When you are underneath your car preparing to remove the muffler, you will notice that the pipe joins together with clamps. These are muffler clamps which can seem nearly impossible to remove. Rain, snow and heat cause rust to build up around the clamp threads which makes the nuts almost become a solid part of the clamp. Before you break out the hacksaw to cut the pipe at the clamp, use a technique that mechanics use to remove these clamps.
Soak the threads and nuts of the muffler clamp with penetrating oil lubricant. Place the tip of a flat head screwdriver on the side of each nut and tap the handle of the screwdriver with a hammer. Apply more penetrating oil and allow the oil to soak for an hour.
Turn the nuts counterclockwise with a wrench to remove them from the clamp if the penetrating oil loosened the rust sufficiently.
Place a socket wrench over the nut if the penetrating oil did not work. Put on a pair of leather gloves to protect your knuckles. Turn the nut counterclockwise with the socket wrench. Keep turning until the nut twists off and breaks the end of the clamp. Watch the placement of your hands, when doing this, because the nut will break off with force. Attempt to keep your hands pointing towards flat portions of the frame and muffler and not sharp areas.
