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Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:59 am

I am trying to decide what to do with my exhaust. I need to replace the crossoverpipe, well pretty much everything but the muffler. I know this has been debated before and what Ive concluded is that the Empi systems are crap. Has anyone ever gone to an exhaust shop to see if they can manufacture one? I like the idea of OE but the price. I was looking at this http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=071251053EK It says that it will fit an 82 but has anyone done this. Does it fit securely? The nice thing is that I dont need a cat, no emission testing here in Mn, or the EGR port.

Always open to suggestions.

Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:33 am

I just got off the phone with BD last week about buying the complete stock system they are offereing as a kit, and they informed me the crossover pipes are on national backorder, with no estimated time of availability, so you may be waiting for a while anyways. I am thinking about the same muffler you are as it's cheaper, and available.

If you cross reference with other website, CIP1 for one, they also list things from 72-74 as compatible with 79-83.

My thoughts are, sure it fits, but how does it perform on a 2.0L? They were designed for a smaller cc engine. Does it affect cooling? I want to know too....

Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:07 am

When I purchased my '81, it had the older (ie. '74) muffler on it. It ran fine for several years. There is an interferance problem with the heater down-pipes (the ones feeding the heat exchangers), but the PO had beat them into submission to "work" with the bulkier muffler.

The muffler gradually got louder and louder until I was compelled to do something about it. I tried both of the aftermarket types available (the "collector" exhaust and the "Monza" style). Neither one fit worth a damn. So I bit the bullet and ordered all the factory pieces from CIP. They all fit very nicely. I even had the crossover pipe ceramic coated, thinking that would make it last longer. That was a waste of money. It's rusting just as fast as if I'd done nothing to it. Live and (hopefully) learn.

Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:33 am

Im sure that I can get it to mount to the heat exchangers what I am curious about is if it will ride to high, to far back, or rub. Next will the stock muffler strap work or do i need some other means to secure it, and if so what ?

Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:20 am

He's talking about getting the two pipes from the alternator into the heat exchangers to fit. Could be a PITA.

Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:46 pm

MightyArt's correct. I was referring to the pipes which interface the heat exchangers to the fresh air pipes coming from the alternator. Sorry that I wasn't more clear.

As I said, they had already been "clearanced" to work with the older muffler by a PO. Obviously I wasn't witness to the modifications, but from the state of my down-pipes, I'd surmise that a large hammer was involved. Repeatedly.

The '74 muffler itself bolted up to the heat exchangers quite nicely. Which was good, because there is NO way to stretch or shrink it to match the spacing of the flanges. I don't recall any body clearance issues. In fact, if you didn't know it was the wrong muffler for the car, you'd never know the difference. You don't need a muffler strap, it bolts directly to the heat exchanger flanges.

As far as power goes, I noticed no increase in power when I went to the year-correct setup, and the reduction in noise wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped. All the various bits cost me over $700 CDN, so I wasn't especially happy about the end result. BTW, I don't have a cat either. The '81 Vanagon didn't come with one here in Canada. There's a connector pipe which you order to go in place of the cat.

My main impetus in going to the stock setup was so I could implement the EGR system (I believe that a lack of EGR is contributing to my poor track record with engines in this van). Well, it turns out that sourcing the EGR filter is proving, er, difficult, so I'm SOL as far as accomplishing that task. I'm also considering switching over to a Megasquirt FI system. The design of the Vanagon system will accomodate the installation of an O2 sensor more readily than the '74 muffler. Right now it's a toss-up between continuing to fight the good fight with this van or just rolling it into the river. The way I'm (not) making progress, I may be able to go camping with it by Labour Day. :(

Wed Jul 13, 2005 2:42 pm

Ron at bus depot says it's an oem european muffler. no cat or egr. bolts right to the exchangers.

jamie

Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:01 pm

Ceramic coating only works properly when it's applied to the INSIDE of the pipe. The external coating is cosmetic only (unless you have a pipe getting blasted with jet exhaust or something :)

Mike!

Thu Jul 14, 2005 9:17 pm

It was coated on both the inside and the outside. The rust is showing up on the "bend" in the pipe, right where the rear wheel can kick water, dirt, sand and assorted crap at it.