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Car Forum / Chrysler Cars / October 2004Stainless steel muffler- maybe not
I had my muffler changed about 2 or 3 yrs ago at midas or speedy (can't remember) on a 93 grand caravan. It fell off this weekend. When I checked it, the muffler itself was like new but the small pipes leading to and from the muffler were all corroded. I'm wondering if Midas/Speedy are using stainless steel on the muffler but the pipes that are welded to the muffler themselves are just mild steel?? If this is the case, I think they are a rip-off. The clamps that they used were corroded badly as well. You'd think they would use stainless steel clamps?? Anyone know for sure if the stainless steel mufflers these people sell are all stainless?? Steve L. > I had my muffler changed about 2 or 3 yrs ago at midas or speedy (can't > remember) on a 93 grand caravan. It fell off this weekend. When I > checked it, the muffler itself was like new but the small pipes leading > to and from the muffler were all corroded. I'm wondering if Midas/Speedy > are using stainless steel on the muffler but the pipes that are welded > to the muffler themselves are just mild steel?? If you patronize places like Midas or Speedy, you get crapola -- even if you pay for their "premium" stuff. I doubt they installed a stainless-steel muffler on your car at Midas or Speedy, unless it was a cheaply-made "universal" muffler. Even the best quality name-brand mufflers available for your '93 Caravan aren't stainless like the original Chrysler unit was -- they're aluminized steel, same as you'll get if you try to buy an "original equipment" muffler from the dealer. > The clamps that they used were corroded badly as well. You'd think they > would use stainless steel clamps?? At Midas? At Speedy? Pffft. Thanks Daniel, So where can you get a real stainless steel muffler for a 93 grand caravan 3.3 litre AWD. I just called the dealer and the parts guy admitted that they use the same muffler as Midas etc. He said the supplier was Walker. > > I had my muffler changed about 2 or 3 yrs ago at midas or speedy (can't > > remember) on a 93 grand caravan. It fell off this weekend. When I [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > At Midas? At Speedy? Pffft. > So where can you get a real stainless steel muffler for a 93 grand > caravan 3.3 litre AWD. You can't. Not an application-specific one, and most all the aftermarket stainless mufflers are "performance" items that sound absolutely awful behind V6s. > I just called the dealer and the parts guy admitted that they use the > same muffler as Midas etc. He said the supplier was Walker. Walker makes at least two different mufflers for an application like yours -- an "economy" item that doesn't last, a "premium QUiet-Flow" item that's a quality product, and then there are the "Pro-Fit" universal "just about the right size and shape" mufflers used by the likes of Midas. > > > I had my muffler changed about 2 or 3 yrs ago at midas or speedy (can't > > > remember) on a 93 grand caravan. It fell off this weekend. When I [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > > > At Midas? At Speedy? Pffft. Stainless steel is non-metallic.....Place a magnet against it and if it sticks IS NOT stainless steel.... > Stainless steel is non-metallic.....Place a magnet against it and if it > sticks IS NOT stainless steel.... None of the above is true. Stainless steel IS metallic. All stainless steels, with the exception of austenitic, are attracted to magnets. Even austenitic stainless can be magnetic if cold-worked. There is plenty of information on the web for stainless steel, including its magnetic properties. >Stainless steel is non-metallic This is not true. It is a metal. You probably meant to say it is non-ferous, which is not true either. >.....Place a magnet against it and if it sticks >IS NOT stainless steel.... Also not true. Depends on the specific alloy. Magnets will stick, though weakly, to some stainless steel alloys. ------------------ Alex I'm LOL! Surely he meant to say non-magnetic, but as has already been pointed out, it depends. It's a pretty good test, in my opinion. > >Stainless steel is non-metallic > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > ------------------ > Alex >I'm LOL! Surely he meant to say non-magnetic, but as has already been >pointed out, it depends. It's a pretty good test, in my opinion. