What You Need to Know About an Exhaust System
There are many things the common person doesn’t understand about the mechanics of an automobile. Most people aren’t interested, but it can’t hurt to learn since investing in a car is something most of us will do at some point. In this guide I’ll discuss how an exhaust system functions and things you should know about an exhaust system.
Every car owner wants to know their automobile is safe. An exhaust system can cause some serious problems if it’s not maintained properly. The most important part of keeping a safe system is by frequently inspecting if there are any holes in the exhaust system. You can do this yourself! If there are holes in the exhaust, dangerous fumes can easily enter your car. If you do find any holes, I suggest you bring your car in immediately.
There are five different parts that make up an exhaust system for a car. The list consists of the following; an exhaust manifold, an exhaust pipe, an oxygen sensor, a catalytic converter and a muffler. Every part has its own duty to handle and without these parts, the modern day automobile wouldn’t function as smooth as it does today.
First let’s start with the exhaust manifold. This part is the part that releases the gas through one pipe, which is attached to the cylinder head. This is also known to be the place where emissions take place. The manifold is usually made from cast iron.
An oxygen sensor is found in any automobile with fuel injection. It’s either found in the exhaust pipe or in the exhaust manifold. This sensor evaluates the fuel to air ratio and it’s specifically looking for oxygen levels. There’s a computer system that allows this process to take place and it will then determine the right amount of fuel needed to get the most efficient fuel economy levels.
The catalytic converter takes carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons and converts them to other chemicals. Those chemicals are converted to carbon dioxide and water all taking place in between the muffler and the manifold. It’s common to see a catalytic converter made with a honey comb filtration system.
The muffler handles noise pollution. Without a muffler cars would be extremely loud and would probably violate variances throughout the states. The muffler handles the noise coming from the exhaust and softens the noise by dissipating the energy from the noise.
The exhaust pipe, which is usually made from steel products runs throughout the exhaust systems. It runs from the tail pipe through the rest of the parts mentioned above. Most pipes are made with stainless steel or aluminum steel tubing.
This author loves cars and is an expert when it comes to diesel exhaust systems. Learn more at his site at dieselexhaustsystems.org. His favorite upgrade on a car is a new high performance exhaust which is discussed on his blog as well.