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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:30 pm
by Flip_x
it doesnt look like it use bearings,
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 11:34 pm
by free5ty1e
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 2:50 am
by BAC5.2
vrg3 wrote:Oh, and a neat tip -- if you do decide to replace the bearing, or if the new muffler you get doesn't already have the bearing installed, you can use turn signal fluid as an assembly lube to help slide the bearing in place without putting too much force on the muffler's pinion gear.
It's funny you should mention the blinker fluid. A friend of mine ran out of blinker fluid in his 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. He said it was a huge mess. Bulbs overheated and cracked the housings, the car started to overheat and smoke, he did around $1400 in damages. It appears that Blinker Fluid is a multipurpose fluid, that not only cools and lubricates the intricate workings of the turn signals, but also allows parasitic cooling of the o-pipe I had mentioned earlier.
I was at pep-boys earlier, I should have picked up a new set of balanced/knife edged billet aluminum muffler bearings. My "new" exhaust is about a year old, so it couldn't hurt to replace them. The billet units are worth the NVH that come with them. BIG advantage over standard loose-ball style bearings. Some companies cheap out and use muffler bushings, unbelievable.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:08 am
by kidatari
Muffler bushings?! That's blasphemy!
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:48 am
by mTk
flip: it doesn't, ignore about everything after the first 8 replies, as it is pointless banter
MK
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:39 am
by WRXdan
Flip...we aren’t crackin on ya. Just trying to have fun with the subject

Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:32 am
by Flip_x
i know it was all bs. thats why i said this is funny.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:00 pm
by vrg3
Phil - Yeah, blinker fluid is definitely responsible for a lot of stuff in the car. Like brake fluid, it's never serviced as often as it should be. People are afraid to touch it because they're afraid of contaminating it since it absorbs oils and they slowly ruin it by turning it into acid. Which is worse -- an overheating O-pipe, or an O-pipe being eaten away by acid? 'course, all you need to do is make use of ethanol/brake cleaner/whatever and wear gloves...
Bushings? Do you mean bronze bearings?
Oh, and Phil, I'm glad you didn't buy those aluminum billet bearings. Despite what their marketers claim, they're not better. Ricers just think they're really cool because of how they look. Stainless steel ball bearings do work better in every regard (except for price of manufacture, but that's irrelevant since the aluminum bearing manufacturers inflate the price to make ricers think they're better). I don't know what you mean by "loose-ball style bearings;" proper muffler bearings have very tight ball-to-race tolerances. People think they're loose usually because they've seen some that weren't lubed with the technetium grease and so they got all scored up and stuff.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 4:24 pm
by WRXdan
Technetium grease is very interesting stuff. When mixed with rubbing alcohol it makes great solvent!! This is how I clean my brake rotors. This compound eats all the rust and smoothes out the microscopic cracks caused by the heat up/cool down cycle. It seems to be ABS sensor safe as well.
BTW - Does anyone know of a company putting out stainless ABS lines to match stainless brake lines? That would look tits.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 5:02 pm
by evolutionmovement
You guys should work for Firestone or someone and rip off customers by talking bullshit.
Steve
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 6:12 pm
by legacy92ej22t
Dude, did you guys see the new Full-Synthetic blinker fluid! This stuff is crazy. It last up to 10 times longer then the normal stuff and and if you T into the line going to the rear passenger side blinker you can run it through your shift knob! No more hot shift knob on sunny days! Wooohooo
Oh, and personally I've got those TXS Ti muffler bearings. Full Titanium is the way to go. I might upgrade to the ones with the Graphite Composite covers but the $3k price tag is a little steep IMO. I heard they are working on a TXS Ti with Liquid Metal Technolegy muffler bearings and may release them as early as spring 2005. I've got my fingers crossed for sure and if I get them I'll definitely do a DIY install write up for the rest of you.

Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:01 pm
by vrg3
I used to use technetium grease and isopropanol together as a solvent like you say, Dan, until I read about studies that showed that it's incredibly carcinogenic. Remember all those unexplained cases of ear cancer in mechanics back before Brakleen was invented? Turns out you inhale the technetium/isopropanol fumes and they travel through your sinuses and react with the cells in your ears. Crazy double bonds and stuff make it exceptionally reactive. I suppose you could just take care to ensure really good ventilation, but it's not worth it.
Oh yeah, Matt, I did read about that stuff. It's supposed to have like 200 times the thermal capacity of standard turn signal fluid or something, so it, like, never gets hot even if you use a really tiny radiator for it. That's really clever to run it through the shift knob... I wonder if you could do the same for the steering wheel. My black leather-wrapped shifter and wheel get really hard to deal with on hot sunny days.
"Liquid Metal Technology?" Sounds like marketing gibberish to me. Kinda like "blast processing." If you do buy them and want help installing them, though, I'll help.
Dan -- seriously -- You can order long stainless steel brake lines from Earl's, I'm pretty sure. Measure out the length you need and call up an Earl's dealer with the info. Most of the fittings are M10x1.0mm inverted flare, I believe. You might need to get hose and put the fittings on yourself, or get hose with AN fittings and then get adapters. You'll probably also need to be wealthy.
Steve - But then I'd be part of one of the groups of people on Earth I most hate: marketers.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:16 pm
by WRXdan
vrg3 wrote:
"Liquid Metal Technology?" Sounds like marketing gibberish to me. Kinda like "blast processing." If you do buy them and want help installing them, though, I'll help.
Don't be hating the liquid metal technology OR [arnold voice on] "you will get terminated".
http://www.debevec.org/ReflectionMappin ... _small.tif
I have WRX SS line to install, but am too lazt these days

Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:23 pm
by WRXdan
evolutionmovement wrote:You guys should work for Firestone or someone and rip off customers by talking bullshit.
Steve
I'm from chicago...of course i'm a BS artist.
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:27 pm
by tris91ricer
wtf? I'm lost... turn signal fluid? mufflers have friggin' bearings? huge wtf! i'm -- -- --- *gasps* ----- eh, --- uh --- what??? turn signals are electric. where does the fluid come in? mufflers are pipes and don't move. what are these bearings? ack! vikash, if you're joking, please clue us in. I for one take your word as bond. stop messing with my mind! please!
-=tristan
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:29 pm
by vrg3
We're all joking, Tristan.

Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:57 pm
by mTk
Can anyone explain to me why this thread wasn't locked a long time ago?
MK
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:11 am
by vrg3
MK - Maybe because
some of us actually
care about proper muffler bearing and turn signal fluid maintenance.

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:17 am
by tris91ricer
OMG...

seriously... I'm so gullible sometimes..

but really, the more i think about it, the more ridiculous it is, hence, it becomes pretty humourous. (and yes, I DID want to spell it the UK way, biatch.)
you guys rock,
-=tris
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:50 am
by WRXdan
MK- we are just have a little fun. Relax....jokes keep things interesting.
I'm going to get my brother on the muffler bearing trick this weekend. I will have him call the parts store to ask for a 1992 sentra muffler bearing:)
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:59 am
by vrg3
You can have him explain that he needs it because his fender is overheating.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 1:03 am
by Flip_x
LOL thats messed, i should do that to my bro haha.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 1:47 am
by mTk
Fun it may be, but several other 'fun' threads have been closed..
MK
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 2:17 am
by legacy92ej22t
WRXdan wrote:
I'm going to get my brother on the muffler bearing trick this weekend. I will have him call the parts store to ask for a 1992 sentra muffler bearing:)

OMG that would be soooo funny!
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:00 pm
by BAC5.2
greatest thread ever. People are going to think we are all fucking nuts (moreso).
Vikash - I don't know if THIS was serious, but Sealed bearings = Cartridge, Loose Ball = Caged, reguardless of tolerance.