Exhaust muffler/tale pipe rusting

[DrDusty86]

My car 01'Escort Zx2 has had a problem with mufflers and tale pipes rusting out. This is a Texas car and always has been. There is just a lot of water vapor coming from the exhaust. I have tried expensive mufflers and the cheap ones and get about 3 yrs tops before rusting and tale pipe falls off. Is there something I can spray in the tale pipe like a rust remover/preventer to eliminate buying a muffler so often? I think part of the problem is the car burns so clean with fuel and burns no oil, that there is no coating on the inside of the exhaust that I see on all the other cars that I have looked at.
Thanks,
Dusty

 

[bepperb]

Well, do you think it's rusting from the inside out or the outside in? Around here it seems that rocks knick the aluminum coating and exhuasts seem to rust from the outside in from the salt on the roads.

I'm really surprised you're having only 3 years, that would be short here.

What about a stainless aftermarket muffler?

 

[Solo2driver]

Time to switch to a stainless exhaust? I can't think of a good reason it's rusting out so much unless you are way down south on the coastal counties. Of my last two Texas cars, one from Baytown/Houston and the other from San Antonio, at 150-210K miles they still had their original or very close to it exhaust systems with no rust. My wife's Escape is from Galveston, and aside from some surface rust on the pipes, is just fine.

Stainless is my vote.

 

[mongo161]

IMO.....you could try to add some TC-W3 to your fuel as a UCL. Since I've used this as a UCL, I have noticed that I have a nice dark film on the inside of the tailpipe. This film is most likely a combination of Carbon Exhaust burning off in the combustion chamber and the TC-W3. I had noticed before I started the TC-W3 regimen, that the inside of my tailpipe was bare metal with a little rust. Not any longer, it is nice and dark inside which tells me that the formula is working nicely.

Do a search on the site for TC-W3 as a UCL and you will get more information if your inclined to add the mix to your fuel. Cheers.

 

[Trav]

Did you try one from the dealer? They cost more but usually last a lot longer than aftermarket.
It common to see OEM over 10 yrs old even in the salt belt.

 

[DrDusty86]

No, it definitely from the inside out. No, I haven't tried a SS muffler yet>? How much do they run? I would do that in a heartbeat if they are reasonable, as I'm in college down here and Tuition is EXPENSIVE!.
Dusty

 

[mpvue]

I really don't know what a 'tale' pipe is. I know they tell some tall tales in Texas, is that what this is?

maybe this will help

 

[wander2039]

Take a small drill bit and drill a small hole in the front and back of the muffler. It'll take a good drill bit be warned.

 

[brentalan]

Do you take a lot of short trips? Maybe the condensation is not fully evaporating and it's sitting in there for hours or days.

 

[The_Jeff]

Go to a junkyard and buy a muffler off an oil burning saturn

then do what you need to to make it fit.

NAPA has lifetime warranty mufflers, why not cash in? I got about 4.5 years from their primo top shelf one.

I like this hypothesis about oil/carbon coating. Am on the fence about its science.

 

[Nick R]

It's interesting. The expedition (9 years, 70k miles), the Jeep (12 years, 40k miles) and the cavalier (had just shy of 140k miles, and 13 years) and they all have/had the OE muffler, rust free. The exhaust hangers were/are rusty, but the mufflers were fine. And they lived in a snowy/salty environment a lot of it.

The worse I've ever seen was my friends parents Cabrio, it had 138k miles, 10 years old, and the two mufflers were COMPLETELY rusted out, they crumbled if I touched them.

Why is it some mufflers rust out, and some don't?

 

[rslifkin]

My Jeep's exhaust is pretty rusty looking, but still solid. You can whack the muffler and it's definitely still all there. However, the flange where the y-pipe connects to the driver's side exhaust manifold is starting to look a bit questionable, but not leaking.

Some mufflers, such as mine, have a small weep hole to minimize water buildup in the exhaust. That probably helps a lot with lifespan.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

As stated above, drill a 1/8" - 3/16" dia weep hole at the bottom center rear end cover and and bottom center front end cover. Any questions look at OEM units at a muffler shop to find location. The aftermarket $20-50 mufflers are prob just quick dip galvy mild steel and wont last too long with a lot of acid water in there from short trips and casual crusin.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
As stated above, drill a 1/8" - 3/16" dia weep hole at the bottom center rear end cover and and bottom center front end cover. Any questions look at OEM units at a muffler shop to find location. The aftermarket $20-50 mufflers are prob just quick dip galvy mild steel and wont last too long with a lot of acid water in there from short trips and casual crusin.


My old Dakota's only last about 3 years, dealer, Midas, whatever. Rust from the inside. Does the small hole make it louder? Is it noticeable?

John

 

[wander2039]

On my dad's Festiva it didn't. Of course if you make the hole too large it will.

 

[Eddie]

I drill a small 3/16 hold in the lowest back of the mufflers. That give the water a place to drain out untill the system is fully hot.

 

[Kestas]

I find OEM mufflers have the drain hole. Aftermarket does not. Like Eddie, I drill a hole at the lowest point.

 

[mechtech2]

On my ZX2, I got a Trubenz stainless cat back system very early.
It looks the same as the day I installed it, with performance benefits. [Well, OK... there is some rust on the oversized hangers.]
If you are going to keep the car, a Trubenz system may be viable. Of course, it would have been best as you first option years ago.
This will not add real resale value. Your call.