Exhaust fitting tips?

Need to replace the exhaust on my 110 (standard 3-part for a 200tdi).
I know it's a pretty straightforward job, but I've not done one before.

There are several clamped joints. Do they need gaskets, or some kind of sealant, or what?

Any other tips?

pete_j said:

Need to replace the exhaust on my 110 (standard 3-part for a 200tdi).
I know it's a pretty straightforward job, but I've not done one before.

There are several clamped joints. Do they need gaskets, or some kind of sealant, or what?

Any other tips?

Click to expand...

Just stick some Fire Gum around the joints before bolting them up. The front down pipe can be a pain unless ye've got long skinny hands to reach where it bolts tae the engine

pete_j said:

Need to replace the exhaust on my 110 (standard 3-part for a 200tdi).
I know it's a pretty straightforward job, but I've not done one before.

There are several clamped joints. Do they need gaskets, or some kind of sealant, or what?

Any other tips?

Click to expand...

you can use exhaust sealant but if its a decent system you should not need it,good luck anyway.

Bolted mine on dry.
Only gasket is between the turbo and the down pipe.
No leaks after almost two years.

They should seal up pretty well as is, then the soot will line it and seal it up for good.

Well, it's on order and will hopefully arrive before the weekend, as the MOT's on Monday

I'd suggest you get some Loctite 'Freeze & Release' or Plusgas, and spray it on all the bolts and leave it a good few hours before you attempt to undo them. Some people suggest WD40, but it's not really a penetrating agent like Freeze & Release and Plusgas is.

I use it all the time, and I do this for a living, it can sometimes save alot of agro with stubborn bolts.

As for gaskets, you may not need them on a good fitting new exhaust, but they're not too expensive, and I always use new gaskets for that reason... it's good practice, but that's my opinion.

Thanks for the reminder about PlusGas.
When I saw a picture of the can it reminded me that I had bought some a little while ago -- and I found it, after some digging, in the garage -- must be 6+ years old! There's about an 1/8 of a can left, but almost no propellant :-(

Unfortunately, can't realistically get any before the weekend now -- I've checked the websites of H**fords, H***base, B*Q and W**kes, and none list it as a stock item, so there's little point trying them.
Sc*ewFix list a 3-in-1 branded penetrating oil, and they have a trade counter here, so that might have to do if I need some in a hurry.

Whats the matter with a saw?

Well, nothing, although I won't be needing one...
I only might need the oily stuff for releasing the bottom end of the down pipe, as I am presuming that that bit doesn't need changing.

I think what happened was that the tail-pipe broke off first, and as that bit has the hook to support the rear silencer etc, the rear pipe dropped and put extra strain on the pipe further forward, and before I knew what was happening, the pipe split between the front silencer and the joint to the rear pipe. Sounds very dramatic, but it probably happened over several weeks without me realising.

Consequently, there aren't any nuts to undo! (except at the front),

...and if anyone fancies a try at welding it all back together (the two boxes look OK) drop me a message and they can have the bits for nowt!

Make a hole in the can and empty it into jam jar.
Use a paint brush to apply.
I can always get the last dregs out of a tooth paste tube as well.

Thanks for the tip Shifty. I'll remember that next time I need to use the stuff. Fortunately this time there was just enough 'squirt' to do the trick - all nuts we needed to remove came apart like a dream. (Thank you to whoever suggested its use!)

Getting the old exhaust off wasn't the issue. It's been the rubber hangers that have caused all the problems.

What's the trick for getting the hanger hook on the exhaust into the hole in the rubber on the car?

I managed the back two OK, by cheating -- these two are each held by a single nut and bolt, so I removed the hanger from the car, assembled the rubber on the exhaust and bolted the hangers (+ exhaust) back on the car.

The front hanger, under the transfer box, can't be removed in the same way, so I can't cheat, and I have only managed to get the exhaust hook in half-way. This is really frustrating as everything else lines up fine.

So, is there some trick I should know, or is it just a case of brute strength (in which case, I'm in trouble!)

pete_j said:

Thanks for the tip Shifty. I'll remember that next time I need to use the stuff. Fortunately this time there was just enough 'squirt' to do the trick - all nuts we needed to remove came apart like a dream. (Thank you to whoever suggested its use!)

Getting the old exhaust off wasn't the issue. It's been the rubber hangers that have caused all the problems.

What's the trick for getting the hanger hook on the exhaust into the hole in the rubber on the car?

