Re: [T3] exhaust system question

[Steven Ayres <comwest@att.net>]

<x-flowed>DavidS=> I am looking at this stock exhaust system and wondering
=> how much I need to keep.

I really don't understand why so many people look at various Type 3 
systems and somehow infer that some of the parts are simply excess. It 
just beats me.

Bottom line first: if you want the exhaust/heat system to work right, 
you need to keep *every bit* of it.

The rear heat exchangers, far from the 'window dressing' that someone 
else calls them, are only unnecessary if you really don't want heat in 
the car and you'd prefer to run some cheapo aftermarket exhaust designed 
for another car.

The best system for the car is the one VW designed -- with enlarged 
heat-exchange capacity to overcome the chronic Type1/2 heat deficit, and 
a heavy-duty, long-lasting cylindrical muffler incorporating interior 
pipes for even flow from all four.

The second-generation Type 3 heat system ('64 on) is more complex than 
the Type 1, and that's what makes it work better. Further, leaving parts 
of it out *cannot improve performance* in any way. Anyone who is 
satisfied with the heat from two exchangers is suffering from low 
expectations or lives in Hawaii.

The 'washers' you're probably referring to are the muffler gaskets for 2 
and 4, which are  copper crush rings. If you can't find those, you can 
get away with modifying copper Type 4 exhaust gaskets. Tightening the 
rear heat exchangers is tricky; VW used a special open-end wrench which 
can sometimes be found on Ebay and the like. But they must be tight, or 
they'll leak and eat the gaskets, and they must be tightened *after* 
mating everything up in the car.

The heating-air path goes like this: From the fan housing through two 
steel elbows attached with rubber boots to the rear exchangers, which 
are clamped to the front exchangers, then through a pair of insulated 
steel expansion hoses to the thermostat mixers bolted to the body, into 
the body and through a pair of fat plastic mufflers under the rear seat, 
dividing to the rear footwell vents and the pipes in the rockers, which 
feed the front footwells and the dash.

In addition, there is a paper hose from each of the steel elbows direct 
to each mixer box. This carries cool air to add volume and regulate the 
temperature of the heated air.

All of this must be in place and working right to give you stock heat, 
and it works great except during warm-up.

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
'66 KG1600

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