HELP! M&K Muffler mounting issues on a 3.2

[Duc Hunter]

I have been trying to work through some mounting issues with an M&K muffler on my 3.2. Brian and I have been emailing, and he has my system back at his shop now. The catch is on his test motor it fits perfectly fine, on my motor it is not even close. On my car the tip is in the complete wrong place (exits facing directly back backwards and sticks way out, cannot be made level to the ground as it hits the body, etc), and my muffler is well over 1 inch away from my muffler bracket. He has sold a lot of these, and I have not been able to find any complaints about fitment....so I am wondering what is going on. I think I have identified my challenge and wanted to run it by everyone here, to make sure I have not lost my mind.

Here is a picture of the the muffler on my car. Notice my "muffler bracket" is mounted on the 2 bolts that are well below (as the motor is mounted in the car) the "motor mount bracket's" bump. The muffler does not even touch my "muffler bracket" because that bump (motor mount bracket) is preventing it.


Here is a pic of my exhaust on Brian's test motor. As you can see it fits great, and the muffler is right up against the "muffler bracket" (esp in pic 1 below). Notice his "muffler bracket" though is on top of the "motor mount bracket" (the bump part). Remember his motor is upside down on a stand, so that bump would be towards the top of the car when in the car.Also notice how on his motor the muffler seems rotated a little differently than on my car?



It appears to my untrained eye that Brian's test mule is a magnesium case 2.7 (second pic above). Those motors run a "muffler bracket" similar to the one in the picture on his motor (901-111-151-04). My motor runs a totally different "muffler bracket" (930-111-151-01) I believe. At first I thought I could just buy the early car part and solve my problem. The catch is both cars also have a different "motor mount bracket" part numbers (the bump). So I am not sure the early muffler bracket would fit on my late motor mount bracket.

If buying the early muffler bracket is the solution, that would be great as it is $60. Does anyone know if it fit on my late model "engine mount bracket" though? I suppose my only plan B if it does not, is to fab up my own muffler bracket that mounts low like my factory one does, but reaches farther back to touch/support the muffler properly. This plan B may be the most expedient way to get my car back on the road as well. I know any movement of the muffler will cause cracking, which I want to avoid! So I want to get this right.

Thanks for the help!

[BrakeL8]

I had different issues that my newbie mechanical self wasn't able to solve and resulted in me taking it into my local Porsche mechanic:

Introductions and newbie muffler install problem - can't get flange seal tight

In retrospect I should've just ran 2 or 3 muffler gaskets and it all would've been fine. Oh well, they got it solved, though not sure exactly how but they did confirm that they had to tweak the heat exchangers and that they weren't surprised I wasn't able to get it done in the garage.

[gtc]

I ran into a similar problem with an M&K on a friend's '87 3.2 with SSIs. We finally just bent the arms of the bracket to fit the muffler.

[john walker's workshop]

You usually have to bend the bracket to fit various aftermarket mufflers.

[Duc Hunter]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

You usually have to bend the bracket to fit various aftermarket mufflers.

I am not at all above doing this. As you can see though from my pictures, bending mine is not an option. It is simply too far away, I think. I think i it is interesting that they muffler fits SO WELL on the early style muffler.

[cgarr]

How about making a spacer to move the bracket out to the muffler and longer bolts?

[RarlyL8]

Headers with dual inlet muffler is designed around the early engine as that is what it came stock on. Fitting to an SC or Carrera requires adaptation to the bracket/console and heater systems.
The most easy thing to do in this case is to use longer bolts and space the bracket out to meet the muffler. That way nothing is bent and you can put it all back to stock easily someday if desired. As stated the most important point is to support the muffler so it doesn't bounce around which will cause it to crack in time.

[michael lang]

I don't know if this picture will help but I can take additional pics for you if you need more reference with the engine/exhaust installed in the car or even close ups of the mounting.