I just noticed some white fibrous material inside my exhaust tip. At first it looked like an animal was building a nest in there, but on closer inspection they look like some kind of fiberglass shards that have possibly blown out to the tip. Could this be some kind of resonator or muffler packing material that is making it's way out? Should I be concerned?

 

The car has a PFS exhaust; I forget the downpipe brand but it is also aftermarket. Both were on the car when I bought it, so I may not have info on their exact age.

 

its not the downpipe, or exhaust, i have the pfs cat back. id guess your catalytic converter

 

What makes you say that?

 

Pretty sure ur muffler is taking a ****

 

Resonator & heimholtz type mufflers are usually manufactured just as yours is- they are straight thru, with a perforated steel core.

Behind this perforated steel core, to fill in the voids and make it sound lower and less raspy, many muffler manufacturers pack chopped fiberglass in there to fill it up. Reason being, fiberglass (without the resin) is very tolerant of high heat and will damper and 'muffle' sound.

Here, I've copied a link from a Jaguar (*shudder*) site that shows a cutaway of how a glasspack muffler is constructed. You'll need to scroll down about a third of the way through the thread (ignore the text, just look for the picture)

Exhausted confusion - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Glasspacks are quite common mufflers on muscle cars and most vehicles. We learned about them back in auto shop when I would have been about 16 I think :p

Yours is losing the chopped glass packing. It will get louder and raspier as it loses more and more of it. Apart from that, it will still continue to function, possibly a bit louder than it used to. Apart from the annoyance of having white itchy fluff coming out of it, you could leave it alone or replace it, completely up to you

 

as long as I can remember the only packing material good for rotaries was stainless steel, not fiberglass

 

I had a glasspack muffler on my FB. It lasted about 3 days. You cant use a glasspack muffler on a rotary due to the high exhaust temperatures.

I dont think that stuff is material from a catalytic converter.

 

I have a PFS exhaust and the muffler can has no packing of any kind as shipped from the factory; perhaps the tip does.

 

Hmmm. notice any sound change? As other have said, it looks like your resonator or muffler has taken a dump...