Stock Exhaust Failure/Looking for upgrade

[swoloschek]

The coupling between the center muffler and the passenger side tail pipe failed on my 2020 ST. In looking at the pipe and the coupler on the muffler they both have corrosion and there is soot marks above the joint. It would seem to me that a small leak started at the top of the coupling and eventually the weld/coupling corroded enough to fail. Took it the dealer and they noticed a couple small dents on the muffler and are attributing the failure to an impact and wont cover it under warranty.
The drivers side pipe and muffler coupler look pristine, along with all the other parts of the exhaust, only this joint has corrosion...

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it plausible that an impact to the muffler could cause the connection between the muffler and the pipe to fail on just one side?

Going to have to have it replaced but considering an upgrade. Looking for a somewhat better sounding exhaust but is not that much louder than stock as my wife still needs to drive it. Looking at the Thermal R&D, any feedback on the interior noise level?
I do tow a 4000lb trailer a bit so any drone or loud interior noise under load is a non starter...

 

[Dale5403]

Do you know if your Explorer falls under recall 21E11? Emissions Recall: 2020-21 EXPLORER 3.0L LH INLET EXHAUST LEAKS I know you said it's the opposite side but might be worth checking.

Mine does but there is not much information on it so far. My dealer said it might be close to the end of the year for the fix.

 

[swoloschek]

I had talked to Ford Customer Service before taking it to the dealer and they say that recall does apply to my vehicle.. Not clear what the recall is actually going to cover, do you know any details?

This raises another question, if I go with after-market cat-back am I replacing one of the components that would have been replaced in the recall? Or will they balk at replacing the components if an after market cat-back is on ?

 

[Dale5403]

I don't have any details on what it covers. When I talked to my dealer they didn't have any info yet so it's a waiting game right now. I've done an internet search on it and there is next to nothing there so far.

 

[twin001]

an aftermarket cat back exhaust replaces every component after the catalytic converters, aka "down pipes", which includes your broken part.

Not all "cat-back" exhaust systems are truly cat back. Some do include the y-shape part with the flex sections, some don't. The flex sections are known to rattle and the dealer fix is a joke.

 

[Mobius87]

@Dale5403 We have the same failure. I'm not going to bother with the dealer, and am patiently waiting for my Thermal to come.

 

[twin001]

@Dale5403 We have the same failure. I'm not going to bother with the dealer, and am patiently waiting for my Thermal to come.

waiting as well..........

 

[Tommyc]

I have zero drone on my Thermal system but if you are towing a 4000 lbs trailer you may use more throttle which will in turn make it a bit louder at highway speeds. I am not sure. I can tell you the welds on the stock system suck and are not continuous around the pipes. The construction and quality of the Thermal exhaust is far superior to stock.

Tommy

 

[swoloschek]

waiting as well..........

Thanks for the replies! To confirm.. your weld failed from the center muffler to the tail pipe? Was it also corroded?

 

[twin001]

Thanks for the replies! To confirm.. your weld failed from the center muffler to the tail pipe? Was it also corroded?

mine hasn't failed...yet. MANY others have, which is why there is an active TSB for this.

 

[swoloschek]

I just received word from the dealer that the recall details will not be released until 2/22.
Do you have a TSB # I could reference?

 

[Dallas ST]

My exhaust system welding points failed as well just this week. Caused a weird growling noise. Dealer is replacing muffler and exhaust assembly under factory warranty.

 

[swoloschek]

After I told the dealer to send pictures of the actual failed joint and not just the small dent on the muffler Ford came back and covered the replacement.

 

[dealerjim]

Just recently had the same thing happen on my 2020 with 43000 miles. Dealership gave me the exact same runaround so I just took it to a local muffler shop and had them weld it back up. It seems every single broken one I've seen so far is on the passenger side, right behind the center muffler.

 

[HGFlynn]

I had talked to Ford Customer Service before taking it to the dealer and they say that recall does apply to my vehicle.. Not clear what the recall is actually going to cover, do you know any details?

This raises another question, if I go with after-market cat-back am I replacing one of the components that would have been replaced in the recall? Or will they balk at replacing the components if an after market cat-back is on ?

I have a 2022 Explorer ST that has this rattle after 6000 miles. The dealer refuses to acknowledge it saying it’s a normal sound. Do you have any information on a recall for the 2022 model?