After 10 years and nearly 167K miles on my Max, the original exhaust has called it quits, and man is it loud. So far no complaints from neighbors, other than a few of my friends asking what's wrong w/ my Max. Here is a video showing the toll 10 years of MI winters has taken on the exhaust, as well as the underside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhHvOCSAUpE

As far as replacement goes, I am looking to keep the Max quiet as I plan to use it as a spare car. I have looked at rockauto.com and looking into getting the exhaust from there and having a muffler shop install it.

 

It looks like just your muffler is shot. If so get a 5th gen muffler.

 

It doesnt sound all that bad !!!!.......but if you like quiet, i suggest stock again. Maybe try the 5th gens like fanatic says.

 

i'll defintely look into the 5th gen muffler. here's a few pics of the rest of the exhaust in its current condition.



not sure if something at this connection looks split

 

That rust is nothing to worry about. Your referring to your exhaust bracket? It looks rusty and is probably really weak.

 

Your Y-Pipe and Cat don't look that bad, you pobably only have to change the B-Pipe and the muffler. Fairly easy job to do yourself.

 

Yep, that's it. Would I need to replace that asap, or is it one of those no-rush repairs?

 

I would replace it before it breaks or it will put a lot of stress on your flex section. As long as it's still holding the exhaust up your fine though. If you don't want to spend a lot of money I would just use a piece of round bar. If you buy the stock hanger you will have to buy a new gasket, The bolts/nuts may be a pain to remove depending on how long you have had your y-pipe on as well.
Stock hanger will cost about $50 the round bar will cost $5

 

That bracket is about $40 from worldpartsexpress.com. I'd replace it before it starts swinging around, damaging the flex section, and making nasty scraping noises.

It's a shame the guys down south have no idea what good stock exhaust parts are worth to us northern guys. They just throw away their parts when they buy aftermarket stuff.

Dave

 

My muffler is going out on my maxima as well. What's the advantage of getting a 5th generation muffler and where can one be found for a reasonable price???

 

163k here.....the outer shell of the muffler rusted away leaving the inner shell. I paid Midas $98 to weld a couple brackets back on 2 years ago, still seems to be ok except I think the welds broke and it rattles over bumps again....good luck! 10 years on original stuff ain't too shabby. My car is a spare also that does get driven 3-4 days/wk....(is that really a spare?)

 

that's pretty impressive for a stock muffler to last that long. mine is at 157K with the original muffler that came with the car when bought new, and it's in the same condition....LOUD! also, i live in wisconsin...known as salt world! looking to replace it with something quiet so i guess stock it is again.

 

I have my stock if u want it. Make an offer. See link in my sig.