2006 -11 Honda Civic Muffler Exhaust Repair

[@MatttheButcher]

thank you!!!! i just got quoted $780 to do this on my civic. You made it look easy enough so with all the parts itll cost me $130 !! going to give it a try, thank you Dirty D!

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

Awesome, good luck! You can do it!

[@matthewgarland693]

Exact same situation for me. Thanks Dave!

[@LostBeetle]

780 bucks? I know nothing is affordable anymore but that's still just taking the piss.

[@codylusk9372]

What a great detailed step-by-step on this repair. You also speak with a very clear voice. Thank you for sharing !

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

Thanks Cody!

[@titchglover2601]

My 08 has come apart here also. Got the spring nuts off. Spring nuts quoted at $12.37 each. Gasket $21.00 exhaust $330.00 Canadian. I used a 50/50 mix of transmission fluid, and acetone, and applied it to the nuts, prior to removing. This mixture works great. Got this formula off another utube video. Thanks for this video for showing me what I was up against.

[@bindig1]

Thanks for the doughnut info. That's what I was looking for. I wasn't sure which side went forward. You answered it and yours was the first video I watched.

[@jonesygw]

Thanks! Great video. I'm going to tackle it tomorrow. My biggest concern is getting those bolts out!

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

Folks, I can't stress enough that you need to put some good penetrating oil on those exhaust bolts and let them sit for a while. This might help you avoid snapping them off. Start by making small turns with the ratchet in both directions to loosen them a bit before trying to wrench them out. Just a nudge back and forth enough to get the threads moving.

[@shooch9135]

Great video! Heat, Oil, patience....repeat for those stubborn bolts.

[@flank84]

exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

[@MattKoplowitz]

I got quoted today for replacing my muffler on my 2011 Civic. Unfortunately I have to bring it back in a few days cause they didn't have it in stock. They said it could take 2 hours and it took you 10 minutes start to finish.

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

To be fair, you never know what kind of problems you might run into in any auto repair.

[@MattKoplowitz]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 That's not really my point, does it really take 2 hours to change a muffler?

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

@@MattKoplowitz it shouldn't , but if you run into issues, have to cut bolts, have to weld stuff, it can become a longer process

[@MattKoplowitz]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 It wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Only took an hour with no other problems.

[@ZAYKROSSI]

Very helpful! Liked and subscribed

[@rondail5675]

Thank you

[@GhostboiFrank]

So I'm doing this on my 08 civic and I'm not sure I can get the bolts off without rounding them, if I was to cut them would the remaining bolt become stuck in the muffler bolt slot?

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

hard to say without seeing it, but you can always drill it out. You aren't trying to loosen the back ones are you? they are welded to the exhaust, you can only remove the spring bolts

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

when i say back ones, i'm talking about the ones on the back of the flange

[@TheBudmen]

Anyone know the torque specs for those spring bolts? I saw 16lb if torque seems low to me though.

[@Goodonbales]

Excellent video, thank you! I've got it removed now, and like another user, I snapped the spring bolts in half. The other half is still stuck in the welded nut. Any advice? Also, I don't have a lift. I managed to remove the muffler with the car on the ground, but i doubt I'll be able to get the new one on without lifting it up. Do you think those ramps will suffice?

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

You’ll most likely need to drill the broken bolts out. Start with a small bit and work up to larger. Ramps will help or jack stands to set some room. Chock front wheels and set parking brake! Buy some new bolts about same diameter but inch longer. Buy lock washers and flat washers big enough to reuse the springs and rig up the new bolts that way. Good luck!

[@Goodonbales]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 You just replied in less than 10 minutes. You are incredible! The new muffler I got came with new spring bolts and a gasket, hoping that works. To drill out the broken bolts, should I be picking up left-handed bits? Extractors? Or literally just drilling into the middle of the bolt? I'm also not sure how I'm going to be able to fit a drill into that space.

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

@@Goodonbales problem is once you drill them out, you may damage the threads on the welded studs. If you're careful you can drill them out enough to weaken them and just pull the shell of whats left out with some pliers. Can't speak much to how much room there is to get a drill in there, but the only other option would be to remove that entire next section of exhaust and either try and drill them out off the car or replace that whole piece

[@Goodonbales]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 Okay, thank you again for your quick reply. The only other option I could think of was really lubing up the remaining bolt and trying to use a plyers to get it to come out through the welded nut. Think that has any chance of working?

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

@@Goodonbales not really but u can try

[@Fuder95Ibra]

i have a question, do the bolts need nuts ? because i have same car and i bought new bolts and springs and the donut, but while i was removing the old ones they brock, sad story but i noticed 16mm nuts from the other side, do they need nuts ? looking to how you screwed them i didnt see you using any bolt nuts... im confused

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

sorry for the late response. The pipe you're connecting to has 2 welded on nuts that the spring nuts attach to

[@Adrian.Hasenfratz]

Thanks man

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

anytime! hope it was helpful!

[@Puddy0859]

great video thanks

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

You are welcome!

[@rey8653]

i cant get the spring bolts removed for some reason. i have the 8th gen civic

[@sylvainarseneault2501]

Thanks alot

[@eyron-msng]

Will a muffler from a coupe fits on a sedan? Thank!

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

Not sure, but most likely. You can verify by doing a search on amazon for a muffler for your year and include sedan in the description and see what comes up

[@ethantastic]

wd40 not recommended for rubber

[@lokeyhud2516]

Where daughter at now

[@weld4200]

Next teach her how to weld

[@rey8653]

its too damn tight, the spring bolts

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

have you applied some penetrating oil, and heat? If they don't come off, you may need to cut them off. I'd reccomend trying a nut buster or small cutting wheel to cut the nuts off so you can try and re-use the studs on the flange again.

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

also, make sure you are trying to remove the nuts from the muffler side, not the exaust side. The ones on the exhaust side are welded in place (the studs)

[@rey8653]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 yes I applied rp7 oil. My socket wrench (14mm) adapter cracked while trying to unscrew the bolt, it was that tight. I eventually up. I'm going to borrow a ratchet gun tomorrow and try to unscrew it again. Any more suggestions? Thanks

[@rey8653]

@@dirtydavesgarage8251 also I don't understand what you meant by the bolt on the muffler side. I can see that there are 2 bolts. One is at the back (hard to reach) the other once is easy to reach

[@dirtydavesgarage8251]

@@rey8653 sorry, the one on the spring bolt is the one you should be turning counter clockwise. shouldn't need to worry about the one on the other side, that is the stud bolt and should be welded onto flange. Make sure to put some penetrant on the stud sticking through the bolt on the side opposite the spring bolt