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Old 08-09-2013, 05:58 PM   #1 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,532

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 62.14 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,082
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Getting the Firefly back on the road: exhaust fell apart

So now that the U.F.O. has moved to another home, I'm pressing the Firefly back into service.



The 15 year old exhaust on the Flea is original and only has ~30k kms / ~20k miles on it. And it's also falling apart all at once!

The last time I drove the car (not sure exactly when, but my last fill-up was in Dec. 2011), the front section broke right at the catalytic converter inlet. I kind of knew about that when the hamsters under the hood suddenly got angry loud. And the cat. converter dropped on top of the front stabilizer bar and banged around there to add percussion to the rodent symphony.

So today I was testing exhaust bolts to see which ones I could easily unscrew vs. need to cut off, and I proceeded to bust the middle section at the resonator. It was obviously ready to go.

I've priced the replacement front section with cat (it gives Frank Lee an aneurism every time he thinks about it), so will take a stab at repairing/rebuilding it. That means dusting off the little wirefeed welder.

Haven't decided about the rest of it yet.

Anyone have any opinions (HA!) on a resonator delete? Should I keep it? Pros/cons?

--

Photo: Muffler and Catalytic Converter by noricum, on Flickr

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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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