My muffler (not resonator) has a small hole about the size of a pea right in the middle, bottom side. It is perfectly centered, doesn't look like it was caused by corrosion, and doesn't looked like it was poked by something or someone. In short, it looks like it belongs there. Does it? Or is it just a coincidence and not normal? I failed inspection in part because of an exhaust leak. The guy didn't specify what/where the leak was and I had completely forgotten that hole was there. I'm pretty sure that's what he was talking about. Should that hole be there or am I crazy?
My muffler is OEM.

 

No holes on my exhaust!

They have to be sealed to the end, it won't be a drain I can assure you, a spit of weld on it will do but if it is rusted then you'll just blow a bigger hole, sounding like time for a new silencer!

 

Yes there is a drain hole. One of the biggest products of combustion is H20 and a lot of it can accumulate in the muffler. If there wasn't a drain hole, it would need to boil and blow out as steam and on short drives it won't. If it sits in there it will rust the muffler from the inside out.

I have a muffler on another car that is rusted out at the bottom corner where water inside accumulated. It too has a drain hole but the hole was about 6 inches more toward the center so there was still a spot for water to accumulate. It's a 12 year old muffler.

On the Discovery, my A-arm pushed down on the tailpipe at full droop and broke the rubber hanger behind the muffler. That looseness resulted in the weld at the front inlet of the muffler cracking.

Check your exhaust manifolds for cracks, check the manifold flanges for leaks, check the y-pipe ball joint for leaks, check the welds for cracks, and check all the rubber hangers.

 

Texas you say? Don't spend a dollar! Let the state fix it.

AirCheckTexas - Drive A Clean Machine :: H-GAC see applications to the right of the page. The state will give you $600 towards repairs if car/truck fails the emissions part of the test.

All you pay is $30 if the repair shop doesn't use the whole 600. It works, I've used it on my 4runner. My supervisor used it.

Thank me later and spread the word to everyone you know about the program.

 

I never had one so far on 3 RRCs 4 Series 3s and a Disco 1 3.9, you are right about condensation forming in the exhaust but fitting a drain in a silencer is something I have never seen in over 15 years of owning Land Rovers!

 

It's quite possibly a North American thing. You're in Europe where California doesn't apply. Here in the US, California applies to almost everything automotive, and while that doesn't mean we have to get muffler drains, it does mean that we almost certainly get specific exhausts. I have a 1998 NAS-spec Discovery 1, same as OP and it has a drain hole. The muffler is embossed with Land Rover logo and large letters T.I.C.S. which must have been some marketing acronym at the time.

 

Yes all mufflers have exhaust drains, sometimes the muffler is installed upside down and you cant see the drain.
But its there.

 

bin, thanks I'll check all that out. Also, you might be on to something with the California thing. My truck was originally sold in California. The previous owner (I'm the second) moved here from California. That hole is definitely not rust. There is no rust anywhere on my truck.

Sam, I will thank you now and later! I have other vehicles that could benefit. You just made me feel like its my birthday and Christmas.

Thanks Spike your word is the final confirmation I needed.

 

Mine had a drain hole as well but its long gone.

 

Dude, these trucks are born with rust.