How to Prolong the Life of your Car’s Exhaust

You’re enjoying a fun and leisurely drive with your car and suddenly, you hear a ruckus under the hood. Rattling and booming noises erupt from your muffler that shatter a peaceful drive. Once you hear those disturbances and see them for yourself, you’ll know that it’s not a common cold that can be resolved with a simple cough syrup. Nope, it’s an omen that your exhaust system needs some checking and perhaps replacing, too.

Replacing parts for your auto might be more expensive than you think, but you know what would be better? Maintenance. After all, prevention is better––and cheaper––than cure.

Sure enough, a couple of tips in lengthening the life span of your car exhaust system won’t hurt.

Give it some proper TLC by regular checking your exhaust system

If one part goes wrong, then everything can get affected and eventually causing a dent in your car’s performance. This means also providing attention to the mufflers and pipes that are connected to your exhaust.

Keep it clean

There are certain elements your exhaust system encounter that can later on be corrosive or harmful to its performance. Dirt and road salts (during winter) are just examples of those variables, so be sure to wash them away once in a while to prevent corrosion build-up.

In cleaning your car’s muffler, you can rely on some domestic supplies for an easy and simple clean-up. All you need is some rug or towel, water, and dish-washing soap, you can even include some polish to make it shine like new.

1. With a dry rag or towel, wipe off all the dirt and soot that you can see.
2. Mix a teaspoon of dish-washing to a quart of warm water and then, using a piece of cloth and this mixture, wash the outside of your muffler. The solution will be able to remove the unnecessary grease and stains that the cloth can’t reach.
3. When dry, you have the privilege of shining it up by applying polish whether it’s a chrome or aluminum polish depending on its material.

Warm it up good and long

Short trips without proper start-ups and being left unattended for a long time can quicken the life of your exhaust. When the muffler and pipes in your exhaust system can’t get hot enough to evaporate the moisture accumulated in your system, this can lead to the rusting of your exhaust’s metal components.

The same goes for keeping your car stacked up and unused, the quality of your exhaust will wither away. Its once sharp and reassuring performance can only turn blunt and disastrous.

One way or another, having a troubled exhaust system can be environmentally damaging and even illegal.

Having bad exhaust valves can also be a cause for unburned fuel and a fried up converter that can result to overheating.

So before that happens, take proper care of your exhausts and your whole exhaust system to avoid future dilemmas and continually enjoy problem-free car drives.