OEM parts

[TC Chris]

The local dealer tells me they can't get an original-equipment exhaust system for my Ranger any more. Does anybody know who has old Ford parts? (I haven't checked Rock yet). Or is there an alternative source for good exhaust system parts/The "muffler shops" sell crap so you have to come back every year for a different pipe. My 2nd Ranger system from Ford lasted 100K miles again.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Two things:

First, ask a muffler shop if any of the products they sell are stainless steel that should ensure some longevity.

Second, there are exhaust products that have lifetime warranties especially with mufflers which is the normal problem with aftermarket exhaust products not lasting.

Bill

[TC Chris]

the muffler shops sell those "guaranteed" mufflers but their pipes are made of old tin cans, and it turns into an annual ritual of replacing one pope, then the other, then the muffler... then repeat. Aargh!!

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

When I was restoring cars, we used Kepich Exhaust in Florida. Their exhaust systems came in three "flavors". Regular steel, aluminized steel and stainless steel. We used aluminized since stainless made a Buick nailhead engine sound tinny and raspy. Their exhaust systems were absolutely identical to the originals. Their resonators had the little bumps on the bottom and the "trash can" muffler for the rear was aluminum-looking, not black like most of the other shops sold. They also crimped the seams, like original, instead of just welding them. They were welded, but also crimped, so you got the best of both worlds. All the wrinkles in the bends were there and each system, even the complicated and PIA-mounting '62-'64 dual exhaust systems mounted like they were born there. I have a Kepick system on my Buick that I put there in 1995. It is as solid and pretty as it was the day I got it. One caveat with Kepick. They wrap their exhaust systems in miles of clear shipping tape, then wrap that in cardboard, then wrap that in miles of shipping tape. You have to dig thru the tape, then use lacquer thinner to get the tape residue off the pipes so it doesn't turn dark when the pipes get hot. But the result is well worth the extra work. I don't know if they are still in business or not, but there will be another source, I'm sure, if they aren't. Be sure to buy stainless steel exhaust clamps or they will rust, even the aluminized ones will rust if they get hot enough. Good luck.

[walyfd]

Try Waldron: https://waldronexhaust.com/

[TC Chris]

Try Waldron: https://waldronexhaust.com/

Sadly, my truck is too new for them....

Chris Campbell

[TC Chris]

When I was restoring cars, we used Kepich Exhaust in Florida.

Looks like they're belly-up.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

Too bad, they advertised in Hemmings for many decades, at least back to the late '70s.

[Motorola minion]

Rock is about the only choice. They do not sell OE mufflers for Subaru, as they are probably not available for a 12 year old car, but Walker does make replacements that fit.

After another patch-weld of a system on my wife's car, the garage we use patched it again, because the Walker "replacement" system was $370 for a SS muffler but the same tin can pipes.

That same garage put a Walker Turbo muffler on my 06 Tacoma 4.0 V6 and it sounds even better than the OE muffler did.

[TC Chris]

I want to have some time to figure out a durable exhaust option for the Ranger. So I crawled under it last week to see where the noise was coming from. It had gotten much worse after a 100 mile round trip to court in an adjacent county (Zoom was not allowed this time). It was the muffler. I used a length of plastic tubing like a stethoscope to figure out which rust spot was letting the noise out. I had a tube of the muffler-patch goo out in the garage. But it was old and solidified. Too late fr the auto parts shop. What to do? Well, how about concrete patching cement? So I mixed up a small batch of patching cement, using water and not the bonding liquid it calls for. The next day I flattened a tin can and stretched it over the repaired area, pulling it down tight with wire. I haven't improvised on an exhaust system like that in decades. Tonight I started the truck, half expecting the masonry repair to blow out first thing, but, it held! So now the immediate crisis has been chased back a few weeks and I can search for a solution at leisure.

By the way, I was reminded that when you hear a slight increase in exhaust noise, that's the time to deal with the problem. Don't wait to see if it really is getting noisier (of you think it is, it is). In sailing there's an old saying that if you're thinking about reefing, you should have done it half an hour ago. Reefing is reducing the size of the sails to compensate for increasing wind. Doing it makes the boat sail better and often faster as well. But it's a bit cumbersome, and there's always this notion that it's unmanly to seek comfort instead of challenging the weather (so wrong, but still...). And with exhaust systems, by the time they are obnoxious, you should have dealt with it last week.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

I still have a roll of that old fashioned sticky "muffler tape" but it may be fossilized now. Back in the day it used to work pretty well.

[TC Chris]

I still have a roll of that old fashioned sticky "muffler tape" but it may be fossilized now. Back in the day it used to work pretty well.

Mine was a one-part goo in a tube. It's likely that patching cement will be more durable!

Chris Campbell