PO did this to my Westy many years ago and there doesn't seem to be a
problem. The rubber strap hanger moves around some with the engine. PO had
first had the muffler strap welded and that did not hold. I have the
original exhaust system on mine. If there was a problem won't it have shown
up by now? The only thing killing my exhaust system now is rust. The bolts
on the exhaust are becoming one with the pipe. The wall of the pipes is
getting thinner and I'm afraid to miss with it. It's getting close for me to
do the federal conversion w/O2 modification. Anyway, it is the original
engine and nothing has been rebuilt except the wiring. I have also seen this
done on one other wasserboxer vanagon along with a K-car muffler and cat.
The one with the coat hanger had a lot of play in it. An SS strap around the
muffler would be a better fix though.

Bill  V.                 "I'd Rather Be Hiking The
'82 CA Westy [FreeBird]       Greater Yellowstone"
"Famous Potatoes"

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> Of Carrington, Tom
> Sent: Friday, October 01, 1999 2:59 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: muffler strap
>
>
> NO! Don't do this!!! The muffler should be anchored to the engine, not the
> body. If the muffler is anchored to the body, stress on the pipe from the
> engine moving may crack the exhaust pipe. Even with perfect motor mounts,
> there is some "give" that allows the engine to move a bit.
>
> Notice with the stock setup, nothing is attached to the body at all.
>
> By anchoring the muffler to the engine, when the engine moves, the muffler
> moves with it. On my 1985 Crew Cab, I have 2 *huge* hose clamps that wrap
> around the muffler and one of the tailpipes. Holds it nice and
> snug against
> the engine.
>
> TomC
> tcarrington@relitech.com
> http://volksweb.relitech.com
> 85 Vanagon Crew Cab
> 82 Westy diesel=>gas conversion
> 65 Notchback
>
> > -----
> >
> > Buy an exhaust pipe hanger (couple of bucks) attach it between
> muffler and
> > tailpipe then attach it to the underbody (drill hole for bolt) and your
> > done.
> >
>