David,

I just did this job on my 88GL.  The original muffler mounts are two
pieces that bolt to the rear engine mount by means of two bolts. These
mounts simply support the muffler. There are two straps - one for each
mount - that secure the muffler to the mounts. The The CAT flange
matches the muffler for mounting each to the other.

I found it far easier to simply disconnect the J-pipe at the CAT then
disconnect it at the cast iron Y-connector and move it out of the way.
The undo the muffler straps, slide the muffler towards the driver side
and remove the right side muffler support. Then move the whole assembly
back to the right and out from under the vehicle - CAT, Muffler, and
tailpipe. Put back in reverse order.

it sounds as if  your's was modified and of course won't work just like
mine unless you go back the OEM way - which I think is a good thing.

Good luck.

John

On 8/23/2013 3:18 PM, David M wrote:
> I need to replace the cat and muffler on my '87 Vanagon (2.1L). I've looked at the units. I have a generic cat welded to the muffler inlet pipe. The cat is connected to the flange of the original cat which was cut off. The muffler (Made in South Africa) is attached with 2 large clamps, one of which is attached to an exhaust pipe.
> In replacing the cat with a correct one, there is no way I can retain my muffler since it no longer has a flange. I have a replacement cat (Borsal) and muffler (Dansk), the flange gaskets and a tailpipe mounting kit. I'm hoping to reuse my existing tail pipe. I don't have any new bolts and nuts as I don't know what I will need.
>
> Am I right in thinking that if I release the 2 muffler clamps and detatch the cat at the 3-bolt flange, I should be able to slide the whole thing sideways and out the passenger side? I'd like to leave the large clamps in place as it would seem to be a big job to remove them completely.
>
>
> David ('87 Wolfsburg)
>
>
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