I need help! I'm halfway through PSE install (mufflers only) and stuck! Following Loren's DIY and doing one side at a time, I've removed the old muffler and the new one is mounted and the exhaust tip in attached (loosely), but I can't get the new muffler connected to the cat pipe. Is there some kind of spreader I can use to open up the cat pipe just a fraction??

Thanks,
Mark

P.S. The PSE install is on a 1999 996 Coupe.

 

I'm not sure if this is applicable or not. I had mine recently installed at local garage. The owner said they had to remove the old bracket from the mufflers and install on PSE to get everything to fit correctly. This was on a '99C4. Good luck.

 

Yes, I did find that I also had to use the old mounting bracket. Doing that go the muffler mounted, but the connection to the cat pipe is the tough part. I wonder how the shops do it??

 

I had mine put on at a local Midas shop. Well worth the $75. They had to use a cone shaped spreader to make the bracket fit. So, yes there is a tool to open the bracket. They also turned the cone to the other side and pounded on the pipe to round it out and close it down a little..

 

A new PSE comes with it's own new bracket. You do not take the bracket off the old muffler - that is extra work. The only thing you use off the old muffler is the tailpipe.

Mark - I answered your question in your post on RennTech.org

 

Unless the '99 and '02 PSE connections are radically different, there should be a sleeve that slides over and clamps down connecting the cat pipe to the muffler pipe. When I put my PSE on, I initially left the old sleeve on. It was a bear to align the two pipes and slide the old sleeve back on to the new pipe at the same time. I finally found the new sleeve. I had to take the whole thing down to remove the old sleeve. The new sleeve wasn't clamped down yet, so it slid right on, easy as pie.

Loren is right. Do not take the bracket, that big piece of flat metal that the muffler is attached to, off. It's a waste of time and you have a new one anyway. Unless, of course, the bracket they are referring to is the sleeve that I mentioned above.

 

Try a little good ol WD40 on the clamps so you can slide them arround. Also loosen the clamp bolts more and use a screwdriver to spread the clamps open a little more. Then you should be able to slide the clamp over the inlet and finish up.