Exhaust "C" clamps

[bishbosh66]

Hi, having had to remove the head of my 8v 1.8 recently, I was forced to undo the manifold to system c clamps. I have refitted them after bending them slightly to get them to fit, and of course now the exhaust blows ! I packed exhaust assembly paste around the join, however it has not been entirely successful. Are there any hints and tips to refitting these things or do I have to cut my losses and go to a local exhaust fitter ? Little bit annoyed as they have only recently been fitted when the exhaust manifold was changed (prior to the head gasket going !)

[gtimike]

i`d suggest you go and buy a new cone ring ...... and some c-clips....there is an easy way to fit them which involves using an exhaust clamp... what you need to do is get say a 45mm clamp..take it apart and wind the nuts onto the threads.. take them all the way to the end of the threads and then put the bottom half of the clamp on the opposite way round from the way it was before .put this inside the c-clip and then begin to wind the nuts back .you will find this will stretch the clip out and you can fit the clips to the manifold easily . Do not put any exhaust paste on the manifold joint as its designed to move as the engine will move around

[bishbosh66]

Right oh, I will get some clamps during the week and the cone ring and see what fun can be had next weekend ! Fortunately we have a detached house so I don't wake the neighbours with the exhaust as it is ! Thanks for the tip, good weekend.

[bishbosh66]

Fantastic tip, bought new cone and clips and had a 58mm clamp lying about, fitted perfectly. Easy to stretch the clips and fitted like a dream, wasn't even too fiddly to release clamp bolts. Saved me a trip back to the exhaust centre.
Many thanks.