Project One...Mufflers

Okay...So before you send me a bunch of comments about how I did stuff wrong, just realize that I have no idea what I am doing and am only making general guesses about how to do stuff...

This picture is the muffler after I took it off of the Jeep...I assume it is the original muffler from 1991, with a little wear and tear...I consulted some friends and even had the Jeep dropped at a local shop to get a laundry list and quote of how much it would cost to fix things like what you see here...The grand total was somewhere around $1100...I will get into more detail as we go...I really want to see what my savings turn out to be when I learn to do all these things myself...

Instead of going to a muffler shop, I went to an auto-parts store and got me a Haynes repair manual and some parts...I came home with some exhaust clamps, a new muffler and some exhaust extension pieces because the new muffler is 2 inches shorter than the old muffler...

I get up under the Jeep and with bucket loads of elbow grease, I work off the almost 20 year old clamps of the old muffler...One bolt actually snapped right off instead of coming off the threads!

I started thinking to myself that other than the hard work to break loose the old clamps, this job my be easy...I was slightly mistaken in that opinion....

After getting the old clamps off, I realized the pipes were welded together...So I began to try ancient methods (the old hammer trick)....Thought I would just bang it loose...That's what she said!!! :) Just kidding!

Anyway, Joking aside, I ended up trying a powerful Dremel to cut through the old pipes...LOTS OF SPARKS!!! What ended up working really well was a hand held reciprocating saw...It cut right through the pipes and never sparked...

So I then slid under the Jeep, which is nice about a 4-inch lift, you can just crawl under with plenty of room to work..

Once under the Jeep, It took me about 10 minutes to install the new muffler...I didn't have a welding torch, so i used 4 clamps to attach the exhaust extensions and muffler...The only thing I have left to do, is get a clamp hanger to raise the catalytic converter, which is resting on the skid plate...

I turned on the ignition and although it still sounds throaty for a 4 banger...it was much more smooth as you can imagine...