Sunday, March 8, 2009

Muffler Work

When I got the van home from Reno, the muffler had broken and was hanging by a coat hanger. Part of this is because the muffler support was not doing a good job of supporting it.

Since the engine was burning so much oil, I decided that I needed to replace the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor at the same time.

I asked the moderator of the Yahoo Subaru Vanagon group for muffler advice, having seen a picture of what he had done in 2001 [before he went to one of those fancy stainless steel muffler systems that is far outside of my budget]. He told me he used a Walker Dynomax 17741 muffler with a generic catalytic converter that also used the 2.25" sized pipe.

The Walker Dynomax 17741 is used by several mid-90s Chrysler products, so I figure that muffler will be made for a while. Its round shape, with offset in/out holes means I can swivel it to install it in whatever position it fits best.



Same for the generic Walker 15032 catalytic converter [and the generic oxygen sensor]. It's a standard size and can be replaced as needed.



The flange [upstream from the catalytic converter] is for a slightly smaller diameter pipe than used for the catalytic converter and Muffler. My friend Darryl [Who's staying with Kevin in Colorado Springs for a while] will weld it up and mail it to me, I'll ask if he wants cash or costs plus a case of good beer.