[Ramaj]

Ok so I got out there this evening after work and was going to swap the stock muffler for the take off I got. backed the car up onto my ramps, threw some jack stands under neath just to be sure and started taking the bolts out of the muffler hanger brackets.
Well about 30 minutes into taking off the stock muffler (not in a huge rush and kept changing ratchets and extensions to get to each bolt as easy as possible) I get to the last bolt and it is the one that is on the L shaped bracket that is on the under side of the beam just above the muffler. I couldn't get any sockets up in there so I attacked it with an open ended crescent wrench, it feels super tight but I eventually get it to start turning and due to space constraints my turns are very tiny so it's hard to see progress as I'm working. After a while (read: an hour and a half, but some of that was time spent beating away the mosquitos) I realize it's just not coming out and the bracket isn't lowering any so I know it's not giving at all.
My dad comes out (and brings a ratcheting wrench that he didn't tell me earlier he had just so he could see me bust my @$$ with a normal wrench) and messes with it for a few minutes and we decide it's just spinning and won't come out.

And yes we were turning it the correct direction and we could feel resistance when turning. We think it was either over tightened when it was put in and messed up the threads or that the nut if it exists came unwelded from the inside of the rail.

Eventually I gave up, I threw one of the other bolts back in at the opposite side just so that it wasn't hanging down and loose and I could drive it to work in the morning.

So, I do not know how those bolts stay in that rail/beam. Is the rail/beam itself threaded? or is there a nut welded on the inside?

I am probably just going to take it to a muffler shop on tuesday and see what they can do about that. Am I really screwed on that bolt space so the bracket has to be welded back up when replaced or what?

 

[yellstang05]

When i took off my muffler the only bolts i removed were on the clamp between the intermediate pipe and the muffler. Then it was just a pain to get the muffler out of the rubber bushings

 

[Ramaj]

yeah that was my first thought, undo the other two brackets and leave that one in since it was hard to reach and then just undo the clamp and slide the muffler towards the rear of the car so it came off the pipe and then work the hanger out of the rubber and then reverse to get the other one in. however the pipe was really tight and I couldn't get it so I was going to drop all the brackets and then loosen the pipe as much as possible, hit with some liquid wrench or WD40 and then tap the muffler with a rubber mallet so it would slide off the pipe.

And what transpired above was the result of that plan.

 

[00colburn]

when i did it i just used an open end wrench and got it to work for me but i hurt my hand a couple of time which sucked but it was worth it

i would just try again

 

[yellstang05]

its a wrestling match to get it out, i cant remember how i got the muffler out of those rubber bushings but ive heard that using one of those really big pliers helps. If i remember right the stock muffler has the hangers on it and the ends of them have a flared end which makes it difficult to remove.

 

[Ramaj]

when i did it i just used an open end wrench and got it to work for me but i hurt my hand a couple of time which sucked but it was worth it

i would just try again

I would try again. but the bolt was turning it just wasn't going anywhere. which is why I asked if anyone know what it was bolting into.

I mean literally I turned that thing for HOURS and it never made progress.

At this point, go try it again is like saying "yeah go stick your hand in that fire and see if you don't get burned".

I'm really just trying to find out how these things are bolted in. I've already decided to take it to a shop but I want to get as much information as possible first.

 

[yellstang05]

if you are able to get all the bolts back in for the hangers besides the clamp on to the intermediate pipe then try prying the muffler out of the rubber bushings. First get the muffler off the pipe then wrestle with the rubber bushings.

Then if you cant get all the bolts back on, thats something that will need to be fixed at the shop. I dont know how the hangers are attached.

 

[Ramaj]

if you are able to get all the bolts back in for the hangers besides the clamp on to the intermediate pipe then try prying the muffler out of the rubber bushings. First get the muffler off the pipe then wrestle with the rubber bushings.

Then if you cant get all the bolts back on, thats something that will need to be fixed at the shop. I dont know how the hangers are attached.

well if it came to that, how strong are the hangers?

I could just cut the hanger with some bolt cutters and get the muffler off real fast, would make getting the little hanger end (with those stupid flared tips) out of the rubber bushing alot easier too. I'm not reselling the muffler, I'm throwing it in the garage as a spare for our other mustang so cutting the hanger off would just be a minor inconvenience of getting a new hanger in the event the spare should ever be needed.

 

[Siber Express]

There are inserts in the holes that thread when the bolt goes into it at the factory.
As for removing the front bracket, I left mine on and removed the rear bracket, that gave enough to slide the muffler off and remove it.

 

[Ramaj]

Ok went out and tried to work on it some more.

Still could never get that bolt off. and if it ever does come off, I am going to piss on it and then throw it so deep in the woods they will find it in like 3,000 years and think it was some ancient work shop or something.

Anyways, after two super good dousings of liquid wrench and a ton of banging with a rubber mallet I got the muffler loose from the mid pipe (it was just stuck solid with dirt and stuff), managed to get the old muffler off (yay).

Installed the new muffler in about 5 minutes and everything slid right on with the greatest of ease.

Sounds fantastic, if it wasn't dark, 90 degrees outside and swarming with mosquitos I would have shot an after vid of the exhaust. I think I'll give it a couple days to break in and then shoot it on tuesday during the day and put up before and after vids.

:bigthumbsup

 

[nungo12]

haha cool get us those vids!:shigrin whats ur setup?

 

[Ramaj]

Right now setup is just a steeda high flow air filter (not CAI, still stock box, saving up for a JLT w/ tuner) and then the takeoff muffler.

Other than that I've swapped for tinted windows (maximum legal limit), sequential tail lights, shorty antenna and a magnetic blackout panel to see if I liked the look and I plan on replacing with a vinyl blackout panel within the next month.

I have a before vid already, just need to upload it onto my youtube page.

 

[yellstang05]

thats great that you got it installed man. But the break in period is probably a bit longer than a few days. Im not saying to not post the after video, just saying that it will sound a little bit better later on. Im pretty interested in how the single gt take off sounds.

 

[Ramaj]

well the muffler was used, and I could see where it had been on a car for a little while. so I'm assuming someone drove around with it for a little while and then had it swapped. I don't know for sure though.

All I know is right now it sounds F***ing sweet.

and I have a 40 mile a day commute to work and back, so I do a couple hundred miles a week just going to work and back, should break in pretty fast.

 

[Ramaj]

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/foru...-share-your-exhaust-clips-21.html#post2143484


loaded exhaust clips into here.

Mind you the GT500 muffler has only been on my car for about 70 miles at this point and the videos don't do it justice, it's quite a big improvement over stock. my phone just had a crap microphone I guess.

 

[yellstang05]

nice! good improvement over stock