An odd thing happened on the way to the woods:

[Schattenjager]

The newly acquired '97 80 has suddenly gotten a bit louder in the exhaust department. Deeper - nicer - but the origins are unknown. I have heard no rattles, there are no holes in the exhaust - the sound comes OUT of the tail pipe. Power seems fine - coolant is not being consumed - driving temps are normal and there no leaks of any kind anywhere. A new OEM exhaust was put on in the last year and everything looks together and there is no shake to the exhaust by hand.

The increased volume is noticeable - a friend riding in the back seat thought I had gotten a performance muffler.

Any ideas on this? Concerning?

 

[adventureduo]

Did you ********** your cat or your muffler on a stump, rock etc?

 

[AndrewP]

Crack in the "Y" pipe just ahead of the cats?

 

[brentbba]

Did you ********** your cat or your muffler on a stump, rock etc?

x2

 

[Schattenjager]

No noticeable damage to the system - haven't been off road and the sound is most definitely coming out the tailpipe, not along the pipes. I'll run it by an exhaust shop this afternoon to double check.

 

[blupaddler]

Have you checked the resonator? The little soda can thingy on the end of the exhaust.
I had mine cut off after I put the aux tank and Kaymar bumper on b/c they hit too much.








Or maybe the 80 is just showing it's excitement having a new, loving owner.

 

[4Rescue]

Yeah having had something similar hapen a few times... I just keep thinking about the CAT. Sometimes a nice loud exhaust tone is the result of a CAT that's pooping it's internals and about to plug your exhaust system. Maybe not, but it's just where my brain goes when I hear your description.

In fact my truck is currently in getting this exact thing fixed.

Hope you figure it out before it leaves you hanging mate.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Schattenjager]

Problem got much worse today - could not climb i-70 over 50 MPH. Did a hot vacuum test and it shows either a sticking valve or clogged exhaust. All things considered - it's got to be the exhaust. I'll take it in to have a cat replacement tomorrow.

 

[a.mus.ed]

Lame, but at least it should be a quick easy fix. Mine are starting to go as well, I think. They're beginning to make some noise under load at about 2800 rpm.

 

[4Rescue]

Problem got much worse today - could not climb i-70 over 50 MPH. Did a hot vacuum test and it shows either a sticking valve or clogged exhaust. All things considered - it's got to be the exhaust. I'll take it in to have a cat replacement tomorrow.

That sounds like exhaust to me... It'll continue to get even worse till you can't do over say 5mph... Ask me how I know

As was just said. It's a simple, quick fix really.

Cheers

Dave

 

[knorrena]

Sounds like a bad cat to me

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Yup, definitely a bad cat. Had the same thing happen on my 94. Built up so much back pressure it blew a hose off the EGR and made a terrible whistling sound that corresponded with throttle. I thought maybe I'd blown a head gasket or something.

 

[Schattenjager]

It was the muffler. Seems a baffle came loose and flapped over to close off the flow. Cats looked great. Thankfully.

The little muffler shop here did not have a proper replacement, so they put in a straight pipe in leu of the muffler. I do not recommend this to anyone! Very loud. Getting fixed tomorrow! But the power is back!

 

[adventureduo]

Gotcha, well at least a muffler is cheaper than a cat. Glad you figured out what it was.