Anyone see anything like this?

[ddicosmo]

I heard a rattling noise at idle which eventually went away but i could tell something wasn't right because my exhaust was a bit louder, especially when letting off the gas and coasting... So i got out to check my exhaust and noticed the tip pressed up against the body...i knew something must have broke on my exhaust. Next morning (it was dark and cold so couldn't check it the night before), i clambered underneath and checked the exhaust. The exhaust and muffler still looked in excellent condition (vehicle only has 120k). However, there was a clean break right at the weld point where the upward pipe existing towards the back of the muffler meets the muffler. The break looked as if someone took a sawsall and cut straight through rather than due to breaking off due to rust (see pics). Since the pipes and muffler have very minimal rusting, this "perfectly clean break" seems awfully suspicious to me. Has anyone experienced this sort of break? It seems to me like a manufacturing defect the way that the break occurred. There is no rust crumbling around the break which is typical of these types of breaks...it looks awfully suspicious to me...

 

[rdruss]

Oh yeah, I would have to say a common failure, mine did. I put on a Walker replacement cat back.

 

[AuSeeker]

That's definitely not cut, it's a fatigue/rust break.

 

[Dropzone]

corrosion AKA rust
does NH salt the roads like NY and a lot of snowy states?

 

[ddicosmo]

Seems like a poor design though since the rest of the exhaust system is solid and mostly rust free.... unfortunately, the break is at a very unconvenient spot which makes a fix difficult... I'm wondering if I could have it re-welded? If not, anyone have any recommendations for a decent muffler replacement?

 

[ddicosmo]

corrosion AKA rust
does NH salt the roads like NY and a lot of snowy states?

Yes... NH is pretty bad when it comes to road salt... It was pretty nasty this year...

 

[UrbanRunner651]

I had the exact same thing happen on my 08 a couple years back. It made a strange rattle in reverse that I couldn't figure out until I kicked the tailpipe and broke it free.
It can definitely be welded back but I would just eat the cost and put it towards splicing in something new.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Same happened to mine. I removed the muffler and welded on a short piece that a new Walker tail pipe fit on. That fat shoulder gives a solid place to weld to. I'm still running the same setup 2 or 3 years later.