A couple of months ago, fed up with replacing my manifold/downpipe gasket, I
just decided to do away with it, and promised to let you all know how I got
on. And then never mentioned it again.
Well, it got through the MOT fine, they weren't bothered (not that I drew their
attention to it...)
Then I started feeling that it was still noisier than it should be, and I was
still getting popping and crackling when engine braking - which sounds quite
cool, but does indicate that all is not as it should be. Further
investigation showed that the brass nuts (which should be the standard fit,
and I had replaced brand new) had stripped their threads, so the downpipe
wasn't clamped too firmly against the manifold. So, I whipped those off, and
replaced them with some rather good anti-vibration ones I had nabbed from work
- not the ones with nylon in them (which might burn off), but with the end
thread slightly too fine (or perhaps course) so it jams against the threads.
Hmm, bolts on nice and tight, still sounds just like before. Yet further
investigation (yesterday) showed that the nuts were indeed tight - against the
ends of the threads on the studs, which didn't allow enough tightening to pull
the joint tight. Easy - just stick a couple of nice thick washers under each
nut. Now Daffy runs fine, as quiet as she ever was with the gasket in place,
no popping or crackling (which I miss), no problems. As long as these nuts
don't strip their threads (shouldn't, work uses decent quality stuff), or come
undone (shouldn't, being anti-vibration, and I used spring washers), this is a
fine solution, and much better than replacing that b*%#$y gasket every couple
of months!
So, my advice to anyone suffering another blown gasket - just get rid of it!
Richard and Daffy
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