Exhaust clamps -- how tight?
 

I had to pull my exhaust to work on something else and now with the exhaust re-installed, I can't get the new exhaust clamps to hold a seal.

Bentley says use 30 lbs torque on the clamp bolts. My cheap-ass Harbor Freight torque wrench broke during the project, but I can gauge about 30 from feel, and the clamp bolts are right around there.

Question: How tight can I go on these clamps? I feel like I'm going to crush the pipes if I keep going.

I'm thinking about pulling the clamps off and using different exhaust sealant and rotating the clamps to a different position..

which clamps? my general rule of thumb istighten till its tight enough. dont over do it, but get it tight. i know, vague. but if you have leaks, odds are something else in the exhuast is wrong, not the tightness off the clamp. look at the orientation of the pipes

Are you trying to clamp on the original system back into place, or do you have some sort of cat-back system?

I have a 3 inch cat back system that is stainless steel and I realized that when you put stainless steel pipe over a steel pipe (I said steel pipe cause I think the original one is steel) sometimes it doesn't seat properly.

So if your on a budget and cant afford for it to be welded into place, I would recommend clamps from a company called Vibrant. You can find them anywhere on the internet. Very good clamps. I have them installed. The beauty about these clamps is they are very wide so they cover a larger area than a standard clamp. Wrapping the joint (where both pipes meet) in heatwrap seems to do a good job of sealing the pipe. Then you just put your clamp over it, and tighten it down.

If you are still not satisfied, your only other option is welding it into place.

Thanks -- it's the original exhaust except for the flex sections. I got the clamps from Blauparts.

I'm going to pull the clamps off and try again.

I know what you're talking about. The original exhuast sleaves. Total pain in the ass. I've had some brand new ones that didn't seal. Often I end up putting some exhuast paste in there to help seal them.

I might slap the old sleeves back on there but use the new bolts. The old sleeves are only 1.5 yrs old from when I replaced the flex pipes.

To clarify it's the (2x) connections between the cats and the center muffler.

Oh yea, I know 'em. Have a good friend who owns an indy Audi shop. He swears at em all the time too.

I'm also going to switch to hi-temp silicone sealant instead of the paste, which has never worked that well for me.

You could also try buying a cheap exhaust pipe expander, maybe they're a tiny bit out of round.

I'm reading a Bentley thread where a poster says the clamps are supposed to be loose enough to "weep" excess water. That poster says not to use silicon because (a) it will foul the o2 sensors and (b) it will prevent water from escaping the system via the clamped joint.