Your car's exhaust system
carries away the gases created when the fuel and air are burned in the
combustion chamber. These gases are harmful to humans and our environment.
Frequent checks of your exhaust system is a must to provide for you and
your family's safety. Make sure there are no holes in the exhaust
system or in the passenger compartment where exhaust fumes could enter.
Let's begin by listing the parts of the exhaust system and their functions.

• Exhaust manifold: The exhaust manifold
  attaches to the cylinder head and takes each cylinders exhaust and combines
  it into one pipe. The manifold can be made of steel, aluminum,
  stainless steel, or more commonly cast iron.
• Oxygen sensor: All modern fuel injected
  cars utilize an oxygen sensor to measure how much oxygen is present
  in the exhaust. From this the computer can add or subtract fuel
  to obtain the correct mixture for maximum fuel economy. The oxygen
  sensor is mounted in the exhaust manifold or close to it in the exhaust
  pipe.
• Catalytic converter: This muffler
  like part converts harmful carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons to water
  vapor and carbon dioxide. Some converters also reduce harmful
  nitrogen oxides. The converter is mounted between the exhaust
  manifold and the muffler.
• Muffler: The muffler serves to quiet
  the exhaust down to acceptable levels. Remember that the combustion
  process is a series of explosions that create allot of noise.
  Most mufflers use baffles to bounce the exhaust around dissipating the
  energy and quieting the noise. Some mufflers also use fiberglass
  packing which absorbs the sound energy as the gases flow through.
• Exhaust pipe: Between all of the above
  mention parts is the exhaust pipe which carries the gas through it's
  journey out your tail pipe. Exhaust tubing is usually made of
  steel but can be stainless steel (which lasts longer due to it's corrosion
  resistance) or aluminized steel tubing. Aluminized steel has better
  corrosion resistance than plain steel but not better than stainless
  steel. It is however cheaper than stainless steel.
  

Common Problems:

Well the worst enemy of your exhaust
system is corrosion.... or more commonly known as rust. Rust is
caused by moisture reacting with the iron in the steel and forming iron
oxide. Moisture, or water vapor is present in the exhaust as a by-product
of combustion and the catalytic converter. Moisture can also come
from the outside in the form of rain.
Short trips in your car can shorten the life
of your exhaust system. When you shut down your engine whatever water
vapor is in the pipes condenses and turns back into a liquid. On
a short trip the water never has a chance to get hot enough to turn back
into water vapor and just stays in the system and rusts away the pipes.
If you drive for short distances consider replacing your exhaust system
with stainless steel when the plain steel one rusts through. If
you drive more than 15 miles at a time then you should not have to worry
about this.
If you live in an area which uses salt on the
roads in the winter time, make sure to wash the underside of you car with
water every few weeks. Salt speeds up the corrosion process and
getting it off as soon as possible will help stop the corrosion.
Make sure you run the engine after washing to drive off all of the water
on the pipes.

Noticing a decrease in your
gas mileage? Your oxygen sensor could be going south on you.
As time goes on the oxygen sensor begins to wear out and becomes less
accurate. This sometimes results in a rich fuel mixture where your
engine burns more fuel than is needed. Most of the time your
check engine light will come on and alert you to a failing oxygen sensor.
I suggest changing the oxygen sensor every 60,000 miles just to be safe.
Even though your check engine light might not be on, you could be using
more gas than is needed. Pay a few bucks and change the sensor,
your wallet will thank you when you have to buy less gas down the road.

The next part in line to
go is the muffler. Most of the time mufflers rust through and need
to be replaced. There are allot of options out there for replacement
mufflers. Some cheap and some expensive. It holds true.....
you get what you pay for. If you plan on keeping your car for any
period of time, spend the extra cash and get an OEM muffler or a high
quality name brand muffler.

On rare occasions the catalytic
converter will become clogged and need to be replaced. Symptoms
include loss of power, heat coming from the floor of your car, glowing
red converter or a sulfur smell. Never let a mechanic tell you that
you can do without the catalytic converter. Removing this component
is illegal in most states and can lead to a hefty fine to the government
if you are not careful.

That's about it for
the exhaust system, just remember that rust is the biggest enemy to your
exhaust system. Take the above mentioned steps and your exhaust
system will last a long time.

Helping your car breath better can lead to better performance and fuel economy. Breathe easy with superior service by Majestic Car Care Service. With continuous specials on exhuast systems and service you can't go wrong.

source: www.AutoEducation.com