Hatzenbach

Hi,

I thought I'd share with everyone. Yesterday I replaced my stock exhaust with a Tubi. I did my usual research before and most people say you must remove the bumper (and the heatshields) but some say you don't necessarily have to.
I upgraded from a Boxster a few months ago and it was the same story with the 986 where most people said that you must remove the bumper, but I knew from experience (I had experimented with several mufflers adn replaced the muffler at least 6 times on the 986) that on a 986 you can do a muffler replacement with the bumper cover on.
OK, so yesterday I tried it with the bumper cover on and around 1h into the project I realized that it can't be done. With the 997.2 Porsche changed the mounting brackets for the muffler and the two bolts closer to the rear are IMPOSSIBLE to access. However, taking the rear bumper cover and the heatshields off took me maybe 30 minutes and then the job was a piece of cake.
Again, I though I'd share to make the job easier for the next 997.2 owner who is wondering 'bout this.

stefang

Um, I did it without removing the bumper cover. Bit of a squeeze, but no real problem.

rijowysock

can be done, done it 15+ times..

which bolts? theirs 3 bolts per cat, 2 of which have brackets for the side cans, side cans have 2 bolts each... center muffler has 2 straps, each tip has 1 bolt.


not very difficult.

Hatzenbach

Hmmmm,

here's where I got stuck:
So you have the two bolts next to the rear wheel well - not a problem.
The other bracket was where I gave up:
I couldn't reach through the snakes nest of exhaust pipes, so eventually I figured that if I remove the center muffler I would nove one exhaust pipe out of the way and I would be OK.
Unbolted the 3 bolts (each side) which hold the center muffler to the cats and the two straps that hold the center muffler, but the center muffler now didn't move as it was held in place by the brackets for the side cans - catch 22

What did I do wrong?

mdrums

Dropped stock mufflers of a 09 and installed Tubi....dropped stock PSE mufflers on my 2012 for FVD system....no rear bumper removal.

KLS

Just did the Gundo on mine and although I'm sure it can be done without removing the bumper, I was apparently not skilled enough to do it.

rijowysock

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...n-997-2-a.html

you remove the 3 nuts, then you can pivot that bracket off the bolts... once the side muffler is not resting on the cats you remove the bolts that hold muffler onto car from fender well.. then side cans literally can "fall out"

the center pipe comes off then.

it's confusing.. but not that hard once you do it right.....

Iceter

Like Bob the builder says, "Can we do it? Yes we can!" Sorry, I have a three year old.

I did the Gundo hack a few months ago. Had no problems dropping and re-installing my '09 C2 mufflers without removing any bodywork.

USMC_DS1

FYI for those with an 997.1 S... I installed a full FVD exhaust system(exhaust manifold, cats, muffler, tips) w/o removing the bumper on my 997.1 S. Just had to remove the two rear wheels so that the cans would come out. To the OP, congrats on doing this yourself. Always more rewarding to get a sense of how the car works underneath it all.

socalgt3

I just installed my Gundo hack side mufflers. Don't feel too bad, I had trouble getting to some of the bolts so I ended up removing the rear bumper as well. The bumper removal was actually easier than I thought. After removing the bumper and the side heat shields, the rest was pretty straight forward.

Hatzenbach

Thank You, I started to feel really bad about my mechanics skills...

Gripster

Don't feel bad. I had the same experience as you did. See my post here - https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...all-notes.html

I know others have done it but my hands and/or tools just weren't up to the job. I felt like I learned a lot more about my car having pulled off the bumpers.

MessyMarvin

I was going to have the Indy put my Exhaust on, based on these replies I might just do it myself. Maybe I will buy some Jack-point Stands with they money I will save. I have heard having half moon wrenches help as well.

stefang

The half moon wrenches are key for the top bolt on the manifold. On a 997.2 that's needed for the center exhaust only. Not sure what you're putting on or what car you have.
It shouldn't be an expensive job. I think on a lift, with experience, you should be able to do it in 30 min. On my back in my driveway it took a little longer.

USMC_DS1

+1... DIY the project to save some $ for the JP stands. Money well spent as it will allow you to tackle additional DIY projects in the future... saving you even more $$. Plus if it's just the cans... that's fairly easy. If you're doing the exhaust manifold as well then consider swapping plugs n coils at the same time if they are due for service. That last plug on the passenger side is so much easier to replace with the EM off.