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OCTOBER 2009VOLUME 34, NO. 3

B R A K E . E X H A U S T . C H A S S I S & M O R EB R A K E . E X H A U S T . C H A S S I S & M O R E

Top 10 Tools & ProductsPage 22

Uncommon Brake ProblemsPage 30

Chrysler O2 Sensor Bias VoltagesPage 36

Reprin

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Veteran plant worker Roger Beale (left) and Ed Keshen, engineer/quality manager,check the fit of a 409-stainless-steel Quiet-FlowSS exhaust system.

By Jim Wilder Undercar Digest Editor

Tenneco’s strong connectionwith the original-equipment

(OE) market is making it possiblefor shops throughout NorthAmerica to sell the highest-qualityaftermarket mufflers, exhaustpipes and catalytic converters toconsumers – and those who sell

the Walker brand have started acommunication blitz to make sureeveryone involved is aware of it.

Bill Shutt, product manager forthe Walker Emissions brand, saysthat Tenneco continues to invest inthe Walker brand, as it has for thepast five years. As a result, theproduct line introduced more than600 new part numbers in 2008alone, and more than 1,600 partshave been added since 2004.Tenneco offers a strong OE con-nection and covers a significantamount of OE applications.

“On the Tenneco side, we areOE in all the Big 3 plants (Ford,GM and Chrysler) as well as withEuropean, Japanese and Koreancarmakers.”

More and more OE and origi-nal-equipment-service (exhaustproducts used for warranty workby vehicle dealerships) has been

infused into the Walker Emissionsmanufacturing facility inHarrisonburg, Va., in recent years,Shutt said.

Mike Peters, regionaldirector/plant manager, notedthat there are more than 500 sea-soned employees at the 753,000-square-foot facility who havelearned the OE method of manu-facturing, which is being passedon to the aftermarket processes.The average employee has workedthere for more than 121/2 years.They hold a safety record as thefirst Walker facility to reach 5 mil-lion hours of work without losttime due to an accident. The plant,which opened in 1961, has its ownslitter and tube mill, nine muffler-manufacturing lines, 20 pipe cells,three converter assembly lines,and even a coordinates measure-ment machine and interpreter to

Tenneco’s Walker Exhaust

Walkerʼs Quiet-FlowSS muffler, madefrom 409 stainless steel, is giving shopsan opportunity to up-sell with a lifetimewarranty.

Walkerʼs new catalytic-converterflip book for shops

© Reproduced electronically with permission of Undercar Digest. For subscription information call 800-274-7890 or 417-866-3917 or visit www.undercardigest.com

WalkerUltra

direct-fit catalyticconverters are

loaded withprecisely metered

quantities of preciousmetals and advanced

wash-coat technology tobe vehicle specific, making

sure that the MIL will stay off.

Jason DeNardo, DynoMax product manager, poses with the new packaging forDynoMax UltraFlo welded performance mufflers at the plant in Harrisonburg, Va.

Bill Shutt, Walker product manager, notesthat shop operators, technicians and theircustomers are in the process of receivingmore information on catalytic-converterfunctions and diagnostics.

guarantee the best fit possible. Theplant was awarded TS-16946:2002certification in 2004.

“It’s a real mix of product, andwe have the opportunity that noother North American aftermarketcompany has at this point, whichis to learn and utilize the OE tech-nology,” Shutt said. “With that, wehave made various changes for2009.

“The first involves Walker’spremium muffler line, Quiet-Flow®SS,” he said. “Being an OEcompany we were able to leverageour buys on materials and we arenow giving the aftermarket a truesalable premium product.” Withthe exception of the branded outerwrap, the Quiet-FlowSS (stainlesssteel) muffler is all 409 stainlessand is designed to give the con-sumer the option to step up to atrue premium product, he said.Consumers who buy the mufflerfor their vehicle receive a “guaran-teed for life” warranty.

Shutt noted that because ofTenneco’s savings in ordering ma-terials, the price of the muffler hasnot increased for the shop or theconsumer. The new Quiet-FlowSSmuffler is selling for the sameprice as that of the Quiet-Flow3

muffler last year.Research had shown that the

premium muffler was a dyingmarket because the consumerdidn’t see any value in it and nei-

ther did the shop operator. For theshop, that reasoning related to nothaving the right product to up-sell,but now they have it with a stain-less muffler, Shutt said.

“The opportunity to sell a jobthat is much more profitable forthem is there now. The transitionin the field to Quiet-FlowSS start-ed last fall and has now reachedabout 93% of the product line.

Once shops began to receive thestainless-steel inventory, Tennecobegan to receive positive feedbackfrom them. Shutt said a shop oper-ator now has more up-sell oppor-tunities with motorists who ownhigh-end vehicles such as Lexus,BMW, Cadillac and Lincoln. Moreand more of those owners will becoming to the aftermarket for re-placements because the mufflerswill be identical to what came offthe vehicle. The Quiet-FlowSS istruly a seven- to 10-year muffler.

“If you really look at our busi-ness, you’ve only got one opportu-nity to grab that customer now,because that car is already 10 yearsold before it needs its first muffler.

“There will be a split betweenthose buying a premium and astandard replacement muffler,” hesaid. “Take a Toyota Camry, forinstance. There are Camrys thatare high-end that have leather in-terior, sunroof and the V-6. We can

get that customer to buy the pre-mium muffler because they aregoing to be willing to spend themoney on it. But you also have theentry-level Camry. That owner isgoing to gravitate more to anentry-level product.”

