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Car Exhaust Questions and Answers - This category contains featured questions
as examples. They relate to most vehicles.
Question: 2004 Toyota Camry_mileage: 40,000. When I am idling at a red
light, my car shakes and makes a noise. I think the muffler might be loose because
I scraped the ground the other day and it didn't start acting like this until after
that happened. Also when I crank my car it revs up loud and it didn't do that either
before I scraped.
Answer: The problem you described is undoubtedly caused because you scrapped
the bottom of your car damaging your exhaust system. The oxygen sensor is located
in the exhaust system and it probably is damaged also.
Question: 1999 Ford Explorer 5.0 mileage: 80,000. Dear Sir: The truck is very
well maintained, since I use it to pull my boat and race car. Although overall it
is a good truck and reliable, I have encountered a problem that I am not sure how
to solve. The truck has an exhaust leak, which came from a faulty or cracked exhaust
manifold on the right side. I have replaced the manifold and figured that would
be the cure. Yes, indeed it was, but I encountered a second leak which appears to
come from the front of the exhaust manifold. I replaced the gasket w/ a gasket kit,
the leak quieted down but you can still hear a small leak. It appears to be coming
from under the intake manifold or near it on the right side. Do you have any ideas
what can possibly cause such leaks?
Answer: Check the air injection
tube in the back of the engine as they have a tendency to rust out.
Question: 1999 Geo Metro mileage: 128,000. I'm hearing loud exhaust noise
from the front of the car. The down pipe, converter and all other components are
either new or clean & solid. I'd swear this is coming from the spring-loaded coupling
between the down pipe and manifold. Does the gasket in there routinely disintegrate?
When I had the converter loose to put in a new resonator section I noticed that
the whole catalytic assembly swung mighty easily. Could my problem be a leak at
that gasket after only 58,000 miles?
Answer: Your problem could be a leaky gasket. Replacing it should cure
your exhaust leak.
Question: 1999 Subaru Loyale mileage: 84,000. The person in the
car behind me stopped me to tell me there was "fluid" dripping from my tail pipe.
Once I got home I could not tell what it was since it had stopped. What could
it have been?
Answer: It is normal for a car to drip some fluid out of the tailpipe
when first started and for several minutes afterwards. The fluid is condensation
(water) that occurs. Sometimes, it can pick up some black soot from the tailpipe,
which would give it a dark color.
Question: 2002 Toyota 4 Runner mileage: 32,000. Having some trouble
with an exhaust leak.... found some epoxy stuff that would hold to 600 degrees.
Well that is all fine and dandy except that the stuff turned to dust when the exhaust
got hot. So...what do you recommend for a solution to the exhaust leak?
Answer: Replacing the leaking exhaust pipe gaskets should solve your problem.
Question: 2001 Nissan Quest mileage: 50,000. I have a perplexing
question about ignition and tailpipe smoke. About half of the time, the motor starts
normally after a 2 second or so turnover. The rest of the time, the motor
starts what I would call extremely quickly (almost immediately after I turn the
key), with a "clicking" sound and quite visible tailpipe smoke. When it starts
normally, there is no smoke. What could cause this? The Nissan dealer thinks I am
crazy!
Answer: What you are experiencing with your car is normal. The "smoke"
is steam from condensation in the exhaust system.
Question: Can you explain emission factors and their effects out the exhaust
pipe?
Answer: Gasoline is made up of hydrocarbons. When it is "burned"
in an engine, the heat and oxygen form new gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons etc. These are the "emissions" that come out
the tail pipe.
Question: 2001 Nissan Altima mileage: 80,000. I can't pass emissions.
Limits are HC 220, CO 1.20. I read HC 318, CO 5.63. Airflow meter & ISC read ok.
Timing is ok. Valve job two yrs ago (broken belt). O� sensor 1 yr ago. Car runs
ok. HELP!
Answer: The reasons for the high emission are numerous. The
list starts with a malfunctioning catalytic converter, a faulty engine management
computer system to a "tired" engine with excessive blow by and using oil.
Question: 1999 Subaru Vitara, miles: 56,000. A puff of white
smoke or steam comes from the tail pipe. After awhile it goes away. Is this something
I should worry about?
Answer: If your car is not losing coolant, or if it does not puff white
smoke while at normal operating temperatures, it is okay.
Question: 2001 Dodge Caravan, miles 56,000 Where is the O2 sensor located
at on a with a V-6 engine? How hard will it be to replace by myself?
Answer: The oxygen sensor is located in the exhaust system, either the
exhaust manifold or the exhaust pipe very close to the manifold. They are very easy
to change if done with the engine cold. Un-plug the wires and unscrew the sensor.
Be sure to put anti-seize compound on the threads of the new sensor before replacing.
Question: 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, miles: 134,000 with Flow Master
2 1/2-inch mufflers and it is just too loud. How could I make it quieter?
Answer: The exhaust system in question is designed for performance proposes
not noise cancellation. There are a couple of alternatives. 1. You can remove system
to replace with stock application, 2. Try replacing the muffler with a different
quieter performance muffler.
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