2002 Volkswagen Golf exhaust inspection

Tiny
SLURPYGIRL
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
I took my car to shop because I thought I heard a noise coming from muffler but wasnt sure. Come to find out I needed 2 mufflers and had them replaced. My quiestion is since the exhaust manifold, cat. Converter, muffler and pipes is you exhaust system and you have to make any repair\s to this sysytem dont you have to check to makle sure its running properally besides just doing a visual. Since all these parts controll your emmissions besides just looking or hearing it. Do you just put mufflers on a car and assume that everything is working right.
how can you know that that the cat, converter is bad if its controll by sensors. Regardless of a part has to be replace it still needs to be tested to make sure the hole system is wiorking prperally. Please define what it means to to check each system part to insure it working properally and controlling your emmissiins.
Monday, April 21st, 2014 AT 10:00 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
Your post is hard to read but I DO understand you're asking about testing for proper operation. That is done by the car, not the mechanic. '96 and newer vehicles have the "OBD2", (on-baord diagnostics, version 2), emissions system. It has an oxygen sensor after each catalytic converter that tells the Engine Computer how the converter is working. There's two parts to the emission control system. The first part calculates the perfect amount of fuel to go into the engine for any set of conditions. The second part is the catalytic converter that cleans up what occurs in spite of the first part.

The muffler has nothing to do with emissions. It's job is to quiet the horrendous noise the engine makes. Replacing the muffler won't have any effect on the rest of the system.

Often by the time a muffler has rusted through, other parts are just as bad, so it's common to need more parts than just the muffler. Some manufacturers weld the pipes and muffler together. That makes it much more difficult to replace individual parts. Most mechanics will opt to replace numerous parts in that case because it is faster for them and less expensive in the long run for you.

When a leaking part is replaced, ... The muffler in this case, ... The mechanic is supposed to inspect the rest of the system for leaks because the goal is to have no leaks when the job is done. If your mechanic achieved that goal without selling you additional parts, you should thank him, and perhaps take him a box of cookies, (chocolate chip)!
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Monday, April 21st, 2014 AT 3:15 PM

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