Walker also is answering theneeds of the shops and their cus-tomers with its new line of catalyt-ic converters, Shutt said.

Converter sales continue togrow, and Walker is satisfying theneeds of shop operators by sup-plying OBD-II converters thatmeet or exceed EPA regulationsand are application specific to thevehicle make and model.

A common problem in the in-dustry, Shutt noted, was that some

shop operators had a bad perception of af-termarket converters because of problemswith the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL)coming on shortly after installation.

In most of those instances a technicianwas treating the symptom with a new con-verter instead of diagnosing what causedthe converter to go bad. As a result, someof these shops started buying convertersfrom car dealers because “they keep thelight off for two years.”

As part of Walker’s continuous enhance-ment of its converter line, it is also includ-ing tools to help educate the consumer andthe technician.

A new laminated flip book titled“Understanding Catalytic Converters” isnow available for shop operators’ use to in-form customers about emissions control.Major tips include obtaining a vehicle his-tory, correcting other engine codes, ex-haust-system leaks, converter temperature,backpressure, O2 sensors, cooling system,fuel trim, the emissions gas analyzer, cylin-der balance, the mechanical condition andPCM re-flash. Tenneco also is expandingits emissions training program, enablingthe company to conduct more emission-control seminars throughout the country.WDs and parts stores will assist by encour-aging technicians to attend. Seminars willbe similar to the popular Monroe RideControl Ride & Drives, with certified in-structors providing diagnostic informationand then teaching technicians how to per-form efficiency checks.

Walker’s updated converter lines nowinclude the Standard catalytic converter forpre-OBD-II vehicles. The Ultra line – whichhad been used in California for severalyears – is now the OBD-II line for 1996 andnewer vehicles licensed in all states exceptfor California. The latest Walker CalCatline is specifically formulated to complywith all current California Air ResourcesBoard (CARB) regulations.

Instead of offering higher catalyst load-ings for all part numbers, Walker is mak-ing each of its Ultra units vehicle specific.

“You have to have a product that meetsthe needs of that vehicle,” Shutt said.“These converters are engineered to be ve-hicle specific.”

The CalCat line carries universal unitsthat are application specific and providecoverage for more than 82% of passengercars and light trucks that don’t have mani-

Ed Keshen, engineer/quality manager at the Harrisonburg facility, uses afixture to check the fit on an OE application for Jaguar. Walker makes allits own fixtures and performs quality-control checks regularly. Many of itsOE processes are used in aftermarket applications.

Welding work cells increase productivity at the plant.

Thrush aluminized mufflers, such as thisHush Thrush model, are being marketedas the traditional performance line for1960s and ʼ70s muscle cars.

Lorene Warner labels Thrush Glasspacks after they go through thepowder-coating process.

fold/converters. Direct-fit mani-fold/converters will follow soon,he said.

Shutt said shops and consumerscan trust Walker: “You don’t needto buy the most-expensive con-verter; you need to buy one thatmeets the needs of the vehicle.And it will meet the needs of thevehicle because of our OE connec-tion. We have the right technologyfor their vehicle.”

He added that more and morestates will be adopting emissionsregulations similar to California’sand that Walker will be ready tomeet the needs of those states.

Tenneco’s performance line alsois making dramatic strides, accord-ing to Jason DeNardo, DynoMax

product manager. Two distin-guished brands – DynoMax andThrush – are now availablethrough both the traditional distri-bution channel and the specialtyundercar distribution channel.

DeNardo noted that DynoMaxis Tenneco’s premium perfor-mance-exhaust line and switchedto complete stainless-steel systemsthis year. A running change beganwith trucks and SUVs, followed bycertain muscle cars includingMustang, Camaro, Challenger andCharger.

“We’ve got a really nice soundwith our UltraFlo mufflers,” hesaid.

Thrush is being marketed as the“traditional muscle” line for per-formance enthusiasts with vehiclesincluding 1960s and ’70s musclecars such as Camaro, Mustang,Olds 442, Road Runner and other“vintage iron.” It’s also a greatproduct for the classic customers,DeNardo said.

“Everybody knows the Thrushname because it’s such a recogniz-able brand,” he said. Thrush’spopular bird logo is eye catchingand has been made “edgier” look-ing for today’s performance mo-torists, he noted.

Like the Quiet-Flow mufflerline, DynoMax and Thrush prod-ucts incorporate OE processes thathelp ensure exceptional structuralintegrity, he said.

Shutt and DeNardo note thatshop operators and their techni-cians trust the Tenneco brandseven more than ever and will passalong their confidence to the cus-tomers they serve. UD

Walkerʼs vast inventory guarantees high order-fill rates.

Nick Macaluso, engineering manager for performance products, installs an all-weldedstainless-steel DynoMax performance muffler. DynoMax is Tennecoʼs premiumperformance-exhaust line.

Ron Purnell checks the specs on aDynoMax mandrel-bent exhaust elbow.

Walker Emissions/Tenneco Inc.One International Drive

Monroe, MI 48161734-384-7898

www.walkerexhaust.comwww.dynomax.com

www.thrushexhaust.com

© 2009 Tenneco

OE fi t and performance. Because aftermarket is never an afterthought.

At Walker, we produce our aftermarket emissions components under the same roof as our original equipment. Using the same strict standards and processes. So you get high-quality muffl ers, converters, pipes and systems with the same precision fi t as the originals. Every time.

www.walkerexhaust.com

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