[DCAggie]

UPDATE: FIXED!!! Need Help With Flowmaster Cat-Back!!!

Ok, so I have been on here touting how much I love my Flowmaster Force II cat-back.

Well, I thought it sounded like some brackets needed tightening, so I took the car back to Midas, where I had it installed. They claimed they had to make some adjustments, and tighten some brackets. The mechanic said he had to use some "putty" in a couple of places.

Well, now it''s not as loud, and has a horrible "flutter" at idle. In fact at regular idle, it sounds like a crappy, 10 yr old 4 cylinder!!! Thhppppttt...you can just hear it. It goes away with some throttle, but not entirely.

What happened?!?!? It sounded better before. I'm not sure I can live with the way it sounds now. Muffled and fluttery....HELP!

 

[VelocityBoy]

Would it be like a heat shield vibration?

 

[DCAggie]

Naw, it's not a vibration. It's the exhaust itself. Hard to describe, other than sounds like "pfffftttt" - like a small 4 cylinder...an old one at that...

Plus, why would the exhaust be so much quieter now? If all they did was tighten some clamps?

 

[VelocityBoy]

You can't get video of it and post it?

 

[DCAggie]

Yeah, will try to get it up tmw. Thanks.

 

[Mark052]

Just tightening clamps would not change the tone in such a drastic manner as you've described. It almost sounds as if something is blocking the flow of the exhaust now. When I had the resonated tail pipes of the Force II system on (currently using non resonated pipes) there was no flutter or muffled sound at all. I'm wondering if some of the putty they used had gotten in the pipe or muffler somehow:scratchhead:

 

[DCAggie]

Just tightening clamps would not change the tone in such a drastic manner as you've described. It almost sounds as if something is blocking the flow of the exhaust now. When I had the resonated tail pipes of the Force II system on (currently using non resonated pipes) there was no flutter or muffled sound at all. I'm wondering if some of the putty they used had gotten in the pipe or muffler somehow:scratchhead:

That's my concern. Whatever they did seems to have had a negative effect. I guess at the end of the day, Ill just have to take it to another exhaust shop and have it looked at.

 

[ThereAre4Lights]

You could get some jack stands and fix it yourself. I just fabbed a Flowmaster catback for my Jeep. It's a piece of cake. Sounds sweet and it's only a 6 cylinder.

 

[Flowfan]

DCAggie – There’s not a lot that can go wrong with a Flowmaster Force II Cat-Back installation. Maybe they didn’t get a hanger installed correctly or the front pipes are not slipped over correctly. The exhaust shop should not have touched the exhaust shields or anything further forward than the catalytic converter.

Please call our toll free tech line for assistance. 1-800-544-4761

 

[DCAggie]

Apparently, my muffler bearings were bad and had to be replaced. $500 later, everything is fixed!

JUST KIDDING!

Actually, happy to report it is all fixed. It was a case of piss-poor installation. Took it to a different shop, and the previous shop hadn't used any kind of sealant and didn't get the tail pipes seated all the way in the muffler outlets, and although clamped tight, the pipes are notched for ease of installation, and this notch was leaving a hole essentially, through which exhaust was escaping. And THERE was my "flutter".

The new tech pulled the entire system and re-installed using exhaust cement on the pipes, and got everything nice and tight and SEALED.

The system now sounds fully awesome once again and power is back.

I would like to note that this had absolutely NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING to do with the Flowmaster system itself. The cat-back was perfectly fitted with the hangers and pipes, and is top notch quality. This was simple head space and timing error on the part of the first installer.

 

[VelocityBoy]

For $500 I truly hope they threw in a jug of performance blinker fluid.

 

[DCAggie]

Thankfully, blinker fluid levels were fine. But they did run a diagnostic on my Flux Capacitor for free!

 

[Mark052]

Thankfully, blinker fluid levels were fine. But they did run a diagnostic on my Flux Capacitor for free!

LOL, sounds like you are good to go now. Glad to hear the installation issue was easily resolved.:bigthumb: