So now I guess I've got something else to worry about- since the old muffler was of a wider diameter, someone may have oriented the cat to fit the muffler. It was a pain enough to get the old muffler off. I hope I don't have to take off the cat, too.

Ed

> Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 15:27:03 -0700
> From: scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM
> Subject: Re: 1.9 muffler orientation
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> yes, correcto-mundo on which end is which......
> the threaded holes are for the tail pipe end.
> it is confusing all right, plus the cat can be bolted on in one of 3
> orientations.
> I dummy fit the whole thing several times until it comes out right.
> Just looking at one I just put together........
> 
> looking staright on at the tail pipe end of the muffler........the tail pipe
> flange goes at the about 7 o'clock position.....downward and toward the rear
> of the van, and the f3 sided lange has a point to the top.
> That will make the flange at the cat end also ....toward the back and bottom
> a little bit, and the top of that triangle is flat .....like a flat upwards.
> 
> and the cat has the same thing ........
> a flat side of each flange will be upward..........assuming OE style german
> cat...........and the cat flanges will be downward, so most of the cat
> sticks upward from the flanges on the ends. Like the flanges are downward,
> and fairly centered, as far as fore-aft is concerend.
> 
>  I also like to fine tune the angle of the tail pipe by mounting it
> first.......then before tigtening the 3-bolt flanges bolts. .... I can
> rotate the whole muffler a little to get that 'just right' 1.5 inches below
> the rear bumper at the end of the tail pipe. I want them tucked up
> nicely....
> but also not so close to body or bumper that it'll make contact on start-up
> or shut down.
> ( also be aware on reason you don't want the tail pipe 'just sticking out
> there' too much ....particuarily if the opening is straight back......if you
> back up into a dirt bank or berm........dirt can get stuck in the tail pipe,
> and in a bad case even keep the engine from starting.   I thought I was
> almost stuck in my auto trans vanagon that way once......doing tight u-turn
> on a narrow dirt road......I backed into a ditch sort of ......it
> stalled.....
> and I realized if it was a clogged tail pipe, and it wouldn't start, and it
> was jammed and stalled into the dirt bank, and it was on a tilt, and I was
> by myself and couldn't push the van uphill a foot or two to get it out of
> the dirt bank.....I mighta been stuck there a little .......so keep that in
> mind about tail pipe angle and location. )
> 
> Some tail pipes won't allow this btw.........getting it looking really
> right.  ( I have high standards, lol - I want it race car elegant in every
> aspect ) .
> I have seen many tail pipes that will only make the tail pipe point more
> downward than would be elegant.
> I suspect that a syncro and a 2WD tail pipe might actually be differnt, but
> many vendors only supply one, and pershaps don't tell you either......
> though I could be wrong about that, but many's the time I felt that a brand
> new tail pipe was not really correct, from the aftermarket.
> 
> same on mufflers btw........I've seen many cases where the muffler wasn't
> really the correct dimensions.
> a 1.9 has a thin short muffler.
> a 2.1 has a fatter longer muffler.
> I have seen more than one time..........a thin long muffler.........in other
> words, 1.9 diamter, but 2.1 lennth.
> That's where the famous trick of putting an old brake pad under the 2.1
> support bracket straps comes in, to make the strap effectively shorter to
> accomodatge the actually incorrectly dimensioned muffler, that is suppossed
> to be the right one.
> 
> There is also a tail pipe that is too long, that I've seen a few times. (
> probably a diesel vanagon tail pipe ) .  If used on the longer muffler, you
> end up with the end of the tail pipe stcking out past the end of the body
> ........looks dorky.
> So......IF things will not come out just right.......
> sometimes it's not 'you' .......it is the incorrectly made aftermarket parts
> that are suppossed to be right, but really are not.
> 
> and I'm sure everyone realizes the reason for putting the tail pipe right at
> the lower outer corner is to pull exhaust away from the van cleanly - I can
> just see the vortex spiraling off the corner there.......pulling exhaust
> with it.
> If the tail pipe wase centraily located.....there would be a tendency for
> exhust to be re-directed right at the rear hatch door, and possible leak
> past the door seal there. ........so for all vanagons, .......particualily
> engine conversion ones........since you get to build it  like you
> want.....the tail pipe outlet goes as close the rear lower corner of the van
> as you can get it, more or less.
> I'm not sure all engine conversion shops are aware of this factor.  Just
> keep 'doing what the manufacturers do' is one of my conversion mottos. There
> is a reason many things are done more or less the same way, on many makes of
> cars, over many years of development and production.  Usually it's because
> ......
> " that's what works."   But seeing what people 'make up' is entertaining and
> amusing for sure  -  thank goodness !
> Scott
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ed Duntz" <eduntz@HOTMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 2:41 PM
> Subject: 1.9 muffler orientation
> 
> 
> I've got my old muffler off and a new Ansa ready to go on. Trouble is the
> old one is bigger, and looks like someone may have bent things a little to
> make it fit. The new one seems right, but I can't quite figure out which way
> the flange mounts to the cat; in other words, I can spin it on its
> horizontal axis and there are three ways it could mount. I'd like to find
> the right way and then try to get it mounted that way, maybe letting it run
> for a while to heat up the pipes, soften things up, and try to gently get in
> in place right.
> 
> So where should the flange be? Closer to the top of the van, sort of
> diagonally pointed down to the rear, or what?
> 
> I also notice that the new one is different on the cat end than on the tail
> pipe end. I think that the cat end has wider bolt holes, and the tail pipe
> has smaller, threaded holes. Is this right?
> 
> Thanks,
> Ed in CT trying to get ready for a trip.

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