I preface this posting with the statement that Florida has no vehicle inspections at all. My 1988 240DL has a replacment muffler on it that was put on by the original owner. The exhaust pipe comes out the left side of the rear bumper and not through the slot on the bottom of the bumper. The front muffler looks like it has a few rust holes. The rear muffler and the tail pipe appear to have a few rust holes and grooves. The installation does not look that great. I am but a starving Dade County public teacher. Is there a FUNCTIONAL reason I ought to replace the muffler or should I just drive it until it rusts off the car?

I reckon the consensus here seems to agree that there is no functional reason I ought to run out and replace the exhaust system until it is so decrepit it fails. My inclination is not to expend the money or time so that is just fine for me as well. I bought this 240 because I have always admired them and one popped up for what I felt was a bargain at the time. I had been looking for a third car in case one of the two primaries my wife and I use died on on us....like now! After buying the 240 I realized it had very little preventitive maintenance done on it and have been sorry for that fact. If the AC was not a total basket case I would make this car my daily driver. As it is the AC compressor died on my wife soon after I got this car and it took the power steering pump with it. Driving around South Florida without AC is just brutal. These cars do not really even get too much wind blowing through the windows when they are down! I drive, perhaps, the most dangerous road in Southern Florida, twice a day to from work. I miss the F150 for its AC, power steering and other things (working radio, etc) but do not feel bad in the 240. I actually like this car and may just keep it. I think, in the long run, I would like a 245 as it would serve my purposes that much better and may try to sell my car for a newer 245. Thanks for all the help!

"These cars do not really even get too much wind blowing through the windows when they are down!"

I've done close to a thousand miles with a broken drivers window in winter, and I beg to differ. Brrr, cold hands.
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Drive it like you hate it

There is a way to get your power steering back with out a functioning AC compressor.

Search the archives.

However, I've found that AC compressors from the junk yard are usually about $20, and even if you put the compressor in and don't hook it all up properly, it should return your power steering, provided the one you yanked isn't seized up as well.

Good Luck!
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If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

Haven't logged on in a while, but I found your thread and can relate to your financial situation as I am a starving Volusia County public school teacher. I had the same problem with my '89 240 DL. It finally fell off in my driveway one day. Next day I went to a local "u-pull-it" place in Daytona Beach and removed the entire muffler system, front and rear mufflers, from a wreak in about 10 minutes and spent less that $20!!!. Installation was no problem and it turns out I only needed the rear section so after returning what I didn't need I only spent about $10.00. If there is such a place by you it's well worth checking out. I went back today and picked up a hinge for the hood ($5.95) a glove box-like new- ($1.50) and a lift for the rear lift gate ($5.95).
Check it out, one starving teacher to another.

I don't know if it applies directly to this subject, but don't let an exhaust pipe come loose toward the front of the vehicle (rather than dangling at the back like Indiana Jones holding onto his whip under a truck). If the front end of a sturdy pipe snags, it can shoot the back if the car into the air like an Olympic pole vaulter.
Makes for bad news for all.
I've never seen this, but my father-in-law -- a major-city police officer for decades and accident investigator for years –– said he cleaned up after one.

The approach that works for me:

Buy the cat-back kit from FCP and store it.

Yours won't fall off suddenly in normal street traffic. The pipe will break, usually the axle pipe right where it goes into the rear muffler, but it will hang on for a while making a noise that will compel you to replace it right away before it completely falls off.

Then you'll want to just replace what broke, but the frustration of separating and re-using the other marginal components will make you happy to have the complete kit to install. Besides, that, you'll be getting rid of your F-150 anyway after getting so intimate with a 240, a much superior vehicle.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Hey, I plan on buying an F250. In my state, they are used as Ambulances, and you can buy old one's that have been converted to Duel-fuel setups so you can run them on LPG gas (makes them much cheaper to run). They have as much load space as even I could use, and the ambulance conversion kit includes suspension work that gives them a very smooth ride for emergency surgery.

I'm still keeping the brick.
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Drive it like you hate it

What exactly is LPG gas?

I don't believe we have this in the states...
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If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

That is liquid propane gas...the stuff you put in the BBQs. The US Government sells some vehicles powered with this stuff but it is a problem to get if you run out on the road at 3am! Thus not a lot of folks like to mess with it. It is supposed to burn cleaner and more efficiently.

That is liquid propane gas...the stuff you put in the BBQs. The US Government sells some vehicles powered with this stuff but it is a problem to get if you run out on the road at 3am! Thus not a lot of folks like to mess with it. It is supposed to burn cleaner and more efficiently.

In Australia it's popular with comercial vehicles, and all the taxi drivers run on it. Alternative fuels are taxed at a much lower rate, and there are significant savings involved. Lots of cars are set up with both petrol and gas systems installed, although these tend not to make as good use of the higher octaine rating of LPG.

Around the city you don't have to worry about running out at 3AM, because all the service stations provide LPG for the taxis, who are on the road 24/7. On a road trip, you just switch the system over to petrol You lose a bit of your load space installing the LPG cylinder, but it's worth it on economy.

The other good thing about LPG is that it gets around emissions requirements. In Australia, there is no tailpipe testing, unless you install a non-standard engine, and then you have to get it certified (major paperwork). Converting to LPG allows you to install something with about 450 cubes and get away with it.

There are lots of Duel Fuel V8s in the trading post, and I have seen Holden (GM) duel fuel 308 ci V8s installed in 245s. Gets more power and costs less to run. I wouldn't do it to my car, but maybe a future project.
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Drive it like you hate it

I tore my rear muffler off and attached a straight pipe for five dollars. Works fine sounds a little tough, but it isn't

Nathan

Milk for all it is worth but try to avoid allowing the system to rust off and drop onto the highway. Who knows what havoc it could produce at speed on the steet or highway. People can do some pretty weird things when they catch a glimpse of something unknown sliding towards their car. I remember years ago in Cincinnati a person being killed after a muffler that had been on the road was thrown through the windshield of their car.

Randy

I drove mine noisy for a long time without any negative results. But I didn't like my neighbors where I lived then. I don't believe in the "back Pressure" theory, so the only real negative impact could be on you if some of that exhaust sitting under the car instead of being blown out the back gets into the passenger compartment and into you.

I had never done any exhaust work before, but found it easy to do myself when I finally wanted to. Got the whole thing from the cat back for about $130 from FCP Groton including shipping.