Power Flow

[Lou]

Rich, hope this works. What color buffing compound are you using? I have green which I have used on stainless with good results.

[Rich]

Rich, hope this works. What color buffing compound are you using? I have green which I have used on stainless with good results.

I picked one at random from Ace. It's a black color solid stick that one sort of melts onto the buffing wheel. I'm surprised that it seems to be removing that black oxidation completely to a shiny finish. Not easy with the drill approach. So far I've only got a couple of patches on the shell done but I believe they're representative of the worst parts. I need to score a different buffer wheel that I can mount on the bench grinder.

[Rich]

Another wrinkle I should have mentioned. The hardware that attaches the muffler to the collector box ball joint includes 3 springs that, over time, lose their springiness. The installation instructions state that the screws be tightened as necessary such that the springs have a length of .430" - .475". We found the springs to be .390" free length. Powerflow confirms the loss of length is known. I would recommend that whenever the insert is replaced you should also order the springs and replace at the same time.

Powerflow does sell a kit with all the nuts, bolts, springs, etc. for the joint. I just ordered it and will replace the ones I have.

[Rich]

I just replaced these springs today and the difference in how tightly the muffler is held against the collector outlet is substantial. I won't be ignoring these things again. The kit is cheap enough and not hard to replace, though it's a bit tedious getting the measurements of the spring compression lengths. I'll be fabricating a simple tool for measuring this instead of trying to get an accurate measurement using a vernier caliper.