north jersey?

Post by **erikv11** » 12 Aug 2014, 07:54

Welcome to MVS!

Don't shop for a muffler or any other part, just get a real muffler shop to weld in a short piece of pipe.

Don't go to Meineke, don't go to Midas. Go to like "Joe's Muffler Shop" or similar. The break you show is a very common one,welding is by far the way to go. It will run between $40 and $70depending on your luck of the draw and local economy. There was a post about the same thing in the last week, they comepufrequently do a little searching if you want to check out others' experiences.

Post by **erikv11** » 12 Aug 2014, 07:57

And I don't mean to be a downer but you may want to find a new mechanic. There is almost no way that car needed all new axles and bearings etc. And in all likelihood the axles that were taken out and thrown away are 1000x higher quality than what was put back in ...

russ0519 · Post by **russ0519** » 12 Aug 2014, 10:56

I am looking for a new mechanic. My old one was great, but is far away.

I think I found one that seems to have decent reviews, will try them.

Will an indy know how to fix a muffler, or do i need to go to a dedicated muffler shop?

Post by **erikv11** » 12 Aug 2014, 11:01

Most indy mechanics will know how to do it but will be much more expensive. At a muffler shop they do this all day long, the tools and spare parts are all laid out and ready to go. For them this particular repair is a 20 minute job, and most of that time is getting the car up and down the lift. I have had it done twice so far.

I was skeptical about taking the car in to a no-name shop but found them to be professional and more friendly than the chain stores. You may not have that exact experience but for sure, they will know a ton about exhaust piping.