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’06 Malibu w/ V6: I noticed over the past year that the exhaust system has become noisy and sounds like there is a leak (louder than usual as if I put in an aftermarket muffler). Looked underneath and see an apparent gap between the flex pipe and the tail pipe behind it. Might be other leaks, haven’t gotten that far.
Recently when driving on the freeway, I noticed a substantial struggle to get above 2k rpms no matter how much I accelerated. Seems to me there is an exhaust restriction. My question is – the restriction must be either one of the cats or possibly the muffler? (I’m aware of the infrared thermo test on the cats, but I’m assuming ultimately they’ll have to be removed and inspected to confirm if any of them are blocked.)
The leak seems less problematic and mostly just annoying, will address that regardless.
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Meant to mention also – I do not have a CEL, which made me question if it’s one of the cats. I assumed a blocked cat would throw a code…..correct me on that if I’m wrong
Much tougher to clog any muffler than a cat.
Sounds like you may have a partially clogged cat.
Depending on how your ECM is programmed todetermines an actual faultI think it’s the cat(s). Any thoughts on aftermarket? Normally, I’d go for the best/oem but it’s very expensive, and I don’t use this vehicle much. I considered getting a cheap aftermarket set and then attempting to clean the existing ones. I figure if I can unclog them via cleaning, I’ll save ’em for when the cheap ones give me any issues.
Many go for aftermarket replacements for the exact reason you stated.. cost.
But like everything else in life.. you get what you pay for.
I wouldn’t go for the cheapest for the reason if they do fail prematurely you’ll have to do the job twice.
JMHO.
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