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Date:         Tue, 13 Aug 2013 00:39:39 -0400
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: '88 GL Muffler Change - a big PITB!!!
Comments: To: JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <5208F226.7030202@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

M15 is a really big bolt. Getting that 22mm wrench must have been fun! Maybe you mean you needed a 15mm wrench. That would probably be an M10 ISO or JASO bolts. Many of the cheap Cats and some mufflers will take the 10mm hardware. The Vanagon muffler should have tapped holes on the tailpipe side. As for the muffler bracket holes a tap set seems to be a must have for VW work.

Just think when a shop has a simple job go south like this. Imagine if you had to pay $100/hour to get that muffler in there.

Dennis

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of JRodgers Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 10:33 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: '88 GL Muffler Change - a big PITB!!!

Muffle has been noisy and rattling for a while., finally broke down and bought a new one. Ordered new muffler, gaskets and hardware. Upon opening the package discovered the muffler was different on the tail pipe end than the old muffler. This was the beginning of a series of problems, however minor, in this case. The flange was threaded rather than being drilled through to accept bolts through it with nuts on the other end. This difference resulted in the new bolts being to long. No real problem, just a time killer while I hunted down new, shorter bolts.

All the bolts on the cat and muffler were rusted beyond recovery, and a real pain to get loose. Soaked them with PB Blaster for three days, giving them all a little squirt three times a day. Third day I began to disassemble them. With a bit of grunt and strain with the help of a breaker bar the bolts either broke or otherwise came loose. I found the flange and pipe on the CAT end of the muffler to have come completely loose from the muffler and was just floating free. The only thing holding it was the fact it was still bolted to the CAT flange. I loosened the muffler hanger straps and slide the muffler to one side, separating the muffler and the CAT. The CAT easily came free at that point. Next was the muffler itself.

After a discussion on The List with Dennis Haynes and others - I set about to remove the right hand muffler hanger. What a PITA. Couldn't do it with what I had. The exhaust cross-over pipe blocked access to the nuts and bolts with straight wrenches. So - stop once again and go buy a couple of universals so I could get to the nuts and bolts at an angle and still turn them. When finally done, I removed the hangar and the muffler slid right out.

With the muffler out, the tailpipe bolts were removed, freeing the tailpipe to be swapped over to the new muffler. Next came separating the broken muffler flange from the CAT. At this point I discovered that the bolts hold the Cat to the muffler flange were much bigger than the rest. All the other bolts were either M8X30 or M8X35. These puppies were M15X30. Why the much larger bolt I don't understand - but the holes in both the CAT and the new muffler matched in size. But this meant that my hardware set didn't match so off again to the hardware store. So I wound up with three M8X30(CAT to J-pipe), three M15X30(CAT to muffler), three M8X20(muffler to tailpipe)and two M8X20(muffler straps)

Readied to re-install the muffler hangar and decided to check the bolt fit in the muffler hangers. The bolts would not enter straight. Rather than try to force them in - and maybe create a cross thread situation, I stopped once again to hunt down a thread chaser. My straps were good and reuseable, but the nut on the hanger to receive strap bolt is welded in place. Screw that nut up, and it's buy a new hanger - which is not available locally and would have to be ordered in. But, as luck would have it - the discovery of the hanger nut problem was discovered late Saturday night and on Sunday no suitable tool store was open - so I was forced into the traditional day of rest on Sunday. Perhaps that was as it should be. I sure feel good this Monday morning.

I started this project in the morning Friday last, and expected to have the van on the road in the afternoon for a fishing trip. WRONG!! Murphy came to visit and he's been here helping every step of the way. It's Monday morning, and as I write, the job is not yet complete, but the cat, muffler and tailpipe with new gaskets and hard ware are assembled, thus everything is ready to be re-assembled to the vehicle. So here goes. Wish me well!

John


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