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1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hadn't been to the local salvage yard in a while, so i filled the pockets of my old olive drab "coat, cold weather, field" w/a few pounds of tools & went exploring. I was rewarded with a a 95' vert that still had it's wheels on w/an unmolested, nearly new muffler in place - yippy! I wish I had a dollar for every nice exhaust part I've come across that'd been sawed thru to to gain access to the cat or gas tank. Even the clamp was new, so 5min on my back & it was off. Then my amazement turned to worry.....that the newishness of the thing was going to get me tapped for a couple of twenties. However, the junk yard gods continued to smile upon me & I was hurried out (they were closed) with a "Merry Christmas" - sweet.
The muffler IS one of the cheapo variety & fwiw, were I to have paid the $92 for one on eeeekbay, upon opening the box (if it even came in one), I'd be somewhat disappointed. It's probably a Chinese part. The eekbay thumbnail photos I referenced before are more true to the actual appearance than you'd think. The "puffy" look is exaggerated a bit, but an oem or Starla muffler is definitely a slimmer item. I'd venture longevity will suffer somewhat (though perhaps not enough to justify the $81 premium for a $175 Starla muffler) due to the bulb shaped end of the inlet being welded (sparingly) onto a smaller diameter pipe - which seems affixed pretty well...BUT has the forward support bracket welded onto it, vs to the seam of the shell as on oem, bc the muffler body is stubbier than oem. It DOES seem sturdy, but like I said, it's new......time will tell. Performance seekers will see some reduced flow from the inlet pipe reduction & the twin outlet pipes which are squished together where they meet the body...so much so as to negate any value the two pipes might've had & likely equating to an even smaller diameter than the inlet - hokey looking too, but you'd have to get under the car to see that.
Knowing all this, I'd still buy one...but only bc our car isn't a turbo & may not last long enough to enjoy full service from an oem or starla part anyway.
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Since I'm ranting; Does anyone know if the ng900 2.3l non turbo engine can be transplanted into a 9000? We've got close to 260k on our car & it runs awesome....but the next inspection is gonna be a problem (seized pkg brake cables, a huge dent w/missing bumper hardware....& rapidly spreading rust). We need a bigger car...& there's a nice 9000s needing a motor out there somewhere.
Our drive train is perfect & it'll make me cry if I have to scrap it when the car is refused a new insp sticker in June. With the mileage, I don't see anyone but me being interested in transplanting it into anything. I have complete faith in it though. I disabled the balance shafts (properly, removing the tensioner & installing a block off plate) & threw a new water pump on as a preventative measure about 7yrs/80k mi ago......ZERO problems since. Seriously, only normal ez to live with stuff; brakes (everything, but only once), tires, a brake fluid/coolant flush...5k dino oil changes (reusing the filter 3x) & a few months ago, a clutch cable. Original trans AND clutch still smooth as silk (MTL in gearbox). We get 32mpg almost every tank...& 36mpg on long trips. If I can find a home for the engine, all I'd do to it would be a rear crank seal (drips a little) & clutch (but only since it's be right there).
Sorry for the novel...merry/happy!
posted by 76.118.136...
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