Yesterday I had a towbar put on my 2001 TJ exec. Apparently the muffler (or part of the exhaust system) had to be lowered and doing so has resulted in some damage to the muffler/exhaust and now my car is bloody loud.

Whilst I'm PO'd that I gave my car in one condition and had it returned in a different one, I don't really want to get into a discussion about blame, they should fix it etc, because it's not likely that they'll ever be held accountable and it's probably not worth expending energy attempting to do so.

I believe it is the rear muffler that needs replacing, and this cost should be about $200 - happy to hear opinions on that.

I was researching the interweb and came across a few sites, discussions here etc, that suggest upgrading the exhaust to increase engine output, improve fuel consumption, towing capacity etc.

With the upcoming replacement cost, I was thinking that it may be an opportunity to upgrade the whole system to obtain those benefits. I would like the car to be as quiet as possible though. Any thoughts on cost to upgrade and if it's worthwhile?

Cheers and many thanks

Happy Dude

There's a Lukey bolt-on unit for the sedan, I think its the AL4-5597, which is essentially the same as the muffler on the TJ Sports - a bit less restriction (therefore a bit more performance) and a bit more noise to match but quite tame. They used to be not much more than $200, but have no idea of current availability or price.

Replaced my TJ rear muffler recently, simple bolt on job. $179 for the part, Walker brand, no idea of the model number. Same sound as stock.

The original had holes in the pipes at the bends, rest of the pipe was mostly paper thin. If yours was like that any disturbance would have finished it off, so don't blame the guy who did the tow bar. lol

If you DIY a standard rear muffler section rather than go the whole way, you will see probably what I mean about the pipe weakening. If you do go Walker (= Lukey, I think), you will need 3 bolts, nuts and washers. The original has 3 nuts welded to the flange on the muffler side, the Walker one doesn't have those. Spray some lube on the three rubber hangers and they will slide off easily.

PS. I also did the middle section, as the car ran over something which knocked the front resonator right off the pipe. Worth checking the condition of that part. I ended up with a Redback unit, same price.
No heat shields on either of the new bits, and the originals can't be transferred because the new bits are not the same layout.

Not too bad, cat back standard bits for a total of $358 and an hour or two of labour.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Happy Dude