---- 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
> 
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--
David McNeely