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >> ------------------ >> Alex Lets just say if a magnet does NOT stick, there is a better than 50/50 chance the muffler is stainless. On a car or truck, pretty close to 100%, as aluminum and carbon fibre mufflers on cars are extremely rare. If it sticks, more than likely it is NOT stainless - just because of the difference in sheer numbers produced. >. Actually there iare magnetic and non-magnetic stainless steels. Autentistic and martentistic, or something like that. > Stainless steel is non-metallic.....Place a magnet against it and if it sticks > IS NOT stainless steel.... > Just when you think you've heard the dumbest usenet comment... Matt How do you think Midas and other companies that give life time guarantee on their mufflers make money? It is the pipes that rot out and you will have to pay for that to be replaced. I had a shop bend steel exhaust pipes for my car and it lasted 12 years. The clamps always rot out, so you will have to keep an eye for them and replace once every 3 to 4 years. >How do you think Midas and other companies that give life time guarantee on >their mufflers make money? It is the pipes that rot out and you will have to >pay for that to be replaced. I had a shop bend steel exhaust pipes for my car >and it lasted 12 years. The clamps always rot out, so you will have to keep an >eye for them and replace once every 3 to 4 years. Get decent stainless steel clamps and you are set. They should last as long as the rest of the exhaust system. ------------ Alex >How do you think Midas and other companies that give life time guarantee on >their mufflers make money? It is the pipes that rot out and you will have to >pay for that to be replaced. I had a shop bend steel exhaust pipes for my car >and it lasted 12 years. The clamps always rot out, so you will have to keep an >eye for them and replace once every 3 to 4 years. I had stainless put on my '90 Aerostar in 1992. Sold it 2 years ago - had replaced 2 clamps up until a month before I sold it, when the stainless muffler split at the seam. I replaced it with a cheap Meinike muffler to sell the van. > How do you think Midas and other companies that give life time guarantee on > their mufflers make money? It is the pipes that rot out and you will have to > pay for that to be replaced. I had a shop bend steel exhaust pipes for my car > and it lasted 12 years. The clamps always rot out, so you will have to keep an > eye for them and replace once every 3 to 4 years. The mufflers are crap, too. I had one of those "lifetime" mufflers. Every year it would rot out. Sure they would replace it for free, but it was a hassle to bring the car in and you had to deal with the place trying to screw you for a few dollars here and there for all the things that weren't covered. Not believing you guys, I spent hours on the web looking for a replacement muffler, all stainless, including pipes.....I found nothing. I can't believe you can't buy and OEM all stainless muffler replacement for a 93 grand caravan. I find this totally amazing that there is not one company that makes these. Sure you can find performance ones that are univeral. But they need extra length pipes etc. they are not direct replacements and they are supposed to sound like crap. The only one that says they have is Walker and I'm told that this is what the Chrysler dealer and Midas etc sell. I wish I had kept my original OEM muffler and just welded a new pipe onto it...had I known. Steve L > Not believing you guys, I spent hours on the web looking for a > replacement muffler, all stainless, including pipes.....I found nothing. > > I can't believe you can't buy and OEM all stainless muffler > replacement for a 93 grand caravan. Well if you don't believe us, and you don't believe your own eyes...whom do you believe? I don't think there's anything in the Bible about it, so we're outta luck on that avenue... The fact of the matter is that the aftermarket will not generally support (i.e., pay for) what an OEM-type stainless muffler would cost. They tend to remain available from dealer parts departments for a short time after OEM use is discontinued, for warranty work and such, but then the dealer parts counters are switched over to the aftermarket type mufflers. > The only one that says they have is Walker and I'm told that this is > what the Chrysler dealer and Midas etc sell. I wish I had kept my > original OEM muffler and just welded a new pipe onto it...had I known. Why? Just buy a premium muffler from Walker or Goerlich and you'll be all set for at least five years, depending on how you use your car. The other option is to get busy with the books, find a late-model application (later Chrysler minivans...?) that use a muffler similar in size, shape and configuration to your own, and go buy *that* from the dealer. Prepare to pay $$$. Your admiration for Midas has me all teary-eyed. They have stockholders to feed, and they are not going to use stainless steel for any reason. Who do you think pays for all their commercials? You! All auto-repair chains are rip offs. They have to be because of their cost structure. Watch this group and see how many people post stuff like "I took my car to Pep Boys/Jiffy Lube/K-Mart/ etc and (blah blah blah disaster) happened." > I had my muffler changed about 2 or 3 yrs ago at midas or speedy > (can't remember) on a 93 grand caravan. It fell off this weekend. When [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Steve L. |
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