Exhaust baffle came undone....

[spaztek24]

Hello all, my second time posting and I've only owned the car for 2 whole weeks!

Driving my 2004 xc today, and getting some strange looks from everyone passing me on the highway, I came to realize there was a large flowing mane of what appeared to be gray hair flying out from my exhaust pipe! Come to realize it was fiberglass, and the result of a baffle from within the exhaust system coming undone.

Bought the car used from a dealer, who is not honoring it under the 30 day warranty since the entire exhaust system (aside from the manifold) does not fall under the warranty terms. Sigh.....just my luck.

Has anyone experienced the failure and/or replacement of this part of the exhaust, and if so, how costly is it? I am just scraping by as a newly single mum so avoiding any necessary surprise expenses is my goal. Can it be driven safely without the baffle, as it seems to be installed there for noise-reducing purposes only??

Thanks for any input here!

-Stacey

[RockitShip]

Eh. Get a Magnaflow, or Remus, etc., etc., (cheap/decent muffler) and have it installed at a place like Midas. done. cheap.

Or... get the one from Volvo if that floats your boat (excellent quality I'm sure, but expensive, but then have it installed at Midas or other muffler shop).

In the meantime, maybe give a haircut, it doesn't hurt anything other than being louder.

[JRL]

If you mean the center (middle of car) resonator, yes they can rust and split apart.
Best (and cheapest) bet is to cut it all off/out weld a straight pipe in it's place.
Hardly any louder, whaty ou will get is a VERY slight little "purr" at idle, not much more.
You should be able to do this for $75 or so plus it actually should run a bit better with less restrictiveness in there

[Willy]

Is there fiberglass (or any other damping material) inside the resonator?
Willy

[JRL]

Another Jesus H Christ (seem to be a few today)![sly]:(
If you're replacing it with a pipe or another resonator, why do you care what's in there???
There is no Volvo replacement, so you have a choice, try to find another resonator that will fit (probably difficult to find) or just cut it off and weld in a straight pipe (EASY)!
Trust me, the ever so slight sound difference will not bother you or anyone [thumbup]
I can safely guarantee that

[spaztek24]

Thank you everyone. I am very happy to know that it is only there for the ear-pleasing value and not an imperative purpose.

I have owned a lot of used cars and never once experienced anything like this. I had all kinds of theories about the long Crystal-Gale-like hair flowing from my rear end (hee-hee). Did I run over a horse? Or Grandma? Did a mouse that lived near a hair salon create a nice nest in there? I actually lost sleep over this :)

My next stop will be the discount muffler shop to see what they can do about putting a straight pipe in it's place. Until the next episode...

[JRL]

They rot out in snow and salt country after 8-10 years
That's the first piece of the V70 exhaust to fail, that and possibly the tailpipe

[spaztek24]

Well it is blizzard country up here in NH. Lots of salt, sand and snow to ruin stuff. I do love the car but I hope it treats me better in the few years to come. It's the only wagon I could find with the 3rd seat (another project I have to attempt tackling) and it's a sharp looking ride for a wagon.

[Willy]

If you're replacing it with a pipe or another resonator, why do you care what's in there???
I'm just being curious, it is in my nature :o
Seriously, a resonator should not contain any damping material but should "kill" certain sound waves by reflection,
effectively nulling them out. This is why I think that a resonator containing fiberglass isn't a resonator at all and
that it can possibly interfere with the flow of the exhaust gasses as was intended in the design of the car.
And that is why I wondered if the fiberglass exiting the exhaust pipe came from the resonator at all.
Willy

[JRL]

i don't believe there is fiberglass anywhere but hey, anything is possible
Before the resonator all there is is the cat converter

[Skater]

Another Jesus H Christ (seem to be a few today)![sly]:(
If you're replacing it with a pipe or another resonator, why do you care what's in there???


I guess he is just double checking and curious. If there is no fiberglass in the resonator like you stated, then where did it come from, think of that? Motorcycles have fiberglass in their end cans, but do cars? I have heard of aftermarket glass pack mufflers, but does Volvo put them on as OEM?

Maybe a mouse built a home in there before Stacey bought it.

[Willy]

I would guess that, contrary to the resonator, the rear muffler can contain some damping material
and that this is the device the hairy stuff came from. As far as I know, only the outer shell of the
rear silencer is stainless steell, so it is probably not impossible that the inner parts fall victim to rust.
Willy