Re: [MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting
> On December 3, 2016 at 9:40 AM Peter Frederick via Mercedes > wrote: > > > My buddy had a Citation back in graduate school -- rusted like crazy. > Biggest problems were the standard GM "cheap it till it hurts and take > off 10%" stuff, bad plastic, instrument clusters that fell apart, poor > quality parts that fail too soon. I drove pizzas in mine, got in it 50-100x a day tracking salty slush in the winter, replaced the driver side floor with plywood around 1987 or so. No other rust worth mentioning, in ten years in Michigan, which is a lot more than I can say for my 1975 Honda or my 1977 Saab. Passenger side of the floor was mint when I pulled the carpet and front seat out to bolt the plywood in. My fuel gauge died around 180k, but for the first six months it would come back briefly if I pounded my fist on the dash. After that I just gassed it up every 300 miles without fail. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting
My buddy had a Citation back in graduate school -- rusted like crazy. Biggest problems were the standard GM "cheap it till it hurts and take off 10%" stuff, bad plastic, instrument clusters that fell apart, poor quality parts that fail too soon. Not a bad design as cars go, just executed in GM fashion. Would have been a better car if designed by an integrated team and built with good parts Peter ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting
A straight pipe conversion is common on the Gen 3 Jetta. I'm not willing to invest that kind of money in a heap like mine. ;) I had a Citation one summer. I got it for free for having done a "tune up" (new plugs) on it some time earlier. Mine was like an '82 or '83, had a terrible 3spd slushbox that finally quit all over the road in front of my parent's house. The red stain was there for a long time. That car was awful but had lived under extremely challenging circumstances for 10 years or more. I did a "tune up" with all junkyard parts, redid all 4 brakes again with junkyard parts, drove it something like 10,000 miles on basically no money. I think I might have even used junkyard oil. The one thing I never touched was the transmission... -Curt From: Mitch Haley via Mercedes To: Mercedes Discussion List Cc: Mitch Haley Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2016 7:53 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting My Citation had a pellet filled catalyst, which was a pretty effective muffler. When the muffler disappeared (I loaned the car to my brother for a day, he gave it back with the parking brake on and the muffler knocked off), it wasn't objectionably loud, so I paid a muffler shop $12 + 8 installation for a custom straight pipe to replace the muffler and tail pipe. Went another 40,000 miles or so with just the converter for muffling. Got 38mpg on a backroads commute, don't remember seeing mpg that high when it had a muffler on it. It was a very early Citation 5 door, made Feb '79 I believe, went over 200,000 miles before I broke a shift fork and scrapped it in 1989, never had more cargo space in a car until my S210 wagon. People say the FWD X body cars were junk, but I beg to differ. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting
My Citation had a pellet filled catalyst, which was a pretty effective muffler. When the muffler disappeared (I loaned the car to my brother for a day, he gave it back with the parking brake on and the muffler knocked off), it wasn't objectionably loud, so I paid a muffler shop $12 + 8 installation for a custom straight pipe to replace the muffler and tail pipe. Went another 40,000 miles or so with just the converter for muffling. Got 38mpg on a backroads commute, don't remember seeing mpg that high when it had a muffler on it. It was a very early Citation 5 door, made Feb '79 I believe, went over 200,000 miles before I broke a shift fork and scrapped it in 1989, never had more cargo space in a car until my S210 wagon. People say the FWD X body cars were junk, but I beg to differ. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] OT: The Jetta is exhausting
Headed to work this morning I noticed a little "bumpity thunk" noise sometimes when I hit bumps. Stopped for coffee and when I came out I noticed the exhaust pipe was pointing more rearward than down. Oops...I already knew the weld from the pipe to the muffler was failing so this wasn't a super big surprise. Fortunately the muffler is held up with 2 mounts so it won't fall, it just bounces around a bit. Got home early so I jacked up that corner. Sure enough the weld had failed completely. VW used a resonator system like MB and with the turbo its still not terribly loud. The thing is the resonator and muffler look like they install as a unit but I don't understand how, the resonator is in front of the rear axle (really a locating bar but you get the idea) and the muffler is behind with the pipe between them going over the axle. Theres not much space, I guess you have to fiddle the resonator over. Anyway next week when I have some time I'll get a slip joint and weld it onto the muffler which still seems pretty solid. It looks like somebody had booger welded it back together but did it in the car so they couldn't get to the top, by adding a joint I'll be able to weld all the way around. Come to think of it I think I have a flex joint somewhere, wonder if its the right size. The resonator is also hanging from 2 mounts, the loss of the muffler doesn't bother it a bit so I can still use the car... -Curt ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