I managed the back two OK, by cheating -- these two are each held by a single nut and bolt, so I removed the hanger from the car, assembled the rubber on the exhaust and bolted the hangers (+ exhaust) back on the car.

The front hanger, under the transfer box, can't be removed in the same way, so I can't cheat, and I have only managed to get the exhaust hook in half-way. This is really frustrating as everything else lines up fine.

So, is there some trick I should know, or is it just a case of brute strength (in which case, I'm in trouble!)

Click to expand...

When ye're hangin' yer exhaust, make sure the bit that goes through the rubber is flat and not bent. Also stick some type of lube to push it through the rubber before bendin' the tab down. Other than that, it's down tae a wee bit o' perswayshun

bustersbus said:

When ye're hangin' yer exhaust, make sure the bit that goes through the rubber is flat and not bent. Also stick some type of lube to push it through the rubber before bendin' the tab down. Other than that, it's down tae a wee bit o' perswayshun

Click to expand...

what BB said,but use a little bit of washing up liquid on the bracket/rubber hanger.

bustersbus said:

...make sure the bit that goes through the rubber is flat and not bent...

Click to expand...

I'd been trying to work out how Kw*kF*t do the job so quickly!

I did use some grease, and that certainly helped, but I hadn't thought of bending the tabs back first. Stupid really, but I guess these things come with experience...

Thanks - I'll try that in the morning.

pete_j said:

I'd been trying to work out how Kw*kF*t do the job so quickly!

I did use some grease, and that certainly helped, but I hadn't thought of bending the tabs back first. Stupid really, but I guess these things come with experience...

Thanks - I'll try that in the morning.

Click to expand...

they have the vehicle up in the air and can get a lot more leverage/force on the components.

pete_j said:

Thanks for the reminder about PlusGas.
When I saw a picture of the can it reminded me that I had bought some a little while ago -- and I found it, after some digging, in the garage -- must be 6+ years old! There's about an 1/8 of a can left, but almost no propellant :-(

Unfortunately, can't realistically get any before the weekend now -- I've checked the websites of H**fords, H***base, B*Q and W**kes, and none list it as a stock item, so there's little point trying them.
Sc*ewFix list a 3-in-1 branded penetrating oil, and they have a trade counter here, so that might have to do if I need some in a hurry.

Click to expand...

have you got a motorworld near you, they keep penetrating oil in, usually plusgas if not some other brand, motor-world.co.uk

Thanks, everyone, for the advice.

Exhaust passed the MOT OK, so I must have done something right! The car failed on some other items, including the wipers but that's just sod's law (thankfully the garage didn't charge for fitting the wipers -- it wasn't a main dealer! -- as it would have been pretty ironic that I could replace the exhaust system and had to pay someone to replace the wiper blades!)

Fitting: Once I had done the tab-bending trick and got the middle pipe on, it went together pretty quickly. The front joint was OK first time - I was worried that the old pipe might not seal properly, but it wasn't an issue. The back joint, between two new pipes, leaked from the top, and I couldn't see a way of pulling it together better without putting strain on something. So, I took it apart and slapped some GunGum on the top faces of the joint, bolted it back together, and pressed some more gum into the top of the joint, just to be on the safe side. I let the engine idle up to temperature, and then drove it across town and back. Still no leaks, so the gum obviously did the trick!


So, what have I learned?
1) PlusGas (or similar) makes it easier to remove rusty nuts
2) Rubber hangers are easier to fit if:

• you use washing up liquid as a lubricant
• you bend the tabs on the exhaust hangers until they are the same shape as the hole (or smaller) and then bend 'em back once the bits are fitted
• you can unbolt the hangers from the chassis first (may be possible for back two for 110 - make sure you refit them exactly as before to maintain alignment)

3) No gaskets are needed for the joints between front and middle, and middle and rear -- these are flanged joints and if you're lucky they'll be gas-tight without sealant.
4) If a joint doesn't seal first time, slap on some FireGum (or GunGum, if that's what you have!) to the mating faces and re-assemble.
5) GunGum doesn't have a loooong shelf life -- my still-sealed tube was 3 years old, and I had to rip it apart to dig some out that was squidgy enough to use:doh
6) Members of LandyZone are friendly and helpful!:clap2::clap2::clap2:
7) Fitting an exhaust requires a lot of muscles that don't get exercised driving a computer!

Cheers. PJ

Couldn't have summed it up better! This was the job where I was gratefull I'd a long extender bar & just bought my air ratchet (made the nuts at the engine end sooo much easier to take off).