Sealing exhaust pipe slip fit junctions?

69427

The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
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Mar 30, 2008
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Clinging to my guns and religion in KCMO.
Looking for suggestions on sealing some minor exhaust leaks on slip fit sections. I used to crank down on the u-bolt clamps, but I got tired of the pipe distortion and the headache getting them apart again. I like being able to take the system apart in just a couple minutes, and I now just attach the two pipes with a bolt through the tabs I weld to each pipe. No more u-bolts.
Any suggestions for sealing the joints?

thanks,
Mike
 
my solution was to do away with the slip joints and band clamps (they don't distort like u bolts do). However some of that hardening exhaust paste may seal yours up. Did you use slip on tabs like on race collectors/headers? Nice!
 
Mike, you have NO idea how much I really LOVE living in Florida what with just this minor point in life....

up north in DC region, all they know is Walker and clamps, there wasn't a decent pipe shop I knew of until maybe 2 years before moving south....

the vette shop guru for the old club....bought a bender, the only one in the entire PC DC area, I think,

down here, I take it to the Muffler shop down the street, and Rickey welds and patches nicely most any pipe in town....

a GOOD Florida pipe shop is worth it's weight in GOLD, much less I don't have to get totally livid and beat my ass to death over nothing anymore....

short....find a good pipe shop....local....they DO exist...surely...

Ricky laughs, I have some old roof flashing I wrap my pipes in, hold with hose clamps to I don't have to wake up the dead or myself on the way there....

:cool::surrender::lol:
 
Mike, you have NO idea how much I really LOVE living in Florida what with just this minor point in life....

up north in DC region, all they know is Walker and clamps, there wasn't a decent pipe shop I knew of until maybe 2 years before moving south....

the vette shop guru for the old club....bought a bender, the only one in the entire PC DC area, I think,

down here, I take it to the Muffler shop down the street, and Rickey welds and patches nicely most any pipe in town....

a GOOD Florida pipe shop is worth it's weight in GOLD, much less I don't have to get totally livid and beat my ass to death over nothing anymore....

short....find a good pipe shop....local....they DO exist...surely...

Ricky laughs, I have some old roof flashing I wrap my pipes in, hold with hose clamps to I don't have to wake up the dead or myself on the way there....

:cool::surrender::lol:

Gene, once again. What does this have to do with my question??????
 
my solution was to do away with the slip joints and band clamps (they don't distort like u bolts do). However some of that hardening exhaust paste may seal yours up. Did you use slip on tabs like on race collectors/headers? Nice!

Yeah, I just welded some tabs on the exhaust pipes and the muffler bends. Everything just slides together with no effort, unlike the old squished pipes (caused by the U-bolts) that were a nightmare to get apart.
Just for kicks, today I used some high temp RTV gasket stuff on the joints, as I had the system apart. Seemed to quiet things down noticeably. I'm taking the car out on the track this weekend for the first time since the new suspension, and I didn't want it sounding crappy. Right now the car sounds nice, and I'll see how long the RTV lasts. If this stuff ends up having a short service life, I'll try that exhaust paste.

I appreciate the info.
 
Mike, you have NO idea how much I really LOVE living in Florida what with just this minor point in life....

up north in DC region, all they know is Walker and clamps, there wasn't a decent pipe shop I knew of until maybe 2 years before moving south....

the vette shop guru for the old club....bought a bender, the only one in the entire PC DC area, I think,

down here, I take it to the Muffler shop down the street, and Rickey welds and patches nicely most any pipe in town....

a GOOD Florida pipe shop is worth it's weight in GOLD, much less I don't have to get totally livid and beat my ass to death over nothing anymore....

short....find a good pipe shop....local....they DO exist...surely...

Ricky laughs, I have some old roof flashing I wrap my pipes in, hold with hose clamps to I don't have to wake up the dead or myself on the way there....

:cool::surrender::lol:

Gene, once again. What does this have to do with my question??????

