[Vwdiesel] mufflerectomy, postscript

[Nate Wall]

Years ago I had to deal w/ this issue when the TD
muffler broke off right where the exhaust hanger is
"Clamped", yes w/ a hose type clamp from the factory)
on the pipe leading into the muffler. Rust started
there and it got weak and broke. I tried fabricating a
pipe and leaving the muffler off. I connected the pipe
w/ a muffler clamp. Contrary to what others have said,
the exhaust was VERY loud without the muffler, way too
loud for me. This is on a turbodiesel, too. Also, I
did not do a very good job fabricating the pipe. It
vibrated and buzzed like hell and resonated thru the
body of the car. Drove be nuts! This happened because
I could not keep it off of the rear axle beam. After
three months of dicking with it, I went to VW and
bought a brand spanking new muffler for about $120.
BTW that was down from about $350 a couple years
earlier! It was fairly difficult to remove the old
muffler pipe from the resonator, as I recall. End of
problem.  BTW I get about 10 years out of the OEM
rubber muffler hangers. Yes, the muffler weight about
10 -15 pounds.

--Nate
--- "Doyt W. Echelberger" <Doyt at NWOnline.Net> wrote:
> I read over the several posts on this topic, and
> realized that no one has
> commented on one of the advantages of getting rid of
> the rear muffler: It
> is a huge, heavy chunk of hollow steel which hangs
> there on bouncy little
> rubber bands that break about every six months. And
> because of its weight
> and the diesel vibration, it is prone to cracking
> its inlet and outlet
> pipes where they attached. When I took it off and
> carried it to the garage,
> I was surprised at how heavy that whole thing was.
> The car handled better
> when it was gone. And the engine ran better without
> it's restriction. Mine
> was the original muffler, 18 years old. It never
> rusted out but its pipes
> cracked off several times. A real boat anchor,
> amazingly durable.
>
> Certainly there is a lighter way (or even multiple
> ways) to reduce the
> exhaust noise, and whatever you use can be placed in
> locations that won't
> wiggle the tail of the car like a trailer on a semi.
>
> Doyt
>
>  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> At 06:08 AM 6/17/2003 -0400, you wrote:
> >Doyt,
> >
> >Thanks for the info. I have a muffler on there
> right now but the pipe is
> >looking like it may die soon. In fact, I had a
> section fall off (from
> >the toilet bowl to where it goes under the car on
> my 1.6NA) when I towed
> >it home. That's in the passenger seat right now!!!
> >
> >I think I can deal with a little noise like you
> describe. I can put a
> >cheap Autozone chrome downpipe tip on it to keep
> the total noise down,
> >especially in my neighborhood.
> >
> >
> >Mikey
> >
>
>______________________________________________________
> >
> >Heaven is where the police are British, the chefs
> Italian, mechanics
> >German, the lovers French and it is all organized
> by the Swiss. .
> >
> >Hell is where the police are German, the chefs
> British, the mechanics
> >French, the lovers Swiss and it is all organized by
> the Italians.
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Doyt W. Echelberger
> [mailto:Doyt at NWOnline.Net]
> >Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 1:13 AM
> >To: Michael Hitchings
> >Cc: vwdiesel at audifans.com
> >Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] mufflerectomy
> >
> >I'm running my 85 Jetta TD with a straight pipe,
> and what Loren sez is
> >true
> >of my car, also. If I had it to do over, I'd
> probably put a small
> >silencer/glasspack about the middle of the system,
> to soften that
> >BRRRRAAAAAPPPPP that I get when I wind up through
> the gears with a heavy
> >
> >foot. Or maybe just put a deflector on the tail
> pipe, to direct the
> >sound
> >toward the ground.
> >
> >You can hear the straight pipe a block away when
> you get on the pedal,
> >but
> >from inside the car it isn't very noticeable. The
> sound is blasting out
> >the
> >tailpipe, at whatever is behind the car.....that is
> where you hear it.
> >That
> >may be where to soften it.
> >
> >Doyt   in Ohio   USA
> >
> >  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> >At 09:28 AM 6/16/2003 -0700, you wrote:
> > >--
> > >[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> > >
> > >I probably missed this when it's been talked
> about before but....
> > >
> > >On my newly acquired TD (circa '86), if I run a
> muffler-less exhaust,
> >will
> > >it be too loud for my neighbors or will it be
> similar to a TDI
> >(increase
> > >in the turbo whistle, but not increased engine
> sound)?  I know the
> >turbo
> > >acts like a muffler to an extent, but I want to
> try some stuff...all
> >w/o
> > >totally ticking off my neighbors (nice suburban
> subdivision).
> > >
> > >Mikey
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >________________________
> > >
> > >If it ain't broken, still fix it!!!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >---------------------------------
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>
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