Thanks Blumbly, glad it's not just me. There's not much in the manual on this and haven't seen anything on YouTube either on the re-installation of the muffler. I have been able to do it easier on other Victas that I've worked on, I wonder whether the clips contract slightly over time and lose some of their "springiness". Anyway we'll keep trying because we have to, those Victas are LOUD without them.