How much does a muffler installation cost?

Aftermarket muffler that will fit my car?

• I have a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT and I want to put a new exhaust kit on it. I found a cheap one on eBay ($130), but I am worried I won't like the sound. Is it possible (and practical) to use that piping and get a new muffler for it, like a Magnaflow muffler, and have someone install it? Magnaflow cat back exhaust kits cost $500. If I did it this way, say with a $70 muffler and $50 installation, that's only half the price. How do I make sure the muffler will fit on the kit I get? The one I was looking at has 3" piping.

• Answer:

  Measure you inlet and outlet sizes of the pipe you are using. ID is inside diameter of the pipe, so if someone tells you the pipe is 3" ID, it will be inside diameter...the OD is outside, and will be 1/8 " larger...so to install a 3" OD pipe into a muffler, you need a 3 1/8" ID muffler inlet or 3 1/4" OD . You should always put the pipe INTO the muffler, going towards the back of the car. And then the muffler INTO the pipe, going back....always insert Into, towards the back of the car. So if you have a 3" OD pipe, you would need a muffler with a 3 1/8 " inlet, front side...to allow the pipe to go into the muffler inlet. And a 3" muffler outlet, to fit into the pipe going out. You will need exact measurements, so see if your pipe is 3" ID or 3" OD.... the pipe that goes into it will not fit, if it is wrong...for instance, a 3" pipe will not fit into a 3" muffler inlet, if the inlet is 3" OD and only 2 7/8 ID....see.? Your auto parts store, some of them, can find a muffler that is the right length, and the right inlet and outlet diameters... they usually have a book on many mufflers, with these dimensions. For instance, a 30" muffler, including the inlet and outlet pipe lengths, with a 3" ID inlet and a 3" OD outlet.... You then install a 3 " pipe OD into the muffler inlet and the muffler into the 3" outlet pipe Confusing huh? OR take the whole thing to a muffler shop and they will fix it for you.