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I now go with nothing, but Volvo systems. Seen side by side, it's fairly obvious the heavy guage aluminized system is going to outlast the likes of the Starla and Walker systems. The Volvo kits are one of their few good buys, especially considering the quality. For 700/900's you can often get well over 10 years out of the original Volvo system, so why shouldn't you expect the same out of a genuine Volvo replacement. By replacing the entire system it will be a longer time until you're under the car again fighting to get frozen joints apart.
The Volvo 940T exhaust kit in a box should be p/n 272261 (a combo kit for the 700/900 B234F and B230FT, replacing original p/n 272262 which was just for the B230FT). The kit includes absolutely everything back of the cat: resonators, pipes, clamps, hangers and rubber suspenders. List price was CA$269 less than two years ago. Just my luck, too, I had missed a 10% off garage day sale at the dealer by one day as I was out of town.
Make sure you get the warranty form (Volvo Canada form# 141/60551 CA), get the dealer to fill it out and keep the invoice. There's a lifetime non-transferable warranty on the resonators. On the pipes it's the usual one year (I use a credit card with a double warranty feature that extends that by an extra year). If Volvo installs it then the warranty covers labour as well, but you do still pay for incidentals such as hangers, clamps, shop supplies and eco fees.
I like doing the job myself at my convenience rather than having to make an appointment at the dealer and then finding out the parts won't be in until the next day. But without a hoist and the proper cutting tools it can be a bear of a job or take too many hours to get the old frozen system out and the new system back in and properly aligned. Be warned, too much force twisting and bending pipes around to get the old one off can damage the cat and exhaust manifold, so I recommend carefully cutting the pipe off at the cat and not wrestling with the system unless you restrain the cat with blocks or cross bar and clamps. All that and considering I have to haul and pay to dispose of the old system, I think it's well worth considering letting Volvo do the installation, especially from a warranty perspective and being able to have it replaced at otherwise inconvenient times such as in the middle of winter or on a trip. In my experience, the weakest point in the 700/900 systems is the rear resonator clamp. I give it a few coats of (barbecue) heat paint with the faint hope of extending its life a little. When you do need a replacement clamp then the Starla one is quite adequate, but the last one I got was a tight fit to start the threads around a Volvo resonator. (In Canada, try a local import parts shop to avoid delays and extra shipping and duty costs from the U.S. They'll be able to get them through local wholesalers such as Altrom, Auto-Camping or Lordco.)
Be warned when buying aftermarket parts. Even within the same make, pipe joints don't always fit together properly and alignment under the car is sometimes less than perfect.
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Dave -940's, prev 740/240/140/120 Never overestimate what little I know.
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