Wilkiesr

What is the purpose of the intake muffler on a 2.3. Can it be removed?

1meanGT

I am assuming your reference to muffler is the chamber where the intake noises can cancel each other out. If so, the purpose is to tune the noise you would hear from the intake side, just in the same manor that an exhaust would be tuned.

Yes- you can remove this from most cars, 1996 and older without affecting the drivability. You still can on newer cars, it may affect drivability, so try not to destroy it on removal.