Fixing a broken motorhome muffler

    Once the burrs were ground down and the ends of both pipes were smooth, I made a small platform out of bricks and scraps of wood and positioned it underneath the motorhome in the approximate area the muffler would go. The Shasta sits fairly high off the ground and I was able to crawl underneath it with ease. Once the platform was built I sat the muffler on top of it and simply lined up both ends of the broken pipe until they touched. After a little jiggling, the muffler pipe fit snugly inside the exhaust pipe (much like sliding your arm into the sleeve of a shirt) and it was time for the muffler clamp (pictured at right). The problem I'd been having all along was that I didn't realize the muffler pipe was supposed to fit inside the exhaust pipe. I guess I'd assumed they were both the same size, which would have required a slightly different fix. The muffler clamp works by squeezing down on the outer pipe as you tighten up the bolts. It actually dents the outer exhaust pipe as it compresses it into the inner pipe. Compress them enough (by tightening the bolts) and you create a bond that's probably every bit as good as a weld.

    With the muffler clamp tightened sufficiently enough to hold both pipes together, I took a three foot length of perforated metal strap (about five bucks at Napa Auto Parts) and ran it around the underside of the body of the muffler and bolted it to the undercarriage of the motorhome. Fortunately, there were already several holes drilled in the frame, probably from the original muffler support straps. Once the strap was bolted in and the muffler was truly secure, the job was done.

<<< return to page 1