My car sounds like a ricer's, and I'm having none of it. It's loud and buzzy, and the echo from parked cars etc. is much stronger when the rear windows are down, so I think the leak is somewhere towards the rear of the car. Certainly underneath.

How do I find the leak and how do I fix it? I looked over the catback section already and felt around while the engine was off, but I couldn't find anything. I'd like to hear that depending on what's leaking I can order a part and bolt it on, 'cause I'm almost broke. BTW, I have no fab or welding capability and ideally my car would be as silent as stock. F22B2/CD5 Thanks for any ideas.

 

Bad gasket?

Rattling heat shield?

Hole in muffler?

Any scrapage under the car from lowering?

 

I'm sure it's not a rattling heat shield, 'cause I already had that once, so I know what it sounds like. None of the exhaust is scraped up.

I can say that when the car belonged to my dad he replaced the catback (I think, or at least the muffler) with some cruddy aftermarket unit, which is what's on there now. This isn't performance aftermarket, it's get-it-fixed-cheap aftermarket. Everything under there is pretty rusty, esp around where a gasket would fit.

Should I just jack it up and crawl under there while the engine's actually running?

 

I'd suggest not going under the car while running.

You could probably just go to a junk yard and get a factory exhaust cat-back for about $20-$100. Depends where you are.

Otherwise, just buy a aftermarket muffle you do like and have an exhaust shop install it. My custom DTM cat-back was $250 for everything. I was quoted axle-back for $150.

 

First thing - find the leak.

I'd leave the car on the ground & let the engine idling. Wad up an old rag & press it on the taipipe. By blocking the tailpipe that increases the pressure inside the exhaust pipe & the leak gets louder & MUCH easier to find. Probably you can find it just by crawling around without lifting the car.

If you REALLY need to get underneath when it's running, make absolutely sure it's supported very solid. Don't just use a jack.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'll give that stuff a try. If I decide to jack up the car I'll do it right. I have jackstands and chocks and everything.