Stainless Steel Muffler

Binderson · May 24, 2020

I bought a new stainless steel muffler for my 1939 M and it turned gold after hardly any use. The tractor is fully restored and it s been used for family short tractor rides or showing. It s not used under any hard loads. The carburetor was recently rebuilt. What would cause this muffler to change color so quick? The SS straight pipe hasn t turned gold so I m not sure what could cause it? Is there something I should check on the tractor? I do feel it doesn t run as smooth as it used to before the carburetor rebuild. Not sure if I need to adjust the knob to make it burn more or less gas. It seemed to run better with the regular muffler instead of the straight pipe

MarkB_MI · May 24, 2020

As the yachtsmen like to say, "stainless steel just stains LESS". There are a lot of different alloys collectively called stainless steel, but they vary a great deal in corrosion resistance and other properties such as tensile strength.

Just out of curiosity, see if a magnet will stick to your muffler and pipe. I wouldn't be surprised if the muffler is magnetic and the pipe is not. The non-magnetic austenitic alloys such as 304 have better corrosion resistance than the magnetic ferritic and martensitic alloys such as 440. About the only stainless alloy you can expect to stay shiny is 316. It's expensive.

fastfarmall · May 24, 2020

So did you rebuild the same carburetor or was it a exchange,just thinking if it was a exchange it might be drilled for a Super M, but cant see that as a big problem! The leaner the mixture the hotter it burns, just opposite of a diesel. There are different grades of stainless steel, my guess is they have cheapened up the grade they put in mufflers !

Mike(NEOhio) · May 24, 2020

I put stainless flue pipe on my wood stove. It turned a nice bronze color real quick then with use it turned dark blue. It's been hot enough to glow a few times but holding up well. All depends on the grade, there are lots of different formulations and not all of them will form well. The straight pipe was probably made from a standard size tubing so a different grade.

jCarroll · May 24, 2020

Tractor fuel is OK - don't go nuts about that.

It's all about whichever SS was used to make your muffler. Your M is now one of a kind - be proud.

Butch(OH) · May 24, 2020

As with what the others said late
ignition timing will also cause th
exhaust to run hot even with little
loading.
Not sure where the muffler came from but
poor quality stainless would be a given
if it was made in China. I bought a pair
of China reproduction stainless mirrors
for a Ford truck that were total rust in
a year.

Binderson · May 26, 2020

Thank you for the information. I put a magnet on the muffler that changed color and it does not stick. When I put the magnet on the straight pipe that has not changed color it did stick.

Binderson · May 26, 2020

The carburetor is the one that was originally on it. I just took it to have it rebuilt so it's the same one. I am not sure if they would have adjusted the float during that or not? I feel like it doesn't run as smoothe as it used to when it idles and it does shoot black smoke but it really always has a little when it first fires up.

MarkB_MI · May 29, 2020

In case you didn't see my later post but check back here, here's a link to my post.
Reply to Binderson on stainless steel muffler

Stainless Steel Muffler

Binderson

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MarkB_MI

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fastfarmall

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Mike(NEOhio)

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jCarroll

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Butch(OH)

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Binderson

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Binderson

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MarkB_MI

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