Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:59:07 -0600
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Mufflers re-dux (pipe strangeness)
In-Reply-To: <01bc01ccf628$d252fac0$76f8f040$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
---- The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM> wrote:
> > A local shop has offered to put a "universal" muffler on including tail
> pipe,
> > everything welded, for $150, or an Ansa muffler, with new pipe and flange,
> bolted,
> > for $288. Opinions? Any functional difference? Oh, with the "universal"
> muffler,
> > which is 4" shorter than the Ansa, he would weld the muffler to the pipe
> coming
> > from the catalytic converter, too.
>
>
> > I would go with the Ansa muffler and the corresponding tailpipe. I've
> > been running this setup on my Westy since 1997 with several trips
> > coast to coast and she's still going strong, no reason to change it
> > out yet.
>
>
> Assuming you have a 1.9L, that is the very same Ansa we sell for $99
> everyday. So you're paying nearly a $200 premium to have the local shop
> supply and install it. The installation is straightforward, given that it's
> a direct-fit bolt-on muffler - certainly not $200 worth of work. (To be fair
> to the shop, part of the difference may be that they pay more for the
> muffler than we retail it for. They buy a few at a time; I buy hundreds.)
> You would probably save about $100 if you simply bought the muffler from us
> for $99 and brought it to a mechanic who was willing to install
> customer-supplied parts. (Or alternatively, one who was willing to order
> the parts from us rather than paying a higher markup to their local jobber.)
Actually, I have a 2.1 waterboxer. But the principle is the same. A different muffler shop offers the same deal for $245 for the ANSA, or will install one I supply for $45. He will install a "universal" for $100, with a "lifetime guarantee," whatever that means. On that job, unlike the other shop I consulted, he will weld a flange onto the catalytic converter side of the muffler, and and bolt it on, though he will fabricate and weld a tailpipe on.
I'm leaning toward ordering the muffler myself and having it installed, but because of the welded on tailpipe that I have currently, I will have to buy a tailpipe for another $30.
Or, I might just go to Midas, and get their "lifetime guarantee." that seems like a surer thing than a lifetime guarantee with a local shop, since there are Midas shops all over.
Can anyone speak to whether which muffler makes any difference in engine performance or mileage? I have been told that it does, due to differences in back pressure, but I have no understanding of how that would work. Certainly, there is the catalytic converter and a whole series of pipes and manifolds between the muffler and the engine.
mcneely
>
> - Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
> (215) 234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
--
David McNeely
| 
