Sealing exhaust leak - help!

[autoheart]

Installed a new stainless exhaust system on my '67 TR4A IRS. It has the single transverse muffler. I can't seem to get the joints in the pipes to stop leaking - especially the one between the muffler and the pipe it connects with. Anybody have any tips/tricks to help me out? - Joel

 

[Andrew Mace]

What about something along the lines of Permatex Muffler & Tailpipe Sealer?

 

[tomgt6]

Out here is farm country we use spit and bailing wire. I am sure Andy has a better idea then I but maybe someone else will come along with one better then mine.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Close, Tom. Usually, I use Campbell's soup cans, hose clamps and wads of steel wool for repairs. But on a new system, I'd probably try the Permatex! :wink:

 

[autoheart]

The tin can (I used Budweiser) trick worked on my brother's MGB, but not on the TR4. I used a different brand of sealer, but maybe I should try the Permatex - their stuff is usually better in general.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Joel,

You can buy wide exhaust band clamps to go right over the joint. The clamps can be "stepped" as well to allow for the pipe overlap. Failing that, you could buy two of the narrower band clamps and use them side by side, one on each side of the join. If you still have a leak after using the narrower clamps, you can always try some exhaust "putty" that hardens/cures with the heatof the exhaust.

I know that Don had a pictured posted on the installation of the band clamps on his TR8.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[PeterK]

I used muffler putty on the center joint of my 3A Falcon exhaust. Lasts for a couple of years.

 

[DNK]

They're not band clamps ,but stepped they are.
I have a leak on the muffler side of the joint. I don't think that the stock TR8 pipes are a true 2" male fitting.

 

[hondo402000]

Hey DNK where did you get those, I cannot find anything that looks like those at the usual auto parts stores

 

[DNK]

Which things?I got the connectors at Summit
Is the TR6 a 1 7/8's" diameter?
Smallest I can find is the 2"

 

[PeterK]

At my local FLAPS, the band clamps are hanging flat - not put together.

Maybe past them you walked. But stepped they are not. (Yoda speak)

 

[autoheart]

One time...at band clamp....

Sorry, couldn't resist. This looks like it might work - but up here in the frozen north I don't know where to look. Where's Summit? And what's FLAPS?

 

[Twosheds]

Summit's at the top and FLAPS are on the wing trailing edge.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Summit sells high performance parts. Don't know where it is, but they send a catalog. Look on line.

Friendly Local Auto Parts Store.

I had the hardest time with that one because, being somewhat of a worldly man, I thought I know what F stood for, only to find that I was wrong.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Summit Racing Equipment

 

[PeterK]

One time...at band clamp....

Sorry, couldn't resist. This looks like it might work - but up here in the frozen north I don't know where to look. Where's Summit? And what's FLAPS?

VIP has 'em.

 

[dklawson]

This may not be the answer you wanted (and those clamps above look great), but for slip joints on the muffler and rear piping, I've had very good luck using the copper colored RTV. No, it's not rated for exhaust use, but it is high-temperature RTV and it will seal the joint but allow you to pry stuff apart later. When I used to use muffler putty, I always found it brittle. If there was any play in the joint, the stuff would crack and fall out. The RTV remains relatively pliable for years... staying in place and maintaining a seal even when the pipes flex.

 

[autoheart]

Thanks everyone - good suggestion. I'll try 'em all. And thanks for the tip on VIP Peter; I usually only go there for nice smelling little pine trees for the rear view mirror....

 

[PeterK]

I used to use the high temp copper RTV on my 2-stroke racing exhaust right where the pipe meets the exhaust manifold donut.

It worked for a while then tended to blow out all at once. You're right about the exhaust putty hardening too. Both would work as a maintenance item - meaning, you'll need to revisit the leak every couple of years.

Of course when I used it, it was subject to a lot of vibration and bouncing around. This engine normally ran around 8-9Krpm and EGT was around 1280F.

 

[trfourtune]

IMHO,
just go to a muffler shop and have all the joints welded up.
Rob

 

[dklawson]

Welding is great, but welding is permanent. There are those occasions where it is necessary to take some of the pipes apart for other maintenance tasks.