Do you have a broken, rattling or noisy exhaust? We can supply and fit new exhausts for most cars and vans at very competitive prices.
Our technicians will advise you on the parts you need and have you back on the road very quickly.
How exhausts work
Your exhaust has four main functions: to control noise, to direct exhaust fumes away from passengers, to improve the performance of the engine and to improve fuel consumption.
Depending on the make and model of your vehicle and the number of engine valves it has, the layout of your vehicle exhaust system may vary. However, all exhausts work in the similar way in order to remove harmful exhaust gases from the engine which are produced while the engine is running.
Exhaust gases are collected from the cylinder head in the engine by an exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifold acts as a funnel, diverting exhaust gases from all cylinders of the engine then releases them through a single opening, often referred to as the front pipe.
These exhaust gases then travel through a catalytic converter which removes harmful elements including carbon monoxide and hydrogen monoxide which are converted into inert gases.
The gases then pass through a silencer or muffler. It’s only when you hear a car with a damaged silencer that you realise what a huge difference it makes to reducing noise levels. The silencer on your exhaust contains a deceptively simple set of tubes that are finely tuned to reflect the sound waves produced by the engine so that they cancel each other out.
The silencer will corrode over time and when it eventually develops a hole, no matter how small, the sound waves are no longer forced through the tubes and escape outside – making a lot of noise in the process.
Finally the exhaust fumes exit via the tail pipe at the rear which carries gases away from the vehicle and the passengers inside. All of the components of an exhaust system are connected with a series of clamps, hangers, flanges and gaskets.
How long should a catalytic converter last?
Catalysts often last 10 years, but actual life depends on mileage and engine tune. 50,000 miles is a more reasonable benchmark, and you can generally expect to replace the catalytic converter once during the life of a vehicle.
If failure occurs early, it’s important to find and fix the cause of the problem before fitting a new CAT otherwise replacement can be expected to fail prematurely too.
There are three main ways they fail:
Melt Down – unburned fuel enters the catalyst and ignites on contact. The extreme heat literally melts the ceramic matrix. Poor ignition timing, a faulty oxygen sensor, worn or defective spark plugs, incorrect fuel mixture and other ignition/fuel injection related faults could lead to this failure.
Carbon deposits – oil or antifreeze entering the combustion chamber/exhaust system can lead to a build up of carbon on the matrix, which increases back pressure leading to overheating and poor performance.
Catalyst fracture – the ceramic matrix is fragile and can break-up as a result of excessive vibration or external impact. As the matrix breaks up back-pressure increases and overheating can result.
Exhaust Systems
Universal Tyres & Auto supplies and fits top brands of exhausts systems for all makes and models of cars, from Minis to Mercedes.
We supply all the leading UK brands of standard exhaust systems, including Timax and Bosal. Our staff are trained and experienced in the fitting of exhaust systems.
We can also supply and fit a comprehensive range of Catalytic Converters. ‘CATS’ are fitted to all new cars by law. Their purpose is to clean the emissions from the car engine, to remove harmful particles and carbon monoxide gas, so that the final gas from the exhaust pipe is predominantly carbon dioxide and water vapour. Emissions from vehicles are now a major part of the MOT test, and it is important that your engine and exhaust system is in good order, to prevent premature damage to the catalytic converter.
An exhaust illustration