I have a 1983 300D-T that has been kept in the garage for most of its life so it hasn't really been abused too hard by the weather. My questions is, do the exhaust systems ever die in these cars? I drive it every day so if the mufflers have been slowly deteriorating, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Should I change the mufflers? Would it make a difference? Car seems kind of loud but maybe that's because there's no hood pad in there yet. Who knows. It's 18 years old with 123,000 miles on it. Thanks

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

They don't "die" so to speak, but on diesels of this age, the pre-muffler and muffler fill up with carbon gunk. Also, the mufflers have a tendency to rust themselves apart. This could add some more resonance, most noticeable at idle if you stand toward the rear of the car.

In Texas where no salt is rarely used on the winter roads, they do live forever. I have peered into the muffler on my half million mile 240D, the original muffler by the way, and there is no "gunk buildup". If they rust out it will be from the outside in, not the other way around.

In the days of leaded gas, exhaust systems would get to a point of disintegration by the lightest bump after just a few years. Another thing tha I believe adds to this is the coating processes that they now use.

Have a great day,

Alex:

They do indeed die, eventually. Pretty expensive to replace, but then the replacement (MB!) will last as long as the original.

I will have to replace the exhaust on my '72 220D if I keep it -- the front muffler has been replaced by a straight pipe, and there is a hole in the front pipe, getting pretty loud. However, this old thing has at least 160000 miles on it, and is nearly 30 years old!

Do not get a "cheap" aftermarket, go for the original stainless steel. The aftermarkets will die in a few years, and aren't much cheaper than the factory ones.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

But do they die as the result of anything other than rust? I inspected my mufflers and they do not have any rust on them. So can I assume that they're fine?

Alex

__________________
1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside