New muffler issue

[motley1987]

I put on a Flowmaster 50 muffler using the stock exhaust and just swapping out the muffler. When I drove back to work I could smell something weird and I just figured it was paint or something else burning off and it would stop. After I got home I checked it out again and it smelled even worse and the muffler, connectors and clamps felt like they were a few minutes from bursting into flames. Is it an issue with the muffler I got not working with the H3? I figured any muffler would work they would just either sound different, and let air flow through better. I took it off for now until I find out what's going on.

Ben

 

[Best4x4]

Well if it's in the OEM location make sure the trailer wiring harness didn't get close to it and melt. New mufflers take a few good drive cycles to burn in. Until then it's normal for them to smell. When I replace the muffler on my wife's H3 I'm moving it to where the resonator used to sit, and then I'm just going to have it ran out to the right rear and dropped. I have that setup on my Alpha and it works great!

 

[rollerlocked]

when I had a magnaflow muffler put on mine , it was the same issue a burning smell, and I think was the coating off the rear bumper that the smell was coming from , the smell went away after a week and did not seem to do any damage to whatever it was melting.

 

[motley1987]

Thanks for the info! What I failed to mention is that one of the couplers gave way and I drove with one end of the muffler scraping the ground for about three miles at 65-70 mph. I didn't realize it until I got off the exit. Could that have caused the whole muffler to get that hot? I wouldn't have thought that could cause it to get that hot until I got to thinking about it last night.

 

[alrock]

That could cause the muffler to get hot, dragging it for three miles. What failed - bolted connection or a rubber hangar? Either way you're looking at a massive install fail. The hangars shouldn't be stressed to the point of breaking.

 

[Best4x4]

Or a really poor weld job!

 

[motley1987]

The clamp I used to hold the connector to the stock exhaust pipe let go. I thought I tightened it enough but I guess not. Luckily the other end held or it could have been a mess behind me.

 

[alrock]

Yep, you got lucky though at least there's no dashcam video from the guy behind you on Youtube yet

 

[zackcrum]

Yep, you got lucky though at least there's no dashcam video from the guy behind you on Youtube yet

Haha I can see it now. "hummer things it's jeep and loses parts on highway"

 

[Best4x4]

I'd go by a local muffler shop and have them weld it. Those clamps never provide a 100% leak proof seal.

 

[motley1987]

Haha, I'd be curious to see a video of it. I thought I heard something and twice looked in my side mirror and didn't see anything. I called a local shop and I'm hoping to get it there tomorrow to have it welded on.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Well if it's in the OEM location make sure the trailer wiring harness didn't get close to it and melt. New mufflers take a few good drive cycles to burn in. Until then it's normal for them to smell. When I replace the muffler on my wife's H3 I'm moving it to where the resonator used to sit, and then I'm just going to have it ran out to the right rear and dropped. I have that setup on my Alpha and it works great!

one of my next upgrades is removing the magnaflow exhaust and the flattened pipes - then replacing it with one exhaust to the side. I do wonder what the motor will sound like with real exhaust on it, I can't figure why magnaflow did a resonator and a muffler for their system.... does the 5.3 sound that bad?

 

[CaseyS]

Well if it's in the OEM location make sure the trailer wiring harness didn't get close to it and melt. New mufflers take a few good drive cycles to burn in. Until then it's normal for them to smell. When I replace the muffler on my wife's H3 I'm moving it to where the resonator used to sit, and then I'm just going to have it ran out to the right rear and dropped. I have that setup on my Alpha and it works great!

I'm thinking of doing the same thing with a right rear exit and upsizing to 3" Do you have a picture of that setup on your Alpha?

 

[Best4x4]

I can take a few pics later on today. When I bought my Alpha someone had already deleted the rear muffler and I loved how it sounded, but when I had rear passengers and I gassed it they complained it was to loud so I had the resonator removed, and a magnaflow muffler installed in it's place. It clears up A LOT of room under the rear of the H3, and I'm going to fab some ammo cans under there to hold straps or trail spares freeing up some room in the back of the H3.

The Magnaflow was pretty quiet at first, but once it broke in I like how it sounds. Quiet when you need it to be, but when you step on it, it sounds great. Probably one of the reasons I have been getting 12MPG lately lol