What is an exhaust system?

The exhaust system is made up of several components that work together to reduce exhaust noise and provide a conduit for exhaust gases to exit the engine by making their way out beneath the vehicle. This pathway is used to keep harmful gases from entering the vehicle and making occupants sick. In many cases, the exhaust system will make the expelled fumes cleaner in an effort to reduce emissions and protect the environment from further damage. Some components include a series of pipes, clamps, hangers, and sensors. However, in every vehicle you’ll find these components that make up the exhaust system:

What components make up an entire exhaust system?

From the front of the system to the back we will break down each component piece by piece so you know what each element of your exhaust system does and how to maintain it.

Exhaust Manifold

Collects exhaust gases from each cylinder from the combustion chamber of the engine and directs them into the exhaust pipe. Usually made of cast iron or steel with special bends to increase efficiency.

Catalytic Converter

Or “cat” as many refer to it. What it does is in the name. It uses a catalyst, or substance such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, or a chemical that makes other chemicals react without changing its own makeup. It converts the harmful emissions from the engine’s combustion chamber into water vapor and carbon dioxide. Oxidation converts carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons into carbon dioxides and water. Although these gases are still harmful to the atmosphere, they are less detrimental than gases produced by the engine. These components typically last for about 100,000 miles but commonly fail due to an exhaust leak, unburned fuel, engine misfire, or external damage. When the cat begins to fail, you may notice a rotten egg smell and the check engine light will activate. Unfortunately, replacing your catalytic converter can get expensive due to its make-up of precious metals as cerium, platinum, rhodium, or manganese.

Exhaust Silencer

Also named for what it does, the silencer reduces or muffles sound that is produced by the engine while maximizing exhaust gas flow. Better flow rate translates to better performance in all functions of the car. However, even a tiny hole in the muffler can affect its ability to muffle the sound or its efficiency of flow rate.

Exhaust Resonator

Similar to the silencer, the resonator changes the sound vibrations from the engine and can be placed either before or after the silencer in the exhaust system. The main task of the resonator is to organise and tune vibration sounds but also plays a big role in improving exhaust flow effectiveness. Just like a well-designed, functioning silencer, this can lead to better performance and fuel efficiency.

The Tail Pipe

As the last piece of the exhaust system, the tailpipe comes out of the silencer and extends past the rear bumper of most vehicles, directing exhaust gases out and away. On many modern-day cars, it also serves as a decorative feature and may be dipped in chrome.

Next time you’re driving down the road and a quiet car sneaks up behind you, you’ll know it’s a well-tuned exhaust system doing its job! On the contrary, if you can hear a noisy car or worse, that noisy car is yours, it’s probably time that the vehicle is inspected by a trained technician like ours at PB Garage.

Vehicles with poor exhaust systems may display and engine warning light, bad smells coming from the vehicle, and poor fuel economy, but worse this can be dangerous for your health so you should get this inspected and repaired as soon as possible.