• 13 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Muffler

Two mufflers cut open, then a muffler in its place under the car.

Parts of a Muffler

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Shell
  2. Inlet
  3. Outlet
  4. Baffles
  5. Chambers
  6. Tubes
  7. Perforated tube
  8. Fiberglass packing
  9. Exhaust pipe
  10. Resonator
  11. Clamps
  12. Hangers
  13. Tailpipe

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: everything under the car

All 13 parts on the diagram

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Two mufflers cut open 8

  1. Shell It is sheet metal, crimped or welded shut at the seams. So a muffler cannot be taken apart.
  2. Inlet It is usually a little larger than the pipe it joins. So it can slip over the end of it.
  3. Outlet The tailpipe fits here.
  4. Baffles The gas must pass through holes in them to reach the outlet. One maker's catalog calls them partitions.
  5. Chambers The gas spreads out in each one. That smooths out the surges of gas coming from the engine's cylinders.
  6. Tubes In this muffler one leads in from the inlet. One leads out to the outlet. Each has an open end inside.
  7. Perforated tube A straight-through muffler has just this one. Sound gets out through the holes into the packing, and the gas goes straight on.
  8. Fiberglass packing It soaks up sound. Glass wool is another name for it, and some mufflers use metal shavings.

Under the car 5

  1. Exhaust pipe It runs from the engine's exhaust manifold back to the muffler.
  2. Resonator Some cars have one to cut exhaust noise further. It may sit ahead of the muffler, as here, or behind it.
  3. Clamps One holds the muffler on the exhaust pipe. One holds it on the tailpipe.
  4. Hangers The middle can be a flexible block that soaks up vibration.
  5. Tailpipe Carries gas from the muffler's outlet to where it leaves the car.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. The two military texts count as one source. (1) US Army TM 9-8000, Principles of Automotive Vehicles, 1985, chapter 7, paragraph 7-4 and figure 7-4, https://archive.org/details/tm-9-8000-principles-of-automotive-vehicles-1985 (exhaust pipe, tailpipe, inlet and outlet slightly larger than their pipes, clamps, several chambers with openings between them, baffles), with the US Army Ordnance course OD1004, Wheeled Vehicle Fuel and Exhaust Systems, lesson 3, https://archive.org/details/od-1004-wheeled-vehicle-fuel-and-exhaust-system-edition-6 (straight-through and baffle mufflers, a pipe with holes drilled all around it, glass wool packed round it, holes in the baffles, chambers between the baffles, sheet metal crimped or welded at the seams, hangers with a flexible center). (2) Missouri Auto Mechanics Curriculum Guide, Module 3, Engine Performance, Section B, Fuel and Exhaust Systems, University of Missouri, 1990, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152929_0894 (exhaust pipe, muffler of baffles, chambers and tubes, resonator as a second muffler ahead of or behind the muffler, tail pipe, clamps, hangers). (3) Wikipedia, Exhaust system and Muffler, text only (muffler, tailpipe, resonator, straight-through mufflers of an inner perforated tube, an outer tube and fiberglass between them; chambers and piping inside the shell). (4) A muffler maker's 1964 parts catalog, names only, https://archive.org/details/HayesQuietZoneMufflersCatalogHM10641937Through1964OCR116Pages (shell, inlet and outlet, inner tubes, chambers, partitions, resonators, tail pipes). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's muffler, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a muffler are a shell with an inlet and an outlet, and inside it baffles, chambers and tubes. Two mufflers are cut open here, and a second drawing shows the pipes and hangers round one.

Read the full guide

Inside the two mufflers

The upper one is a baffle muffler. The shell is its outer skin. Gas comes in at the inlet and has to find its way through the tubes and through holes in the baffles, from chamber to chamber, before it reaches the outlet. The lower one is a straight-through muffler: one perforated tube from end to end, with fiberglass packing between it and the shell.

Under the car

The exhaust pipe brings gas from the engine, here by way of a resonator. A clamp grips the joint at each end of the muffler, hangers hold everything up under the floor, and the tailpipe leads out the back.

  • In British English a muffler is called a silencer.
  • Neither kind is perfect: a straight-through muffler holds the gas back least, and a baffle muffler quiets it most.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a muffler?

A sheet-metal shell with an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other. Inside a baffle muffler are baffles, the chambers between them, and tubes. Inside a straight-through muffler are one perforated tube and the packing round it.

What is the difference between a muffler and a resonator?

A resonator is a second muffler that some cars have to cut exhaust noise further. It can sit ahead of the muffler or behind it.

What is a glasspack muffler?

A straight-through muffler: an inner perforated tube, an outer tube, and fiberglass between the two.

What holds a muffler in place?

Clamps hold it on the exhaust pipe and on the tailpipe, and hangers hold the pipes up under the car.

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