Has anyone replaced a muffler on a ATV??

Most likely due to age my muffler on my Kawasaki ATV now has a big hole on its side!! Boy is it noisy.

I am wondering how difficult it would be to replace it ourselves vs taking to a shop to do it??
Mainly for the downtime as its landscaping season and I cannot be without it!!

Otherwise I was thinking of asking my neighbor who I know works on bikes as a hobby nd see if he could do it.

Any advice would be great!!

Thanks.

being from the uk, i thought an ATV was like a 4x4, but then you say kawasaki and mention bikes, so im guessing its what we call a quad?

changing a muffler (again we call them silencers here) would be quite simple, i restore classic cars for a living so stuff like this is striaght forward, get a replacement, and assuming it looks like the right part, just get stuck in!

your only problem is that exhausts get very hot, then cold, then hot again, which can make any fixings, nuts or bolts etc difficult to un-do, especially as they are totally open to the eliments too on a quad, so maybe the night before spray anf nuts and bolts, and joints with something like WD40, a thin penetrating oil, to help things move.

if you snap any of them off, you can usually cut them off, and drill them out, then use a new nut/bolt or drill it out and re-tap a thread in the hole.

its all hard to say without seeing it, but deffinately use some WD40, and dont panic if something breaks, anything can be fixed!

or bring it to me and i'll do it for you for £10?

Thanks for the info!!

We call them 4-wheelers here in Wisconsin. Its a Kawasaki Bayou 220. Nothing fancy of course. We do keep it in the garage so it shouldn't be to corroded. We have lots of tools so hopefully the right ones.

Just have to add it to the list of things to do.

I was going to suggest duct tape but I think Jez gave you better advice!

I asked DH who had to change the muffler on our 4 wheeler a few years ago and he said it's pretty simple but WD40 IS a must! Good luck!

Originally Posted by jezmondo69

your only problem is that exhausts get very hot, then cold, then hot again, which can make any fixings, nuts or bolts etc difficult to un-do, especially as they are totally open to the eliments too on a quad, so maybe the night before spray anf nuts and bolts, and joints with something like WD40, a thin penetrating oil, to help things move.

if you snap any of them off, you can usually cut them off, and drill them out, then use a new nut/bolt or drill it out and re-tap a thread in the hole.

Click to expand...

Assuming the old muffler was attached by the civilized means of nuts & bolts and not welding, of course... I've had to deal with that, not fun.

For stuck and lightly rusted fasteners, a propane torch is also a big help. Getting things to expand and contract a bit with heat can really help knock things loose.

In addition to WD 40, I've had good luck with PB Blaster "Penetrating Catalyst", available at most local FLAPS (friendly local auto parts stores).

When reassembling, please, for the sake of any potential future owners of the vehicle (yourself included), use stainless fasteners all around, and use anti-seize on the threads.

We have a propane torch and lots of penetrating fluids due to restoring the ole John Deere Tractor. .
I'm remember about the stainless fasteners as I know what you mean about rust.