The winter time is when bad mufflers start to fall apart. Rust, road salt, and snow drifts all work together to deteriorate your muffler and poke holes in it. Once the muffler starts to break apart, it will get really loud and you'll need to replace it before you get a ticket. Replacing the muffler is something that many car owners who know how to set the car up on jack stands can do by themselves in an hour or so. If you own a 1997-99 Toyota Camry with a 2.2L engine, here is how you can replace the muffler.

Raise Backend of Car

Jack up the back end of the car and set it on jack stands. Don't forget to put chocks in front of the front wheels so the car doesn't roll forward off the jack stands while you are working.

Remove Damaged Muffler

The flange at the front of the muffler is connected to a flange on the long pipe that runs under the car. The flange and bolts will typically have a lot of rust on them. Spray the bolts down with a heavy coating of penetrating fluid to eat through the rust. Wait for about 15 minutes and try to loosen the nuts on the bolts with a socket and ratchet.

The nuts might strip because of the damage the rust has done to them. In this case, you'll have to cut the bolts to remove them. Use a handheld grinding wheel fitted with a cutting wheel to cut off the bolts if you can't unscrew them with the ratchet.

Take Muffler off the Hangers

Two hangers, one at the front of the muffler and one at the back, hold the muffler to the bottom of the Camry. Spray both hangers with penetrating oil to make them slippery. The hangers are rubber parts that have a hole in them that studs on the muffle slide through. The studs fit snugly into the hangers and you will need to use a long flathead screwdriver to pry them out. Remove the muffler once you take it off the hangers.

New Muffler

The original muffler part number for a Toyota Camry with a 2.2L engine is 17430-7A672. If you don't buy a muffler directly from a Toyota dealer, you need to be sure the replacement muffler matches up with the Toyota part number to make sure everything fits correctly.

Clean Flange

The flange on the long pipe will need to be cleaned so you get a good seal when you connect the flange on the new muffler to it. Take a wire brush and remove all the rust on the front of the flange and remove whatever may be left of the old gasket before you install the new muffler.

Install New Muffler

Put the studs on the muffler through the holes in the hangers. Line up the flanges and put the new gasket between them. Bolt the flanges together to finish. To learn more, speak with someone like Leo's Automotive.

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