Three Ways To Know If Your Car Needs Muffler Repairs
When it comes to vehicle maintenance, most people make the mistake of ignoring their mufflers. To most people, a damper is just a piece of the exhaust system. However, a vehicle's muffler plays two significant roles, namely minimizing the amount of noise coming out of the exhaust and ensuring gases get exhausted quickly so that the engine can take in fresh air to improve performance.
Based on the above description of the role of a muffler in your vehicle, it is clear to see how a malfunctioning/damaged muffler could affect your car. It is essential to ensure that you take your vehicle for muffler repairs whenever an issue with the muffler arises.
However, it can often be challenging to determine if your muffler needs repairs because it is located underneath your vehicle. As a result, you need to learn the various warning signs that indicate your muffler is damaged or malfunctioning. Here are three signs that let you know you need muffler repair services.
Unusually Loud Exhaust Noises
As mentioned earlier, one of the roles of a muffler is to minimize the engine noises coming out of your exhaust system. A damper does this by producing opposing sound waves that counter the sound waves produced by your engine. When the opposing sound waves interact with your engine's high-frequency sound waves, a canceling effect occurs. The canceling effect is just jargon for reducing the power of the sound waves from the engine. Thus, when the sound waves from the engine finally come out of the exhaust, they have less energy which means they are not as loud as they should be.
However, when your muffler gets damaged or starts malfunctioning, you will begin to notice the sounds from the exhaust getting louder and louder. When this happens, you need to get in touch with a muffler repair contractor to check it out.
Alternatively, when you hear a rattling sound from the exhaust system, it could be due to the muffler coming loose or cracking. Irrespective of the reason, you should take your vehicle for muffler repair service before the issue causes additional problems in the exhaust system.
Amount of Exhaust Water
Water in your exhaust is a normal by-product of hot gases from the engine cooling in the muffler. However, a damper has small holes that allow the water to drain away instead of accumulating in the muffler. However, it is customary to notice a few drops of water come out of the exhaust pipe when you start your car.
Nonetheless, when you notice a steady stream of water from the exhaust pipe, it means that the muffler is not adequately draining away water. As a result, water accumulates in the muffler, which is problematic because the damper is metallic, and thus the accumulation of water could lead to rusting.
Rusting leads to corrosion, and once your muffler is severely corroded, in most cases, you have to replace it with a new one. Thus when you notice excess water coming from your exhaust, the chances are that corrosion has blocked the holes that drain water from the muffler. Thus, it is a clear sign that you need urgent muffler repair services.
Reduced Performance and Fuel Economy
As mentioned earlier, the muffler also contributes to the vehicle's performance by facilitating the quick dispensations of gases from the engine to allow the intake of more fresh air for combustion. However, when your muffler starts to rust, a buildup of rust inside the muffler chamber affects the flow of exhausted gases.
As a result, the engine cannot take in an adequate amount of fresh air due to the buildup of unexhausted gases in the exhaust system. As a result, you should notice reduced performance in the vehicle and poor fuel economy.
Though you may be tempted to blame your engine for the poor performance and fuel economy, it would be best also to have a muffler repair technician inspect the condition of your muffler and conduct the necessary repairs.
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