Exhaust leaks--Ideas?

[93excoupe]

My 93 ex has 236,000 miles. The muffler is original to the car, and has more holes in it than swiss chesse. But, whenever I drive with my windows rolled down and/or with the sunroof open I get a very strong exhaust smell. It gets much worse when I am merging on the highway at high engine speeds.
The car doesn't burn much, if any oil.
Possible the leaky muffler is causing this?
Or is this isolated in the engine compartment?

I'll check:
Oil pressure sensor on back of motor. This won't account for the exhaust smell, but may with the oil smell.

Any other ideas? I am seriously considering selling the car because summer time driving was pretty smelly.

[90ACCORDLXGUY]

get new exhaust because the tubing is also probably rotted making it smell

[Bcozzi71]

/\/\ yea if the muffler is rotted the whole thing prolly is...most likly there is a whole near the front of your car and that why its smelling bad with windows down....

[rossisalvage]

Yea I would change the exhaust asap. it can end up being pretty dangerous if the fumes get in the car and you are breathing them in.

[lokuputha]

exhaust gases are not good for u....it actually kills brain cells .

if u have the original exhaust system, because of the intense rust and corrosion, it is most likely not reparable.

Go to any muffler shop and get them to make u a nice stainless 2" exhaust for about 200. U r good to go.

[deevergote]

I agree... the original exhaust is well past it's usable lifetime... replace it. Don't sell the car because of the exhaust smell... I mean, the definition of "exhaust smell" means that it's coming from the exhaust... you have 5 parts to worry about! Header, flex pipe, catalytic converter, piping, muffler. The header/manifold is probably ok. The rest is probably being held together by rust... replace it all. Drop the cash for an SMSP catalytic converter and an Apex'i World Sport for the best sound and performance possible

[98vtec]

get under the car with the engine running and run your hand along the exhaust and feel for leaks.

[Camurai]

I picked up a Tenrai 2¼" stainless cat-back exhaust for under 200 bones shipped. Swapping it in was simple enough. Just make sure you can get the car a decent distance off the ground if you don't have access to air tools. The hardware has a tendency to seize from rust and heat and can be a bear to remove sometimes. I found a set of ramps and a ½" breaker bar invaluable. I'd also recommend some universal joint ratchet attachments. Once that's complete, I'd suggest getting yourself some engine degreaser (Pep boys or other stores will typically have some environmentally-friendly citrus-based degreaser) and cleaning the engine compartment. That should help with the oil smell. It's probably coming from some oil that got spilled on the exhaust during an oil change.