545/550xp muffler mod

[ratman36]

Bought a dented up used muffler. I cut it apart with a 4.5 inch wafer wheel. Cut off exhaust exit pipe and opened up hole with die grinder, Opened up two lower small holes in center tube from entrance side tube. Tig welded it back together,painted with rust-o-leum 1200 degree grill paint and used 500 degree engine enamel top coat. The inside isn't really that restrictive imo just opened up two bottom holes so exhaust path would be a little straighter. The exit tube has a 90 degree elbow that faces towards front so flow makes a U-turn. With that deleted should be better.

 

[ratman36]

Here some more pictures

 

[Big_Wood]

so you cut the thing open but left the baffle inside?

 

[ratman36]

so you cut the thing open but left the baffle inside?

Yes baffle has 7 holes in it from factory.Two lower holes are very small.Look at first group of pictures and you will see the small ones before I opened them up.It is very clear to me the main restriction is the outlet with 90 elbow.This is why most people will just drill a extra hole under deflector,definitely the easiest way.I wanted to try to keep muffler quieter so I left baffle.I bought a used muffler off ebay to cut up,that way I could keep my original one stock if I needed to get warranty work done.

 

[Big_Wood]

What you did can be done without cutting the muffler open. Besides the lower holes but just open up the upper baffled portion you can reach with a bur through the exhaust flange. Not saying your way is wrong or anything but it seems like a lot of work for no added benefit. Only reason I ever cut open a muffler is to remove the baffle entirely.

 

[ratman36]

What you did can be done without cutting the muffler open. Besides the lower holes but just open up the upper baffled portion you can reach with a bur through the exhaust flange. Not saying your way is wrong or anything but it seems like a lot of work for no added benefit. Only reason I ever cut open a muffler is to remove the baffle entirely.

I wanted to look inside(curious minds want to know,lol.)I also wanted to delete the outlet elbow,it only took me 30 minutes total if I wasn't in shop I would have been on here.

 

[Big_Wood]

That's cool. I'd like to get rid of the baffle on my 562. I wear hearing protection anyways [emoji4]