Muffler 20x's louder

SCOTCHERS · Apr 16, 2005

Muffler 20x\'s louder

Hey all,

I appreciate all the help one's have given in this hear forum. So I"m going back to you all. I was PT'ing for hours the other day using my power-rake (Which works awesome) and amongst tight quarters, I back into a small tree, rather slowly /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. None the less, I must have bumped the muffler and WOW, As if I didn't think it could get any louder. 20x's. It's very obnoxious to the point that even with ear protection, it's quite miserable. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I have no idea where to take it to have it serviced. I'm also interested to know if any of you have swapped out your working muffler's for a quiter one. Does one exist? I also don't like the fact that when your parked in idle that it inevitable burns the grass or plants below it if it sits more that 30 sec. I'd love to be able to replace it with a much quieter , rear discharging (Not facing down towards the ground) muffler replacement. Any feedback or comments much appreciated. Thanks John

Gravy · Apr 16, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

John,

I'm not too fond of the stock square box "muffler" on my 425, so I've been looking for options.

One possibility is the Robin side mount muffler kit. If you haven't already, go to the Robin America site and download the parts manual. The muffler kit is on one of the last pages. It looks like it might fit, or it might require some modification.

I haven't checked into the price on that option, but I wouldn't be surprised at $200-$300 or more..

Another option is a Supertrapp from Jack's Small Engine or a motorcycle parts supplier. There's a thread about that.

What I'm planning to do is to go to my local auto muffler shop and get a small car muffler mounted to a flange welded to the existing pipe. This is probably the cheapest option, and the one with the most design flexibility. I expect the cost to be well under $100 (my local guy works cheap), and future replacements would be cheaper.

The factory kit is likely the best engineered (if it can be made to fit), but either of the other options should work without danger of hurting the engine. I don't recommend running for long without any muffler (not that any sane person could stand the noise), as there is some possibility of thermal shock to the valves.

Good Luck!

Gravy

dbetts · Apr 17, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

I had a similar occurance with mine,but either I wasn't paying attention or the hearing protection I always wear blunted the degree of difference in noise level. I didn't pay much attention to the sound, but there was a HUGE performance difference. The exhaust pipes had broken loose from the muffler and the exhaust was going straight out into the engine compartment just below the oil cooler. All of a sudden I could not climb a 15-18 degree slope if I had been working more than about 20 minutes because the oil was hot and losing viscosity. It looked like they didn't have the right mounts for it and used a sledged hammer to readjust the shape of the muffler so that the mounts would fit. Terry sent me a new muffler under warranty but the mounts still wouldn't fit. When I called him about this he sent me two new mounts that were a different size and further away from fitting than the previous ones. So I just took an old steel angle bracket and cut it and took it over to dad's house...he has a machining tool ,and we made brackets that fit it, now it's held correctly, not under tension and I've had no further problems. My advice is to examine the muffler carefully with the engine cool, if it's cracked and still under warranty Terry will send you a new one. Otherwise I'm sure you'll get lots of other options from the expert panel here on tbn.db

dbetts · Apr 17, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

Sorry I failed to mention mine is the kohler engine. Is yours the Robin or Kohler?

SCOTCHERS · Apr 17, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

MY ENGINE IS A ROBIN

Phils · Apr 19, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

Just an update, since it seems relevant. My Supertrap muffler added onto the PT muffler is still working great! I don't use ear protection and only find the machine as loud as a regular lawn mower. I did remove 2 of the discs when I welded it to the PT muffler, which may have made a small improvement in the noise level (or maybe not, hard to say exactly without a decibel meter).

Supertrap thread

PABenz · Jul 18, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

I took the Supertrap Muffler advice and put one on my 422 this spring. However, my machine now heats up much faster then before and I think since the muffler is round, it emits the hot exhaust back at the engine compartment and causes the oil to heat much faster. I took it off until I can make some sort of shield to divert the heat like the one that came with the tractor. I could cut for 4 hours before it got real hot, but with the Supertrap, the oil temp got real hot after about 2 hours of cutting. Thanks for the tip...it was quieter running, but I thought I would let you all know about my heat problem. Joe

ernemats · Jul 18, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

Welcome . What part of westmoreland county? I live between Ligonier and New Florence.

Marks481 · Jul 18, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

I don't know if I understand how you mounted it.

Did you replace the stock muffler and header completely, instead of adding the muffler outside the engine compartment? So now the muffler is inside the engine compartment? Or did you have one of the limited production models that had the insulated muffler inside the engine compartment?

Could you maybe post a picture? I am really interested in this mod myself?

PABenz · Jul 19, 2005

Re: Muffler 20x\'s louder

In response to Ernest, I live North Huntingdon, about 6 miles from the old Irwin Exit.

In Response to Tim in CT, I just drilled a hole thru the muffler and the existing exhaust pipe and bolted it to the existing muffler. "Phils" has a photo in the first post of the "a quieter PT422" thread and my setup looked exactly the same as his. I paid $85 for the 3 parts that make it up from Jacksmallengine place on the web. I ordered the muffler 3s-1312H, Diffusers 3S-6512, and the Resonator 3S-5500. Like I said before, the Supertrap muffler puts out the exhaust all the way around so I think it heats the metal engine compartment which in turn heats the hydraulic oil faster (but then again, every day I seem to cut this year has been over 90 degrees and sunny). I may keep it in my garage and try to rig a heat shield someday since I had to take the factory heat deflector off or I might even sell it for a reasonable price if anyone was interested, because it will probably sit in my garage a long time before I get to it. Hope that helps.