A couple months ago, my 2000 Maxima with 68,000 miles start making
terrible clunking noises from the muffler area.

My head wasn't on straight that day and I took it over to Meineke. A pipe
was rusted out and hanging...they said even though the original stainless
steel muffler was fine, they had to replace the muffler to replace the
connecting pipe. I said "fine".

I know...dumb move in hindsight and I wish I would have taken it elsewhere.

Well the Meineke muffler was $220 or something like that and looks/works
fine.

However I swear I get 3-4 MPG less than I used to. Possible? I also got
the MAF sensor replaced in the same time period...

On Jan 2, 12:20*pm, pgg <papaNO_SP_AMgordygra... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
The muffler should have little/nothing to do with fuel economy. The
MAF however can have a major impact. Look to the MAF if you see
statistically significant change in mpg.

"dgeesaman (AT) gmail (DOT) com" <dgeesaman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Not possible.

Also the Maxima has an all St Stl exhaust system - you should be
contacting your local BBB if Mienake replaced something "rusted". A
bracket may have broken/corroded, but not a pipe in the exhaust sytem.

A bracket was indeed broken/corroded. He made the claim that the broken
bracket somehow caused the pipe to be unusable.

At the time I was stressed about other things in my life and didn't think.

This was a couple months ago...I doubt I can go back and get any
compensation. I spent ~ 330 for the new muffler and service work

Also what is not possible? The MAF affecting MPG or the exhaust affecting
MPG?

<dgeesaman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

On Jan 2, 12:20 pm, pgg <papaNO_SP_AMgordygra... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
The muffler should have little/nothing to do with fuel economy. The
MAF however can have a major impact. Look to the MAF if you see
statistically significant change in mpg.

What/where is a maf sensor?

I own a 95 max that has poor fuel economy.
Did reg. tune up

A muffler with the wrong size (capacity) or wrong diameter pipe will
affect more than fuel consumption, can even lead to engine overheating,
poor performance, etc.

Remember that for some engine conditions require back pressure in the
exhaust pipe and others require free flow.

pgg wrote:

You do bring up a point I had thought about and disregarded.

An overly restrictive muffler or some other clog could definitely
reduce power. But you will feel the loss in power, probably well
before you see a change in fuel economy. The OP described loss in
fuel economy only.

As for too little restriction, these cars don't have issues (aside
from emissions legality and sound level) when running straight pipe
exhausts. I believe the too little restriction thing is largely a
myth, in fact.

Dave

On Jan 3, 1:51*am, AS <do... (AT) spame (DOT) com> wrote:

There are systems that actually control the flow of gases in the muffler
to get the needed backpressure for some operating conditions. Not in
the 2000 Maxima, that i know of.


dgeesaman (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:

No One <noone (AT) home (DOT) now> wrote:

Must be a sad life - just sitting around stalking an obscure news
group - making none sense posts.