Split my GHL...Aarrrgghhh obligatory pic

[VenezianBlau 87]

Howdy all:

I found the split seam this morning during my occasional inspection of all things underneath the car. Not too bothered since I've read of this happening by others on this forum; and, I hear GHL is all about making good on this sort of failure.

I've tried different mufflers and love the sound of this one, the light weight and yes, it's beautiful. BTW, it's a 2-in, 1-out.

Since I'm going to have her up on the lift for a front end suspension rebuild, I'm not losing any time.

Just figured you all might want to see what you may have read about:

Cheers,
Bob

[GB83SC]

I have a GHL single in single out with a Fabspeed pre muffler. I realy like that set up! GHl should take care on that with no problem.
They are very good about warranty issues.
Good luck.

[TimT]

They shouldnt split to begin with. B&B and GHL have had some steep learning curves so they only burst "sometimes".

A few years ago we installed a GHL muff on a car, and replaced it 3 times.. all warranted by GHL. Still someone wasnt happy having the car out of service those times because of welds unzipping

[Harlan Chinn]

Who pays for the labor each time your GHL's need to be yanked and replaced?

[911pcars]

As Harlan so subtlely stated, the labor costs to R&R (plus gaskets) and ship these back to GHL are on your buck. It might be more expediant to see if you can repair these crimped seams on the car with a proper weld. It might be a toss up if you can access all the split joints; just find a good TIG welder to get the job done neatly. If they wanted to save a little $$ and reduce potential owner aggravation, they could have crimped and reinforced with an occassional tack weld to hold things together better. .... or they could have done it the correct way by welding all the seams.

MHO,
Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[TimT]

It might be more expediant to see if you can repair these crimped seams on the car with a proper weld.

NFW!!!!

GHL and B&B claim they have the best welders etc.. The fact they replace these POS units is fine. They should build a better muffler, and they should compensate someone who is out of $$$ or time while replacing the defective ones. Its been years and these companies havent improved the product, they sound great look great etc.. a few simple changes could make them million mile mufflers.

Instead they soldier on and fail at the same rate..

Apparently its more economical to replace the bad mufflers rather than to invest some coin into some fabricating hardware that could eliminate the failures

The pic that Bob posted of his failed muff is a great example.....the weld on that can had penetration of about the thickness of aluminum foil..... no wonder it failed....

oops Ill shut up now

[911pcars]

Those are welds and not a crimped seam? Oops, my mistake.

Me thinks they need to turn up the juice and reexamine weld depth.

Sherwood

[VenezianBlau 87]

I posted this for reference and to see what you guys thought. I appreciate your comments. Since I'm no BA or Dr. Wayne, I don't expect any changes/improvements in their muffler construction. I just hope this doesn't become a "once every three months occurence".

I was a little disappointed when I pulled the muffler from the box maybe three months ago. Here's this beautiful thing but packaged lightly such that FedEx managed to put a dent in it above the name plate. To see how things should be packaged, reference SSI. Then the name plate fell off on the first drive.

The clamps were an afterthought and one just failed. (I posted request for info last night). Msraum was right that the early 911 clamps I had were a perfect solution with longer bolts. It was after I fitted these that I saw the split....Homer Simpson duuuhhhh

Fortunately for out of service concerns, she's laid up for a front suspension rebuild in my garage as soon as the mighty Pelican drops a load at my door next week. So, I'm not losing any time and my labor is free and worth every cent. I enjoy working on her. Of course, I need to order new gaskets.

I understand that the welds don't go all the way through and there's no reinforcement underneath.

That being said, is it a coincidence that the left seam failed the same week as the left clamp snapped? The vibration in the muffler is what led me to find the snapped clamp.

Anyways, here's a neat pic of her awaiting parts (and my dog):



Cheers,
Bob

[Oldporsche]

Good Dog!

Bad muffler!

Neat Porsche!

I've tried to justify the cost of a 2in2 out Dansk. That along with another valance to chop a hole in.

I just think I'll use an overpriced flow max and fab up some pipes for it.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[avi8torny]

What kind of lift is that? My wife is looking for some Christmas ideas?

[kepperly]

I had a B&B, sold it bought a Bursche and haven,t looked
back except to smile whenever I'm under the car and notice
it still solid. Not bad for a $225.00 muffler (christmas sale from
Automotion). Really sounds good in the 4-6000 rpm range.

Keith 87 slant nose cabriolet carrera wide body

[Wayne 962]

Okay, I thought I'd weigh in on the issue here. We sell a lot of exhaust components from a lot of different manufactures. So far, we haven't seen any one be better in quality than the other - they all have failures, whether it's B&B, GHL, Dansk, Bursch, etc. While I won't argue that there is room for improvement on all of them, the folks at GHL have been the best and easiest to deal with when it comes to failures. That's also not to say that the others have been difficult (actually one vendor refused to take a unit back that didn't fit, and we don't sell a "boatload" their stuff anymore).

Failures will happen - they are inevitable on some scale. GHL has been the best that we have seen (and closely echos the principles of Pelican here) when taking back and repairing / replacing mufflers that have failed.

-Wayne

[rattlsnak]

Ive had a B&B and a GHL split. The folks at B&B made me send it back to them on my $$, they fixed it and sent it back. GHL didnt even want the old one back, they sent me a new one the next day.

[VenezianBlau 87]

avi8torny: You've got PM about the lift particulars. It's a Mohawk.

Thanks Wayne for your remarks. Unusual these days to put a face with a company. Don't get me wrong, I love my GHL/SSI setup (from Pelican).

rattlsnak: I will definitely call first this morning!

Bob

[VenezianBlau 87]

I like to post the whole story, not just the beginning:

GHL is sending me a new complete muffler package. They did want the old split one back and I UPS'ed it earlier this week. After removing the old muffler, I also found most of the top seam was split.

Very pleasant dealing with Cindy at GHL.

Now, on to the front end rebuild since the mighty Pelican just delivered everything I need.

Cheers,

Bob

[Jeff]

Bob, Was wondering if you could send me some info on your lift also. Where to buy, likes/ dislikes, approx. cost, etc.

Thanks.

[911SCfanatic]

Bob, could you copy me on that email to CUL8R? I'm looking for the same type of lift. Thanks!