How do you get these muffler hangers (donuts) on??

[M5wanaB]

Ive been trying to put the exhaust back on my car but it got dark so I had to call it a day. I am wondering what is the proper way of putting the rubber donut exhaust hangers on?? I cant even get the thing stretched over 1 of the sides of the mount let alone both. I am thinking of trimming them up with the old angel grinder but would like that to be the last resort. any help would be appreciated.

[///M42 sport]

You just gotta put some muscle into it...Use a something so that you can twist the donut onto the hangers, I used a paint roller. Thats the only way to get enough leverage to stretch the rubber.

[M5wanaB]

twist it on?? like put it on so its 90 degrees off then twist it into place??

[NC325iC]

i had to use some big ass channel locks if i remember correctly

[M5wanaB]

damn, im fresh out of big ass channel locks. might have to make a run down to harbor freight. any other tools that are useful? so far we have

"a paint roller" & "big ass channel locks" let me know.

[bimmer8604]

lube 'em up. silicone spray helps.

[M5wanaB]

im getting there but damn these things are a bear. Wish I knew these things were this hard before I put the muffler in. I would have removed the straps and got these out of the way before putting the muffler in. oh well it will just take more time, just wish I had more of it.

[SchnellerVert]

bend a tab slide it on, bend the tab back straight. Easy.

[M5wanaB]

bend a tab slide it on, bend the tab back straight. Easy.

so simple. cant believe I didnt think of it. Good Idea. Sounds a little better than my Idea of using the angel grinder to remove one of the tabs. Probably wont get to tackle this again till tuesday but thanks for the help guys and if anyone else has any good info like this, keep it coming. thanks again.

[whowhatwhere]

Put it on the chassis first, then rotate the hangar into the rubber donut. I did it without swearing once.

[SchnellerVert]

Think out of the box sometimes, try not to over think the issue.

[M5wanaB]

Put it on the chassis first, then rotate the hangar into the rubber donut. I did it without swearing once.

but did you already have the muffler in place?? either way I think I will be able to get it from here, just wish there was more room to work with, the muffler is so big and bulky its kinda hard to work around, and I had to remove the heat shield with it still on the car. that was really fun. Actually the heat shield is still in there, I cant get it all the way out ive just been sliding it around so I can work on one side at a time. live and learn. I really wish I had the bently for this car Im sure it would have saved me a headache on this job. I got a chilton manual that came with the car that covers 89-98, its worthless. most of the time I feel more stupid after reading it than before. thanks for a nother good suggestion.

[MR 325]

Some dish soap and a prybar. Bending a tab over and over is not a good thing.

[SchnellerVert]

Mild steel won't break Matt, it's not like you are bending it a bunch of times getting it hot that it break.

[AndrewBird]

Yes, they can be a bitch. I've just pried them on before with a big screwdriver. Hook it on the car first, then hook the muffler to it.