I am curious, how is that a patentable item? It replaces a resonator completely and eliminates the resonator by putting a metal "tube" in it's place. Anyone with a lathe and a welder could make it.
Difficulty or ease of manufacture is not a factor in whether or not an item is patentable. What matters is if the item "novel, non-obvious, and have utility." Saying something is "patent pending" is far different from listing the patent number it has received, however.
I wonder who at Dodge approached you for this fix, it amazes me that with the combined engineering staff in the Mercedes engine group in Germany and the group here in Auburn Hills, that they couldn't come up with this fix.
It is amazing, isn't it? The original turbo resonator is essentially two halves of a plastic sphere that is sealed at the seams. A plastic part, glued together, for use in one of the hottest and highest pressure locations on the vehicle. Genius, those Germans.
Currently, the supplier for this part is on their 5th generation of it, and while the failure rate is less with this latest generation, it still happens, and in the same exact manner, a catastrophic failure at the seams.
Many Sprinter technicians will tell you that it's not a matter of if it will fail, it's merely a matter of when.
As for who at Dodge which approached them, it was, apparently, a local Dodge dealer Service Manager (by the name of Randell Stowe), as a result of what kind of prior relationship between the two, I have no idea. Fas as I know this is not an officially sanctioned part by Chrysler, but it has quickly become a cult favorite among Sprinter technicians at many Sprinter dealers across the country. By this point, it's likely that most of them offer it. At many Sprinter dealers, when you drive in, or more often get towed in for a turbo resonator failure, you will get a choice of replacing it with an OEM part, or the Turbo Resonator Eliminator.
Realized independently, there is a similar aftermarket solution for Sprinters in Europe, and it's just as popular over there, if not more popular. I know my uncle over there had his recommended to him by his dealer as a preventative measure.
I got my Turbo Resonator Eliminator from my genuine Mopar 5-Star Chrysler Jeep Dodge Sprinter dealer at home, right off the shelf stock from the Parts Department, and it comes complete with a lifetime warranty (honored by Riordanco, of course, and not by Chrysler). Many van conversion manufacturers have gone to routinely replacing the OEM resonator with the Resonator Eliminator before delivering the vehicle.
I just called one of the engineers who was in charge of quality testing for the sprinter project, he said he has heard about this from several sources but they never got one to test and it is an unapproved and unsanctioned by Daimler as a replacement part so it may void the warranty.
There have been a few Dodge Service Managers who have on their own tried to void the warranty to customers, but so far every time it's been pushed up the chain, Corporate has honored the warranty without incident. Since the replacement part in no way affects the operation of the vehicle, it cannot void the warranty (by virtue of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act). It may not be officially sanctioned by Daimler, but it's being widely implemented by their Service Departments.
You do know that Dodge has nothing to do with the design of the sprinter?
Yeah, he knows, for sure.
Without a doubt, absolutely, yes.
But it is informative, as the 6-cylinder engines have a different type of resonator-related problem that they have come up with a resolution for.
This is a part that has been heavily scrutinized and discussed by a large segment of the Sprinter community online. Thoughts and results of everything from performance to installation to warranty issues have been thoroughly examined and posted online. To date there has not been one negative post to any of the Sprinter forums, particularly to the two main ones, from anyone with experience with the Resonator Eliminator. The only negatives have been from a few who question the obvious and natural concerns about performance hits and warranty issues, all of which have dispelled.
While the posting here is unquestionably SPAM, the part itself, and the company behind it, is the real deal.