Trying to sympathise with your shituation there, as having fought clamps and over expensive CRAP for decades due to .gov in Faryland....

so suggested you find a good welder muffler shop to forget the crap clamps and get on with life for a lousey 20-100 bux depending on how bad you fucked it up and how much your cost of living area is.....

jeezus man.....AND I gave a hint as to how to get it to the shop without sounding like a kid or dragster on the trip....

:clobbered:
 
I have band clamps over the slip joints on mine. I cut long narrow strips from scraps of header wrap, wrap them around the male pipe and stuff them into the joint a bit with screwdriver before I put on the clamps. I have to replace them each time, but what the hey.
I also use hi-temp anti-sieze compound on the pipes so I can get them apart easier.
 
Mike, you have NO idea how much I really LOVE living in Florida what with just this minor point in life....

up north in DC region, all they know is Walker and clamps, there wasn't a decent pipe shop I knew of until maybe 2 years before moving south....

the vette shop guru for the old club....bought a bender, the only one in the entire PC DC area, I think,

down here, I take it to the Muffler shop down the street, and Rickey welds and patches nicely most any pipe in town....

a GOOD Florida pipe shop is worth it's weight in GOLD, much less I don't have to get totally livid and beat my ass to death over nothing anymore....

short....find a good pipe shop....local....they DO exist...surely...

Ricky laughs, I have some old roof flashing I wrap my pipes in, hold with hose clamps to I don't have to wake up the dead or myself on the way there....

:cool::surrender::lol:

Gene, once again. What does this have to do with my question??????

Trying to sympathise with your shituation there, as having fought clamps and over expensive CRAP for decades due to .gov in Faryland....

so suggested you find a good welder muffler shop to forget the crap clamps and get on with life for a lousey 20-100 bux depending on how bad you fucked it up and how much your cost of living area is.....

jeezus man.....AND I gave a hint as to how to get it to the shop without sounding like a kid or dragster on the trip....

:clobbered:

Gene, I don't need a muffler shop. That wasn't my question. I haven't paid a muffler shop to touch my Corvette since I was 20. I've done all the fabrication and welding on the exhaust for this car for years. And nothing got fucked up. Everything is together, and fits nice. I've run this particular configuration for several years. I have slip joints because a welded system won't come out of the car after its welded. And all slip joints leak a little. I'm just getting a little more picky as I get older about any shortcomings of slip joints.
 
Gene, I don't need a muffler shop. That wasn't my question. I haven't paid a muffler shop to touch my Corvette since I was 20. I've done all the fabrication and welding on the exhaust for this car for years. And nothing got fucked up. Everything is together, and fits nice. I've run this particular configuration for several years. I have slip joints because a welded system won't come out of the car after its welded. And all slip joints leak a little. I'm just getting a little more picky as I get older about any shortcomings of slip joints.

I dunno of any system that has worked for me for very long....clamps suck for ALL the reason you stated, only cure there is welding...then the frame on these C3 has them loops.....I finally got pissed enough to cut the bottom off the loops and reinforce the tops...a cheep version of a aftermarket support...

I would like to think my SB system could drop outta there as one piece....most likely after engine is pulled....I know I can get the tranny out now with engine in place....that's about all I can say....

exhausting work is a PIA....:crap::cry:
 
Ive used these with good luck, they don't leak or rotate because they slip inside each other a little when tightened (a bit different at the bolt area than the one pictured above) and they come with a bituminus gasket in the bolt area. When reusing a few times, I put a wrap of flat gasket material around the pipe first. These are for butt joints, but they have them for slip fits too.

It helps a lot to have the system hangers proper.

Walker1.jpg
 
I have the Walker band clamps on my collector to side pipe muffler flange. This joint is "worked" by the engine because the muffler is only attached way down past the door. They work great! The rubber material inside lets them get a really strong grip. I coated the pipes with high temp anti sieze as someone suggested. No leaks but the pipes fit great. If your fit is poor no clamp will stop that.
 
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