Mark DiSilvestro |
02-13-2014 01:21 PM |
The gaskets rarely fail. Usually on the OE-style exhaust, the pipes will rust where there's a flange or hanger-bracket welded to them, or the muffler will rust at the seams. Or the front header pipe will fail at the flex-joint.
I just replaced the complete system back of the header-pipe on a '95 V6 LE, because the flange connecting the rear muffler assy to the center pipe/resonator assy had almost completely rusted away. Sadly, except for the flange area, the whole system was still in pretty good shape. But the way the pipes and flange were designed, there just wasn't a practical way to splice the original parts back together.
By the way, I did a muffler replacement on a '90 V6 Camry a few years ago, and installied a single tailpipe muffler for a 4-cylinder version. The NAPA parts book showed all the rear exhaust parts were the same on the V6 and 4-cylinder except the V6 muffler had two tiny tailpipes instead of a single large one. Saved about $100 and the car ran just fine. Though the tailpipe didn't look so 'deluxe' anymore, the owner didn't care!
Unfortunately, I couldn't get away with that on the '95 because Toyota redesigned the pipes on the later cars so everything was different between the V6 and 4-cylinder.
Happy Motoring, Mark
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