My '86 GT muffler has 216,000 Michigan miles on it (according to the PO). The engine is out and I have a brand new "free" Maxi lifetime muffler. The original does not have any holes in it and sounded ok during the brief time I had the motor running. (About 5 miles before it died.)
I think the original is stainless steel and the new replacement is mild steel. Should I put the new one in or wait untill the old wears out?
Also, the cat is original also. When I cut one of the pipe leading out of the muffler off (it was bent in an accident) it had about 1/8 inch of black soot in the bottom of the cut pipe. What is the general feeling of cutting out the cat and replacing with straight pipe?