TheSamba.com :: View topic - Dansk heater Boxes - Do Not Fit

Thu May 29, 2025 5:29 pm

Slice it with a cutoff wheel part way thru, bend it to fit and weld it up.

Thu May 29, 2025 5:36 pm

Not so easy for most people.

Thu May 29, 2025 6:21 pm

Ok, use a hacksaw blade and take it to a muffler shop. :lol:

If thats gonna stop someone, sell the bug!

Thu May 29, 2025 6:32 pm

chrisflstf wrote: Ok, use a hacksaw blade and take it to a muffler shop. :lol:

If thats gonna stop someone, sell the bug!
Or buy better quality parts that fit.

I've installed quite a few sets of heater boxes and stock mufflers and never had to do such modifications.

Wolfsburg West heater boxes and muffler, fit like stock.

Thu May 29, 2025 6:54 pm

Buy another set of heat exchangers at WW for $350? Thats a pretty poor suggestion to solve a $20 visit to a muff shop

Thu May 29, 2025 7:05 pm

bedlamite wrote: If you return them it's possible the next set would be just as bad. I'd probably cut and reweld the flange.
Agree !!!

Look at the difference in my "new" coupler !!! Chinese/EMPI cannot even copy correctly !!! Not even close !!! Wouldn't fit, I used new rubber in the older coupler.

Thu May 29, 2025 7:45 pm

Glenn wrote: chrisflstf wrote: Ok, use a hacksaw blade and take it to a muffler shop. :lol:

If thats gonna stop someone, sell the bug!
Or buy better quality parts that fit.

I've installed quite a few sets of heater boxes and stock mufflers and never had to do such modifications.

Wolfsburg West heater boxes and muffler, fit like stock.

Glenn, I looked up the WW ones. They appear to be the exact same Jopex/Dansk brand that JBugs sells.

Fri May 30, 2025 12:51 am

Update :wink:
Maybe the fact that this OP was live a couple nights before I called Jbugs due to the holiday I seems my post was already known to exist at the sellers office and had been seen by the owner.
Maybe the fact that this post grew after the holiday from the involvement of al of us here on The Samba. We are the largest car enthisiast gear head group on the planet. =D> =D>
Maybe the fact that I stayed on this and didn't back down.
Maybe the seller who is a mechanic himself actually realized I cant torque exhaust flange nuts to the specified torque and actually stress 7-10 degrees out of a bad J pipe pre-fab.
Who knows. :?:
I was given an RMA number and a return shipping label as well.

The result at least as of this point in time ( money aint in the bank yet) JBugs will stand behind thier product.

Thank you Sam for getting involved. :vw:

Fri May 30, 2025 12:57 am

Glenn wrote:
Or buy better quality parts that fit.

I've installed quite a few sets of heater boxes and stock mufflers and never had to do such modifications.

Wolfsburg West heater boxes and muffler, fit like stock.
[/quote]

I have seen instances where CIP1's "best" grade actually came to me as Wolfsburg West parts.

Fri May 30, 2025 8:42 am

Bug53 wrote: Update :wink:
Maybe the fact that this OP was live a couple nights before I called Jbugs due to the holiday I seems my post was already known to exist at the sellers office and had been seen by the owner.
Maybe the fact that this post grew after the holiday from the involvement of al of us here on The Samba. We are the largest car enthisiast gear head group on the planet. =D> =D>
Maybe the fact that I stayed on this and didn't back down.
Maybe the seller who is a mechanic himself actually realized I cant torque exhaust flange nuts to the specified torque and actually stress 7-10 degrees out of a bad J pipe pre-fab.
Who knows. :?:
I was given an RMA number and a return shipping label as well.

The result at least as of this point in time ( money aint in the bank yet) JBugs will stand behind thier product.

Thank you Sam for getting involved. :vw:

So, the return may be in route. What happens after this point? Are you buying something different? Just J tubes? What is the solution for the reason you purchased these to begin with? This is the point of the story that gets lost in so many threads. Where at you at with this point in the project now?

Fri May 30, 2025 7:20 pm

VW_Jimbo wrote:

So, the return may be in route. What happens after this point? Are you buying something different? Just J tubes? What is the solution for the reason you purchased these to begin with? This is the point of the story that gets lost in so many threads. Where at you at with this point in the project now?[/quote]

I have a new set coming from CIP1. I believe they are Dansk. I have purchased these on two other occasions and they fit perfect like a glove. CIP “best” quality are the same as WWest.

