I have a 98 honda civic LX. My cars muffler is completely rusted. I bought a replacement muffler and wanted to change it by myself as the repair shops quoted around $80 to just remove the old muffler and connect the new one. I am not able to remove the screws of the existing muffler. They are completely rusted and jamed. Can any one please suggest how I can remove the existing muffler from my car. Also do I have to buy new Oring and the screws or can I use the old parts from the car?

 

If you encounter a really rusted screw, there are normally a couple of options that may work, but here's what I'd do:

1. Spray the screw with WD-40 or equivalent; let sit for 15 minutes or more.
2. Use a Dremel tool and cutoff disc to grind a slot in the screw head. The slot must be wide enough so that a decent-sized flat blade screwdriver can fit in it.
3. Remove the screw.

Option 2:

1. Use a Dremel tool to grind down the screw head.
2. Using a center punch, make a divot in the center of the screw body.
3. Drill through the screw body using a drill that is slightly smaller than the screw body.

If the screw is fairly large, you may be able to use an easy out, but that works only if you can drill a starter hole in the screw body and have enough remaining material around the side of the hole to allow the easy out to unscrew the screw.

Dave