Does your vehicle seem to lack power when trying to pass a slower vehicle? Is your vehicle starting to sound a little loud as you drive down the street? If you answered yes to these questions, it’s time to schedule an inspection of your exhaust system, which includes the muffler.
Just what is the job of the VY exhaust system, you ask? Simply stated, the various components of the exhaust system work together to funnel gases from the engine's combustion chamber out the back end of the car (through the muffler). Here is a brief description of the seven most important components:
Exhaust pipe — The exhaust pipe runs the length of the vehicle and is connected to all of the exhaust system's components.
Exhaust manifold — The engine’s cylinders funnel the fuel-air mixture from the combustion chamber into the exhaust manifold out through the exhaust pipe.
Oxygen sensor — This sensor, located in the exhaust pipe or manifold, measures the ratio of oxygen to the exhaust gases and alerts the car's computer if the emission levels are too high.
Catalytic converter — This converts the toxic fuel emissions into less toxic pollutants.
Resonator — Exhaust gases travel through an internal pipe, or a resonator, to eliminate a lot of the noise by rejecting sound waves and canceling each other out.
Muffler — The muffler also eliminates noise by redirecting the airflow through porous pipes, allowing the exhaust gases to expand into sound deadening material.
Tailpipe — This is often the only visible part of the entire exhaust system where the exhaust gases exit the vehicle into the air.