roadfrog

If you came to check out some fancy new mufflers or exhaust, sorry.

No.....these are my mufflers which I removed in order to address a buzzing/rattle from the heat shields. When I removed the mufflers I was quite surprised to find this:






I only took a pic of just the one muffler, but the other looks the same. The rust and corruption was only on the top side of the mufflers, and could not be seen other than by removing them. The undersides were like new. To add insult to injury, they were full of water LOL.

The only bright side to this, was it allowed me to check out how the exhaust sounds with them removed. I WILL say that it sounds pretty cool, but not something I would want to listen to all day long. So no straight pipes for this ride.

So now I have two exhaust shop locally putting together an estimate to replace them. Unfortunately it will have to be custom as neither shop had any prices or availability on aftermarket (Borla, Flowmaster etc). I don't want anything loud or low restriction.

I welcome any feedback, especially from those who have replaced their systems.

Nospinzone

I am stunned. Apparently Lexus doesn't use stainless steel. My Infiniti Q45a had 180,000 miles and 16 years of New England salt filled winters on the same mufflers. My wife's Jag currently has 151,000 miles and 14 years and they are fine. I never expected to have this expense.

roadfrog

Apparently the only SS used is in the pipes. The muffs are definitely aluminized.

LordBowral

are you getting OE mufflers or custom made ? I tried custom and they didn't sound great so went back to originals

roadfrog

Custom. I specified that I wanted factory sound, so they'll be quoting me on OEM style. Factory muffs are nearly 1 grand and that's just the parts.

roadfrog

So THAT'S what my LS should sound like!! LOL.

I just got my car back this afternoon with a new set of mufflers. Soooo quiet. I guess I got my car with leaky mufflers when I bought it. I always thought it was quiet, but I suppose I didn't know any better as I had no other LS to compare it to. I can barely hear it running.

The shop installed Walker mufflers and the grand sum with taxes etc, was 400 bucks. Very pleased.

Again, on the muffler delete idea? No way. I drove on the freeway and around town all day yesterday and this morning, and I was ready to get my muffs put on ASAP. It was droning bad at low rpm (<2k). Sounded awesome at higher revs, but very loud.

greg3852

Well this thread sucks and is great all at the same time.

Sucks that the mufflers are not SS, because my car was originally from Maine and now resides in Mass. So its seen some tough winters like yours.

Great to know that replacements can be had for a great price. Thanks

peteybabes

LS430 quiet? i might be interested...

roadfrog

Actually we don't get real winters here. I live in the Pacific Northwest part of Canada. We haven't even had snow this Winter and I've been wearing shorts and tees for the last few weeks....we're an hour or two from Seattle. So, I can only imagine what those in snow and salt belts might be facing with these mufflers. However, my car was bought new and registered in Ontario where they do have salt and snow and long winters. It was there for a year and then moved to my area where it's been ever since (5 or 6 years).

Indeed. They installed Walker Sound FX aluminized mufflers. They should last 5 years or more. I had the option of SS for an extra 200 bucks, but didn't bother.

I just wonder how many other members here are driving around with blown out mufflers and don't know it? I wonder if there is enough clearance to throw a mirror up over them to check? Like I said, the visible areas of the muffler were in like new condition. Even two exhaust shops that checked them a couple of months ago (for the aforementioned buzzing/rattling), thought that they were good. There was a ton of water in both of the muffs when I removed them.

They had me pull the car out of the service bay and it wasn't until I saw steam coming from the tail pipes that I realized that the engine was already running. It's THAT quiet. Very happy.

CJITTY

Living in salt state before, the unlimited car washes I had with full undercarriage spray proved to be a lifesaver for my old Acura TL. I would go 3 or 4x a week on my way home from work when roads had brine or salt water on them and no sign of rust anywhere on that car. Paid $25 a month for unlimited washes

<CALayer: 0x158df220>

CRowe14

CJ, what would you recommend for people who don't wish to drive their cars through the wash stations that have undercarriage sprays but beat the hell out of the car with rotating cloth strips!?
Is there such a place/type of wash station I could be searching for that has undercarriage sprays but does not beat up on the car?

Doublebase

You could try the touch less car washes, they spray underneath and you car never gets touched by brushes or anything but soap and water. Of course it's not as good as hand washing, but in this cold weather, it seems to be pretty good.

Doublebase

I've always wondered what I would do when my mufflers went - because I had no intention of buying OE mufflers - so this thread is something I'll go back and look at when mine go bad. I can see how these mufflers would rot out, if you ever look at them the rear wheels are almost right in front of them and the tires throw a lot of stuff up on them. Not an ideal design.

Tec80

I would contact Lexus and send them the pictures. I'd be surprised if they don't offer to reimburse you, since this never should have happened.

Doublebase

His car is 7 years old, I don't think there is a car company in the world that would warranty a muffler for 7 years. I have a Honda Accord that I've owned for 15 years...it's on it's 4th muffler. And if it had dual exhaust it would be 8.