My car also had both the muffler and resonator but it was one long piece with no seperation between the muffler and resonator. Unless your car has had the exhaust system replaced in the past, I would think it's the same way.

My problem was that the weld on the pipe going into the rear muffler rusted through. If I'd caught it earlier, I could have had it welded.

I paid $412.55 for all the parts from the catalyic converter back. That included shipping from California to Arizona. This was from Caliber Motors who is a Mercedes dealer that will discount parts.

The resonator and the rear muffler arent one piece on my car... im just trying to figure out if the resonator is whats making the exhaust so loud or the rear muffler??

Just wanted to share my situation... I noticed my exhaust note was louder than normal, for a couple of weeks, and then suddenly the center muffler pipe cracked just short of where the pipe meets the rear muffler.
When this breaks, the front of my rear muffler dropped to the road, dragging along. Not that this is necessarily your problem, but this happened to me...

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

This is exactly what happened to me. It must be the weak link in the exhaust system.

Just had my local indie fit a dealer supplied exhaust to my 300E last week.

So quiet you would not believe, exactly what I wanted, it was expensive with all those fitting kit parts and brackets etc.., but if it lasts anything like the last one, then it's worth every penny.

I asked a few companies about stainless systems, but they want about 50% more than MB, and my mechanic reckons the stainless are noisier than OEM.

Cheers,

Richard

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1989 W124 300E
1991 R129 500SL