I would like to discuss in exquisite detail the MB design process on their exhausts for a 617 300D.

The reason for this is im trying to duplicate as much as the same design process in my van engine conversion.

Ive already done this wrong causing exhaust damage, and I want to make sure I do it properly the second time for long term use and trouble free. I have a few questions on why MB did something a certain way, and so on.

(please excuse the crudity of these drawings)

So in a MB stock exhaust for a turbo 300D drawn here, the flex pipe (1) is before a soft mount on the bell housing (2), and then continues with no additional supports until the 4 mounts on the rear muffler (3-6).



What I did on my van was this-

The downpipe was hard mounted to the bell housing (1), continued to a flex pipe (2), and soft mounted in positions 3, 4, and 5, with rubber hangars.



After 8k miles, positions 1, 3, and 5 in the above diagram were broken completely off.

What ive done now in addition to MB stock motor mounts is purchase a MB stock downpipe, so I have the stock location, and stock arrangement for a downpipe, then I intend to do a soft mount on the bell housing like MB, and I guess my two questions are this-

Why is the MB flexpipe before a rubber mount on the transmission bell housing? Wouldn't that take most of the function of the flexible downpipe out of the equation? Or does that arrangement actually dampen excessive flex pipe movement? I know it works, im just trying to understand why, so when I go to try and do it as close as possible I know the reason why something was designed such a way and make sure I keep that in mind, not just that its the way the factory did it.

And do the 4 mounts at the extreme other end of the exhaust mean that exhaust vibration and movement are compensated for in the distance of the unsupported exhaust somewhat?

Should I try and do the same thing with no mounts on the front side of my muffler?

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