Dual exhaust

[JHZR2]

Hi,

My 83 300D is starting to get exhaust problems due to age, as evidenced by myself and also pointed out by the dealer. I have a few questions regarding the replacement:

-Do I need special pipes since its a diesel and runs hotter/dirtier then a gas? Or am I safe with good Stainless steel?

-Can I get a different brand dual outlet exhaust? I knwo the American pickup trucks with diesels often have huge exhaust pipes. The dodge ram 5.9 cummins must be 3" I dont see a problem having a second outlet on the exhaust.

-Whats the consensus on 1 or 2 mufflers? What if I get a real small, cheap, low restriction one for the first, and a good one with dual pipes from the second?

Any other reccomendations?
Thanks

JMH

[Capt Kirk]

Just get an OEM exhaust system.


Anything else will either make it sound funky or look funky

[andy]

JMH, There's alot you can do with your exhaust system. I tried a few things until I found what I liked. I have 2.25 inch pipe from the manifold back. I replaced the resonator(small muffler) with a Flowmaster 2 chamber delta flow muffler. That was a bit loud, sounded really neat though. So I added a small generic muffler out back to mellow things out. It sounds great now. Beefy, yet not too loud. I don't have stainless steel pipes. I don't think there will be a problem. As far as adding a second pipe, might be tough. There is not much room for that stuff under a 123. You could get a dual stainless tip. That would look cool. andy

[andy]

You could get an OEM sytem for about 4 times as much. What ever you do to your MB, Don't go overboard. Be subtle. Not tacky or funky. andy

[Capt Kirk]

Wow that was wrought with sarcasim.


We're talking about a Diesel Mercedes, not some damn riced out Honda. If you wanna make the nice diesel clatter into a clattering fart sound then by all means do it, thats the great thing about this country, people can go do stupid ass things and not be shot for it.

Ideally, you'd want the diameter of the exhaust system to be the same as the diameter of the outlet on the exhaust side of the turbocharger (or larger). However, I don't think a stock MB diesel is hurting for a larger exhaust. The OEM diameter system is probably adequate.

Also, playing around with different pipe diameters/mufflers could cause unpleasant resonation inside the vehicle or simply make it too loud.

But, yeah, the sewer pipes they're putting on turbodiesel pickups are really cool.

Aaron

[JHZR2]

Just a minute, I didnt want any goofy sounding rice rocket nmoise or anything obnoxious. I like the subtle diesel noise that comes from my car, I dont want to make it louder or anything, I just want the same and for it to be replaced as cheaply and easily as possible. When I meant dual exhaust, I specified it wrong. Im not talking duals liek youd have of an old chevelle ss 454, I mean a single muffler that has two ports going out. Lots of the MB cars have them.
My reasoning in this is that for whatever reason, unlike cars, having a big or huge tailpipe is good for diesel performance apparently. In a gas auto it will limit backpressure and torque will suffer, however for diesel pickups, you can get exhausts with a 4" tailpipe for optimal flow. In this spirit I figured they must put that second pipe onto a muffler for similar reasons, and it must be really good on a diesel, since they sell these systems, and the exhaust on say, a RAM 5.9L diesel is larger in diameter then the mullfler for an 8.0L gas engine.
Maybe Im wrong in this guess, but I certainly arent trying to do somethign tacky or stupid to the car that I very much enjoy driving in. Im not looking to race hondas on friday night and make obnoxious noises...

JMH

[Holson Adi]

The muffler for the 280 and 280E has two exhaust tips, I think. I'm not sure if it could be used with a diesel...

[Capt Kirk]

ahh, sorry about the misunderstanding there JHZR2. Either way my argument still stands.


I'm sure you could go mod a Diesel Muffler to take the tips off a gas mercedes.

I think they didn't use chrome tips is because there's a lot of soot in Diesel exhaust that will make the tips look pretty dirty pretty quick

[JHZR2]

Capt,

I understand your reasoning fully, and agree. Just looking to save a few bucks and gain a bit of performance if possible, but the OEM sound is important to me...

JMH

[Capt Kirk]

what exacly is the problem.


unless the pipe is broken into seperate pieces you can always have it welded

[JHZR2]

Well, The MB dealer said the pipe is starting to rust out as is the muffler. I looked under with a light and would have to agree. Looks like the muffler underside isnt too sound.
I didnt know that you could reweld mufflers to proper working condition, I can see patching in a pipe, but not a muffler. None of my or my parents' cars have needed new exhaust assemblies as far as I remember, so Im not very familiar with these things. The last time I remember having a problem was an old toyota my father had when I was really young that made an absolutely horrible sound because the muffler had a hole in it. DOnt know what he got done to it though, I was young.
No bad sounds in the MB, but like I said the rust is noticable, and since they said it was starting to look bad, I just figure Id make a plan so Ill be ready to get a new one sometime...
Thanks for your time,

JMH

[Capt Kirk]

yeah patching mufflers is common.

My Grandpa had to have his patched every so often (he had an 1980 250 in Hamburg, Germany, talk about rust)