Date:         Fri, 2 Feb 1996 20:49:56 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         DHaynes57@aol.com
Subject:      Re: wasserboxer muffler & CAT

In a message dated 96-02-02 04:07:12 EST, jms@ludwig.att.com
(538280000-Sharpe) writes:

>)
>
>To all ye wasserboxer owners,
>
>The new muffler I got from EuroParts has a heat shield brazed
>onto it. The old one didn't have one and it's removal was pretty
>easy, once I separated it from the CAT. Anyhow, the new one with
>the heat shield doesn't have enough room to slide in across the
>muffler hangers. So I guess I have to take the hangers off, mount
>the muffler to the hangers and then reinstall the hangers, what
>a drag :(  The new muffler is heavier than the old one, it
>matches in lenght and flange location.
>
>On to the CAT, the new CAT is stainless steel, matches the old one
>in length and flange configuration. The only difference is the new 
>one is 2/3 the diameter of the old one. Dennis Haynes mentioned 
>that this maybe more restrictive and could decrease performance. 
>I'll have to install it to see. Otherwise it looks very well made,
>I don't recall the manufacturer, but I got it from PartsPlace.
>
>One last thing, to get the old O2 senser off of the old CAT, I had
>to put the old CAT in a vise and use a pipe wrench to get the 
>sensor off. Chewed up the flat surfaces some but it worked. I 
>could have use some heat, but didn't think of it at the time.
>Oh well, I plan to use a ton of anti-seize when I put it back 
>together, which should help with disassembly next time.

Muffler you got is the BOSAL. It is a good unit.  You only need to remove one
bracket to install.  I suggest you use Stainlees hardware to mount this.  The
cat you got sound like the universal replacement with swivel flanges and the
O2 sensor mounted in the pipe.  Be careful with the never sieze as any thing
that gets near the tip of the sensor will desteroy it.  Test sensor operation
with voltmeter to ensure proper operation.  Out of tolerance mixtuer will
destroy new cat in about 500 miles.  All Cat failures are due to something
else being wrong or engine severly over worked.