Build Your Own Replacement Mufflers

Build Your Own Replacement Mufflers TRACTORS Accessories 7-3-8 "Store-bought replacement mufflers never lasted more than a year on my farm," says Roland Widdowson, Oberlin, Ohio, who gave up on factory mufflers and began building his own. The first one he built has now been working successfully for seven years. Here's how Widdowson makes his sound stoppers: "I use the mounting plate on the old muffler, either as a pattern or as it is, and mount an 18-in. long piece of 3-in. dia. rigid electrical conduit on it. Inside, at the bottom of the conduit, I weld a 1 1/2-in. piece of galvanized pipe that reaches up into the conduit about 6 in. I cut a `V' in the top of this smaller pipe and cap it with a metal plate that acts as a baffle. On the top end of the muffler, I cut a metal cap to fit inside the 3-in. pipe, leaving a hole in it for another piece of 1 1/2 in. pipe. This upper pipe reaches down into the 3-in. pipe about 6 in. and I cut a æV' into it also and cap it. The force the exhaust to take an indirect path to exit the muffler and deaden the sound. I've found that this design is a little noisier than a factory job but seems to last indefinitely. I've built mufflers for three smaller John Deere tractors, always using pipe salvaged in junkyards. The idea should work for any tractor." For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, R.L. Widdowson, 44030 Hughes Rd., Rt. 1, Oberlin, Ohio 44074 (216 775-2538).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.