Date:         Tue, 20 Jun 2000 08:33:27 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker@bama.ua.edu>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker@bama.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Seeking comments on Muffler Replacement
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> you had difficulty on an '87/88.  However, I have had a couple of people
who
> started to install the muffler backwards and found that the muffler straps
> did not clear the heat shield. I told them to flip the muffler around and,
> sure enough, it fit.

tried that: no joy. plus the flange for the catalytic converter is a
pass-through bolt hole, while the flange for the tailpipe is a threaded bolt
hole. i kinda don't think the two flanges are interchangeable.

> aware of this having happened.  In such a case, I'd imagine you could
simply
> cut away a part of the heat shield with tin snips and end up no worse off
> than with a stock muffler (which lacked the shield anyway).  But you
really
> shouldn't have to, since by design the gaps in the heat shield do allow
for
> the use of the stock straps.

tried that as well. still no luck. all it did was make a mess with the
insulation material. even with the heat sheild removed on the catalytic
converter end, it simply would not fit with both brackets in place. if you
got it to work on yours, great. i did not get it to work on mine.

but this is the risk we take with aftermarket parts. in 30 years of running
and working on buses, it's a known risk and i've learned to accept it. some
aftermarket parts are worse than others. even some dealer-sold 'vw' parts
don't always fit. mostly due to, i think, some dealers being worse than
others .... i've had a dealer try to sell me a freshly-cleaned-off voltage
regulator (for a 71 bus) that was still dripping in solvent as a "new"
part!!!  but my experience has been that 90 percent of the dealer parts do
fit, whereas about maybe 50 percent of aftermarket stuff fits well enough.
you pays your money and you takes your chances. but to say that an
ill-fitting aftermarket part is always or even usually the fault of the
bus-owner and installer, is, i think, just wrong ... parts shouldn't have to
be forced to fit, even when replacing only one part of a rusty old exhaust
system.

unca joel