New Muffler sounds like a race car??? Why?

Hi all,

'had my muffler replaced yesterday at Meineke since the last one was literally shredded. The Muffler and Tailpipe (one Piece) were replaced.

Thing is, before I get back to the shop (haven't as yet due to weather and business on my part), I hoped to get feedback on a concern of mine:

The car now revs as if I were taking part in a drag race. From the outside it DOESN'T sound totally, totally awful, but it's quite louder than usual...and from the inside I can hear it much more so than I ever did when I had the deteriorating one.

Mind you, I wonder if the tailpipe being so much smaller than the previous one has anything to do with it??? I compared mine with so many other vehicles and everyone else seems to have the same sized tailpipe. BUT, I'm at a loss as to what it might be. NOTE: I'm only in the learning process, thus I know little.

NOTE: it's not a screeching noise but rather a louder, low-deep-throated hum.

Help?......should I be concerned? Does, perhaps my car simply need a tune-up?....or something similar?

Its possible that another part of the exhaust was already weak/rusty and the stress placed on the pipe by knocking off the old muffler and installing a new one has put a hole in that weak spot.

Most would consider that deep throaty rumble desirable. But if you do not like it, then MagicRat is probaby right. There is a leak somewhere else in the exhaust that needs attention.
Jake

That's interesting MagicRat. I'd gone to someone else long ago who told me that the Catalytic Converter also needed to be replaced. Yet, yesterday, the fella at Meineke told me NO! that there was nothing wrong with it. 'think this would cost me an arm and leg IF IT DOES need to be replaced as well?

pro_am, yah, I surely know what you're talkin' about. But now I'm totally turned off by the fact that folks look at me as if I've got a VANITY altered car. You know? 'bad enough I've already got HUGE wheels (only because that's how I purchased this used car). Now this. hehehe.......NOTE: the sound is actually a bit annoying from the inside. Sometimes I turn off the radio to try and figure if that deep bass is from the stereo or from beneath the car.

Thats unusual. Usually in these chain muffler shops etc the mechanics trip over themselves to replace everything possible, as they often make a commission on the parts sold.
Perhaps you have found an 'honest' shop.
You can try stuffing a rag up the tail pipe (to block it up), start the car, get down and have a good listen for the sound of escaping exhaust gases to locate the hole or leak.

OR, you could do what an Emission Tester does. Put on a thin rubber glove and make sure that the engine is cold before you do this as you don't want to burn your hand. Place your palm on the muffler's tailpipe and try to feel if there's pressure building up. Usually, if there's no exhaust escaping from a hole down the line, the engine will stall soon after. You might be able to see smoke coming out of the holes if there are any.

BY THE WAY, there doesn't necessarily have to be a hole in the exhaust to have a wierd sound coming out of the exhaust. If you don't mind reading this, my car has a problem with its catalytic converter, where one of the pieces inside the Catalytic Converter have gone loose. Everytime I rev the engine and quickly release the gas peddle, I hear a loud rumble. I know it's my catalytic converter for sure but I don't feel like replacing it just yet (I JUST PASS MY EMISSIONS TEST :) and it was broken then :P).

Catalytic Converter: Universal Model ~ $100 CDN + Installation (depends on the shop's rate).
Catalytic Converter: OEM for Eagle Vision 3.3 (3.5" pipe) ~ $135 CDN + Installation (depends on the shop's rate).

if not a leak what may have happened is that your vehicle has gone back to its original system operation created by the backpressure in the exhaust system possibly allowing for that hum to happen

Hello all, WELL....I haven't tried the suggestions. What I did was take it back to where the muffler was replaced and they found nothing. I've got to admit whatever the sound is really wasn't evident there either.

This sound has now turned into an even lower hum which is absolutely driving me batty. It's now sort of an extremely low reverberating hum which is really only evident when you realise how deaf your right ear has become. I say right ear since evidently it's coming from the very center of the car. I wouldn't mind it so much if I didn't feel like I was constantly popping my ears (you know? how when you climb to certain heights in a mountain?).

'will have my brother-in-law (home schooled mech) take a look today and ask him to drive it around himself and see what he says.

Uggghhhh.
:banghead:

sounds like you have a leak somewhere in the exhaust. is this in your tercel? my friend has a terecl and it has that mesh exhast piece between the cat and headers (forgot what its called...sorry) they are actually really common, but if it is a bit older they are known for leaks. i would take a look under the car and see if you can kinda pinpoint where the leak is. also maybe open the hood and see if its coming from the exhaust manifold?

It might be possible that the exhaust might be hitting the car underbody somewhere. Maybe the shop used solid exhaust mounts. I have also noticed in a few vehicles that when the engine is at a certain rpm the vibration creates a humming noise that is at just the right pitch to drive a person batty. It is like the noise is pounding into your brain. Is that the kind of sound you are talking about? Maybe the shop but on one of their "turbo" mufflers that don't really muffle very well and that is why you have a louder exhaust. GL.

mx6rrr, it's a 95 Suzuki, Sidekick

TechX, you've hit the nail on the head. I drove with my friend the other day and he thinks I'm crazy. He can hear a low hum, but not the sort of effect you've described. As if the Car is reaching into my brain and driving me insane with the ultra low hum.

Didn't get to my brother-in-law since he got stuck at work.

NOTE: the mech at the shop when I took it back DID mention how the car was lacking in rpm and definitely in need of a tune-up (something I'd gathered from the beginning). And yah, it's quite evident at a particular speed range. High speeds and very low speeds you can't sense it. but on City streets speed, definitely yes.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: