Workhorse 8.1 muffler?

[Tom N]

During my annual PA state inspection yesterday the mechanic told me I may have a muffler going bad. Surprised me as I have not seen any reference to muffler problems. I haven't taken a look at it. The motorhome is 4+ years old with 14,000 miles. I'm the original owner.

I have dual exhaust and the muffler is on the passenger side.

Has anyone replaced a muffler on the 8.1 Workhorse??

Anyone have Workhorse or after market parts numbers, pricing info or a supplier?? I did check Oemy's website and he has nothing on the mufflers.

I did a search on the iRV2 Workhorse chassis forum and found nothing.

-Tom

[mfire1339]

Check the state and federal emissions laws. If it was not damaged and just failed I believe it is covered. I would get workhorse involved.

Mike

[Joe-K]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom N Anyone have Workhorse or after market parts numbers, pricing info or a supplier?? -Tom

Tom, Iarrapino Muffler shop in Butler put a muffler on for you. They have the equipment to custom bend any required pipes and do any mufflers from small cars to large truck. Last summer they did an entire exhaust build for a friends rig from his headers back. He was converting from a single exhaust to duals and they did the whole job fairly inexpensively.

[wa8yxm]

The reason you have not seen any threads on muffler problems is.. Well.. Sometimes mufflers go bad. They are hanging where several thigns can damage them

Though 4 years by 14,000 miles sounds a bit young to be going bad to me

I don't think it's unreasonable

[JonBrazel]

If interested in upgrading, we have found the best muffler to use is an AeroTurbine direct replacement muffler. Better airflow without a large increase in noise. We have them in stock, they are $175 each.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom N During my annual PA state inspection yesterday the mechanic told me I may have a muffler going bad. Surprised me as I have not seen any reference to muffler problems. I haven't taken a look at it. The motorhome is 4+ years old with 14,000 miles. I'm the original owner.

Tom, I'm older and have 4 times more mileage and I believe my mufflers are doing just fine.

I'd get a second opinion .....

Now those Aero Turbine units look impressive.

[RetPay2]

Tom

The muffler on your MH performs the same function as that a of any muffler, to quiet the exhaust to State (or local) standards. They have nothing to do with the emission system, and I'm guessing that any warranty is fairly limited. Is yours too loud to meet PA limits. Did the inspector check it with a db meter properly, or is he just guessing. Is it holed or falling apart (rusted)? Look and listen yourself, and then discuss this with the State Police, or whoever oversees the inspection system.

As far as age or milage is concerned, neither directly relates. Mufflers rust out (unless its stainless) primarily from moisture inside. Start a cold engine/exhaust system and let it idle for a long period, and do it over and over again, sure death for the exhaust system. It takes an engine under load to heat the exhaust and drive the moisture/water out. It takes a long time to heat the muffler due to the distance from the heat source. Tail pipes usually go first.

Even better for the engine to drive under a light load within a minute or two to warm it up quicker and lessen moisture being driven into the crankcase. Even around town driving in cold weather is not good, of course sometimes you have no choice. Highway driving is good for exhaust systems.

If you use a muffler shop to bend pipe, make sure that they can bend without reducing the pipe diameter in the bend area.
greatly reatricts flow.

Good luck.

[DAN L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom N During my annual PA state inspection yesterday the mechanic told me I may have a muffler going bad. Surprised me as I have not seen any reference to muffler problems. I haven't taken a look at it. The motorhome is 4+ years old with 14,000 miles. I'm the original owner. I have dual exhaust and the muffler is on the passenger side. Has anyone replaced a muffler on the 8.1 Workhorse?? Anyone have Workhorse or after market parts numbers, pricing info or a supplier?? I did check Oemy's website and he has nothing on the mufflers. I did a search on the iRV2 Workhorse chassis forum and found nothing. -Tom

the workhorse chassis manual on page 4 states that the "noise emissions warranty on vehicles over 10k# is warranted for the life of the chassis". i would think that should cover both mufflers.
plz keep us posted on developments.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetPay2 The muffler on your MH performs the same function as that a of any muffler, to quiet the exhaust to State (or local) standards. They have nothing to do with the emission system, and I'm guessing that any warranty is fairly limited.

RetPay, On a Workhorse Chassis everything from the gas cap to the tail pipe that has anything to do with providing a path for fuel or routing the exhaust by products of the combustion process is indeed covered under terms specified in the emission control warranty. It's not "just" a muffler.

[RetPay2]

Lots of luck getting EPA or anyone else to enforce any 8 year/80,000 mile warranty on the exhaust system. Workhorse customer service says its a standard chassis item, and so does EPA. Same with air cleaners, even changing sparkplugs to a non-mfgr specified plug. (OK, technicallly, changing the plugs can bring up warranty resistance if the engine fails or doesn't pass a CARB exam). Only exception is the cat converter. If the muffler was EPA regulated, then any aftermarket part would be illegal unless it was epa certified, that includes aetoturbine, banks, etc. But, remove the cat unit, or replace it with a muffler or pipe, then and pass state inspection? NOT. Take the muffler off, you will still pass the emissions part of the inspection. One could argue that the belt driving an air pump on an older vehicle is an emission item, but that won't hold a drip of water.

My advice stands, if you really have an issue regarding a questionable inspection, talk to the authorities, after you have done your homework. Been there, done that, many times.

[depchief]

Tom Check page 4 of the WH chassis guide paragraph covering EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEM WARRANTIES. You should be covered, check with the WH dealer.

[RetPay2]

The limited warranties cover defects in material and workmanship. Because of an iffy muffler, I discussed mufflers with WH customer service and a trustworthy dealer, who also verified with WH, over four years old, forget about it. Proving a defect in materials and workmanship, if its intact, will be like p...ing into the wind. If someone spends a lot of time and effort and convinces WH to shell out anyway, more power. I would forget about it, buy one of the good aftermarket high flow mufflers, (what I did), save money and time in the long run, and save my hands from soreness from a lot of useless handwringing. These are not brakes.

I was incorrect regarding time periods for heavy vehicle federal warranty mandates, as was pointed out.

Again, after reading posts about cooling systems, I will reiterate, idling a cold engine to full warmup is really bad for your engine and exhaust system, moreso in cold weather. Light loads will do the trick. Your entire drive train is designed to run hot (not overheated).

Happy Mothers Day to all those who fit the description

[dieselclacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by depchief Tom Check page 4 of the WH chassis guide paragraph covering EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEM WARRANTIES. You should be covered, check with the WH dealer.

TomN, I agree with depchief, the EPA takes mandated federal emisssion warranties on motor vehicles very seriously, Your unaltered exhaust system is covered under this warranty.

Dieselclacker

[Tom N]

I'll probably contact a Workhorse service center later this summer and ask about replacement under the emissions warranty. I may be at the Winnebago factory in a few weeks. The muffler is not leaking but my mechanic said it looked like he could poke his finger through it.

-Tom