A couple of years ago I had to replace the rubber donuts which held the muffler pipes on my '86 420SEL. You didn't need to jack up the car; just put a jack (and a block of wood) under the muffler and crank it up so the two hooks were close to each other, then pop the rubber over the hooks.
Well, everything went fine at first . . . and then, even with a big screwdriver, I could not get hanger No. 2 to stretch over the hooks!
My solution: Hot water. I heated the rubber hanger in a pot of water on the stove, to near boiling, then brought pan and all outside. The softened rubber stretched that last fraction of an inch and settled into place. I gave it a few minutes to cool and harden, then let the muffler down easily in case anything split or tore.
Problem solved . . .
Well, everything went fine at first . . . and then, even with a big screwdriver, I could not get hanger No. 2 to stretch over the hooks!
My solution: Hot water. I heated the rubber hanger in a pot of water on the stove, to near boiling, then brought pan and all outside. The softened rubber stretched that last fraction of an inch and settled into place. I gave it a few minutes to cool and harden, then let the muffler down easily in case anything split or tore.
Problem solved . . .
