Northeastern Exhaust Stainless Steel Center Muffler Assembly and Rear Muffler Kit Compatible for 2001-2003 Infiniti QX4 and 2001 Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L, Free Clamp and Gasket Included

Completely match old exhaust with no issues….. and seemed to be well made and perfect to put together! Not one issue.

I bought this system as well as the resonators in March/April 2021 for my daughters 04 Pathfinder in stainless to not have to worry about it rusting out. The Pathfinder was originally from the Midwest so the old muffler was rusted out and had to be cut off of the car. During assembly it became obvious the geometry of the drivers side pipe from the resonator to the muffler was WAY off and the passengers side pipe was short. There was a 2 inch angled gap pushing the drivers side pipe and resonator hard against the frame. I had to do a bush fix on this with a can to wrap around the flange joint until I could resolve this in the short term. When I contacted customer service via email around April 28 I was told they were very sorry and to return the product which I obviously couldn't do because it was on the car (kind of). I asked for a replacement pipe with the proper bend and was told they got a bad batch in and were all like that. They are telling me this when, at the time, they had 12 available on Amazon (!?). They did tell me they would order one free of charge and get it to me when it comes in. I asked for the piece from a good kit but, like I said, they were supposedly all like that. I called every week or so for updates being told "it was a week out" or "it didn't come in, should be next week". Finally by early July (JULY!) and was told, no not yet in again so I asked if they had a non stainless equivalent which they did and were more than happy to send me, dissimilar metals be dammed. Here's the kicker. Their "equivalent replacement pipe" was too long and the but ends from the pipe to the muffler were the same I.D and O.D. So after 4 MONTHS! I still got to modify the pipe they sent me AND cut my muffler pipe so a sleeve could properly be inserted into the muffler to keep it from leaking. But hey, one positive. It lines up now (WOO HOO!). So if you made it all the way through this review, BUYER BEWARE! You are not going to get the service you come to expect form an Amazon purchase issue. I had 4 months of excuses, empty promises, dropped calls and the general run around from this third party company. Check your fitment because if it's not right, you'll be paying for it in the end (and still not get the right part).

Parts bolted up easily. Fit and finish is good, with only some minor adjustments needed to the hangars to clear my trailer hitch at the rear. Time will tell how it holds up

The Northeastern Exhaust 409 stainless steel muffler and resonator are constructed very well but the intermediate pipes will not line up. Not even close. To be fair, I doubt there is a perfect direct fit alternative that lines up perfectly, except an OEM option. I had those pipes cut and welded to the muffler. The welds on the parts are excellent. The size of every item mirrors the Nissan OEM components in great detail except the intermediate pipes. Even the center hanger plate and dynamic damper bracket match Nissan OEM exactly, which I have not seen on any other aftermarket exhaust system. The mandrel tube bends, for the most part, are identical to the Nissan OEM muffler and resonator. However, the longer intermediate pipe was considerably out of proper alignment and the short pipe was too short and also out of alignment. The muffler clamps were the wrong size so I bought a pair of 1-3/4" clamps to replace the 2" clamps provided but then decided to weld on the pipes instead. This system is a direct fit for my '02 Pathfinder but not what I would call plug-n-play. Muffler shops want $100 to $200 to get it installed properly and that's just for the cost of reworking the intermediate pipes and fitting them up to the muffler. I installed the muffler and resonator myself with ease, along with new rubber insulator hangers. (Walker part numbers 35460, qty 4 and 35725, qty 1) The fit was a perfect match to an OEM install. The intermediate pipes required installation at a muffler shop since I do not have the tools to do that portion of the job right. I am pleased with the performance of the whole system (I bought the cat pipe resonators on Amazon as well "Pair of Stainless Steel Exhaust Front Pipes fits: 2002-03 QX4 2002-04 Pathfinder by Northeastern Exhaust"). I could have saved some cash and bought the entire package bundle for my '02 Pathfinder on Amazon. ("Stainless Steel Exhaust System Kit fits: 02-03 Infiniti QX4 02-04 Nissan Pathfinder by Northeastern Exhaust") The value, benefits, and performance over OEM is a great deal. I was even able to polish the stainless steel tail pipe with 1000 grit sand paper and water to give it a mirror shine so it looks great as well.

Great value for the money!