These are just two of many signs that you may need your car’s exhaust system repaired. Here at Drake Auto of Sterling, VA we are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to diagnose and repair all of the components that make up your car’s exhaust system. Your car’s exhaust system is made up of many components. They start with the engine’s exhaust manifold which is the first component to take the heat of the engine.

The exhaust manifold is usually made out of a heavy cast iron piece of metal to take the extra heat of combustion. Some exhaust manifold failures could include cracking in which case we would have to replace the complete exhaust manifold or a simple gasket failure could make quite a bit of noise from the engine area. Another common exhaust failure comes from the heat shields that protect the car from the heat of the catalytic converts.

These catalytic converters are the piece of your car’s exhaust system that does all the magic to protect the environment. The exhaust gas runs through the catalytic converter and the metals inside change the harmful exhaust gases into harmless ones. This is done with a lot of heat and chemical reaction. Some symptoms of a bad catalytic converter can include things like rattling noises on acceleration or just driving down the road. Sometimes the catalytic converter can get plugged up as well. This would result in a loss of power and reduced gas mileage.

At Drake Auto in Sterling, VA we have a tool to put into the exhaust system that can tell if your catalytic converter is plugged or flowing freely. The next exhaust part downstream from the engine is the resonator. The exhaust resonator is used to produce back pressure in the exhaust system and also change the sound of the cars exhaust. The resonator is usually welded into the mid pipe and gets replaced as a complete unit. The next and of course most common name we know is the muffler.

Your car’s muffler is used to reduce the exhaust noise and also is the second part in line to help create back pressure. If your wondering what all this back pressure stuff is about. It has to do with the cars tuning. This helps with gas mileage as well. Some car manufacturers like Honda have many models that come with a one piece exhaust system all the way from the exhaust manifold to the muffler. This is of course a problem if you only need to replace one part of your exhaust.

This is done to reduce assembly costs and in the end you the consumer has to pay the extra money to replace the exhaust in pieces. The only positive side to this is if you ever need to replace another exhaust part it can be done in individual pieces. All that being said. Of course with your new found knowledge on car exhaust systems compliments of Drake Auto feel free to give us a call or stop by our Sterling, Va location where we serve Sterling, Ashburn, Aldie, South Riding, Leesburg and all the surrounding Northern Virginia areas.