Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 22:51:19 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject: Re: Converter and muffler instalation
In-Reply-To: <027201bf0ae3$ca139c40$aac55bd1@jmoscoso>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> I just received a Cat converter and muffler for my '84 Westfalia from
> BusDepot.com (thanks to Ron and the guys, it made it to Puerto
> Rico in four days, including week-end) Both of them look strong but the
> muffler came with a dent about three inches long 1/4 inch depth, there
doesn't
> seems to be any interior harm done. In the converter there is a screw
(about 3/4
> inch) on one side.
>
> 1) Will the dent have any effect on the muffler performance?
> 2) What is the screw on the converter for
Regarding the bolt in the catalytic converter, it is there because the cat I
sell (for $99) is designed to fit both 1.9L and 2.1L Vanagons. The two cats
are identical, except that on the 1.9L models the 02 sensor went into the
pipe before the cat, whereas on the 2.1's the sensor went directly into the
cat. If you use this cat on a 1.9L vanagon, simply leave the supplied bolt
in place; on a 2.1L, remove it and put the 02 sensor there.
Regarding the dent in the muffler, frankly this is common. You would not
believe the way these mufflers are shipped here from Europe! Just piled
into a big crate, with no packaging whatsoever, and left to bang up against
eachother at will throughout their journey over the seas! When I get them
from a U.S. distributor instead (as opposed to directly from Europe), they
are often sent the same way, or if I order just one or two they are just
shipped loose, with no box at all, just an address label slapped onto the
outside of the muffler. I suppose the distributors feel that if they made it
here from Europe bouncing around loose in a box, UPS can't hurt them much.
Needless to say, small dents are the norm rather than the exception. Of
course, sitting behind your rear wheels, exposed to whatever may kick off of
your rear tires etc., the muffler is likely to get plenty of dings and dents
in no time anyway. My suggestion is that unless the dent is splitting a
seam or otherwise appears to affect the integrity of the muffler (which is
extremely rare; hence the manufacturers' willingness to ship them this way),
I wouldnt worry about it. You could easily go through a half dozen of them
trying to find a "perfect" one, considering how the manufacturers ship them.
And a cosmetic dent really wont matter anyway, considering that we're
talking about a muffler here, not a trim piece. Of course, if the damage
appears to be severe enough that it threatens the structural integrity of
the muffler (quite unusual), you should most certainly contact me for
exhange, as I would not allow one to leave the shop that way, so it might be
indicative of severe shipping damage that occured from me to you.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
http://www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
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