Sat May 31, 2025 2:28 am

VW_Jimbo wrote:

So, the return may be in route. What happens after this point? Are you buying something different? Just J tubes? What is the solution for the reason you purchased these to begin with? This is the point of the story that gets lost in so many threads. Where at you at with this point in the project now?

The heater boxes were bought for their intended purpose. They will be sourced elsewhere ( WW or CIP1). The car is about 20 hours from being lit off. However every time there's a delay like this I take on other work that pops up such as a rusty gas tank and master cylinder fill tubes, grommets and stems. One project always leads to another.

Mon Jun 02, 2025 3:04 pm

Well, CIP1 sent me a pair.
One doesnt even have the flange welded as you can see in the photo.

Its also a Dansk product. The one that was actually welded was more screwed up than the first set. They obviously don't use a jig when they weld these.

I called Wolfburg West and the sales rep. went in the warehouse and sure enough the ones they carry presently are also Dansk.

Looks like I'm going to have to do some heating and tweaking with the "blue tip" pipe bender or a slice and re-weld. When I'm done they will fit.

This has been entertaining to say the least.

Mon Jun 02, 2025 3:37 pm

Yeah, I tried a “Dansk” brand muffler once several years ago, and had experiences similar to yours — not even close to being able to fit, or at least not w/out major rework efforts! bleh… Returned it for a refund, and eventually managed to source a NOS “Leistritz” brand one, which fit-up perfectly. NOS “Ernst” brand ones can sometimes be ok too, in my experience.

I considered new heater boxes too at one point, but once I saw the extremely poor quality of the aftermarket offerings for those, decided to find some good used original German ones instead.

Here’s a picture showing internal cross-section of aftermarket vs. original heater boxes — the Dansk aftermarket ones truly are “el crappo”!!

Mon Jun 02, 2025 6:27 pm

The Oxy-Aceteline tool set came out and the problem is completely corrected.
Threw a piece of angle iron in the vise, bolted the heater box flange to the iron, heated to a cherry red and bent them where they need to be.
The suppliers telling me it’s the first time they heard about this must be asleep at the wheel.

Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:54 pm

DesertSasquatchXploration wrote: Map gas @ the bend and gracefully pull down till its straight. I could of fixed both in less time then you spent complaining. Everything needs extra tweaking. Its what we have, work with it. Are you a builder or a dealer R&R machinic. They were 150$ Cheap parts need to be fitted its the same with all classic cars. I'm thankful we can even get the parts at all. Imagine the bitching if they weren't even offered. You will be begging for those 150$ heater boxes that just need a fitment work.

:roll:

Thu Jun 05, 2025 10:43 pm

send these people a link to the thread and a description of what is going on. They could be counterfeit, or some rejects that someone is peddling as first class Dansk.

[email protected]

Fri Jun 06, 2025 4:16 am

Bug53 wrote: Well, CIP1 sent me a pair.
One doesnt even have the flange welded as you can see in the photo.

Its also a Dansk product. The one that was actually welded was more screwed up than the first set. They obviously don't use a jig when they weld these.

That's really unfinished product. :roll:
Back in 1999. I bougth a pair of new Dansk heat exchangers for my 1200 motor, and also a new stock silencer and tailpipes.
Everything fitted as it should and heating started to work like new.

Thu Jun 19, 2025 9:03 am

Type 4 version has Not fitted correctly for 15 years .
Manufacturers won't reply or care.
Even the best mechanics can't do miracles with only crap available today.
Make everything fit yourself era now.

Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:59 am

I think there are a lot of good points to consider here.
I'm not familiar with the heater box options out there compared with what you bought, but I can understand how disappointing it is to get something new that doesn't fit perfect right out of the box. Especially if you have certain stardards and expectations for your finished product. That being said, it's not like there's that many quality parts suppliers out there anymore. We know a lot of this stuff is made cheap to be cheap. I shop around and try to find the best for the best price, but sometimes it's all the same parts. Some asking twice as much for the same thing. Then you get it and it sucks. But what are we to do? Fix it. Make it what you want. Maybe just factor in a little custom work on all new parts from now on and you won't be so let down. Instead, once in awhile you might be surprised and crack a beer open in celebration. lol

Quality auto parts aren't just a thing of the past for our VWs. It's happening all over the spectrum. I can remember not that long ago Moog used to be the absolute best suspension part you can buy. Now I see people bashing Moog in forums all over the place. I just think, shit, now where do I go for that stuff?? Yeah, we asked for it. Now we got it. Cheap shit.