[30ONA]

My rear muffler his the body of the car in front of the rear axle, over some bumps or at low revs like reversing if it nearly stalls under load. Surely this is not normal. Any clues? I'm guessing hangers but would not have thought it would hit the top of the muffler. I would have thought it would sag down.

[Scrawny]

Hasn't been hit or bent somewhere?

[30ONA]

Don't know. It's been like that since I bought it. I'll look for some dents

[fordem]

I'm going to guess that a previous owner has had exhaust work done and the shop used "non-OE" parts which has resulted in things being closer than they should - for example - rubber hangers which are shorter/stiffer and hold the exhaust closer to the frame.

Another possibility is that a custom exhaust has been done and it has been deliberately pulled closer to the frame to increase in ground clearance

Incidentally, my 2.0 GV has only one muffler, so there is no "rear" muffler, although there is an odd looking "bulge" in the tail pipe behind the rear axle, so I doubt that's what you're referring to - the muffler on my car is positioned just below the left rear passenger floor, and I am contemplating having it moved forward so that it does not protrude into the "under seat" space as I am considering fitting an auxiliary fuel tank there.

[30ONA]

It has extractors, cat, muffler and the resonator (bulge). It's the muffler banging, of I lift the trail pipe the muffler his the floor. Apart from the extractors the exhaust appears original.

[fordem]

It has extractors so work has definitely been done on it - but you have no idea what.

If the muffler is close enough to the floor to hit it then the exhaust is sitting closer to the floor than normal - it has either been deliberately or inadvertently lifted - I would inspect the hangers to see if any of them look bent, other than that, take it to an exhaust shop and discuss it with them - it might be as simple as fitting a longer hanger (if they are available) or welding in longer brackets to lower the pipe.