poor seal between manifold and down pipe

[xavier]

I cannot seem to get a good seal between my exhaust manifold and the down pipe. I was told to put lots of that gasket seal stuff onto the new gasket which I did. Attempt one was hopeless. so I took it off and spent and hour or two scaping off the old gasket seal. Attempt two was a bit better but still a slight blow. Any suggestions? I have the earlier 3 bolt manifold which is not as good as the later 4 bolt item. No wonder they changed it.

[bmw9818]

obv your using a manifold gasket?

i changed my zaust system yday as it sheared clean in half, didnt bother changing over the manifold gasket, just wire brushed the downpipe part, and cleaned any residue off the manifold,

then used a shit load of gum gum sealed up perfect,

[xavier]

I thought about using two gaskets. Anyone tried this? I torqued the bolts to 70nm. Is that about right? I thought any tighter might snap the bolts.

[AardHawk]

Assuming that the two mating surfaces are free of old gasket, your problem is that the mating surfaces are misaligned. I assume that you are reaching the bolts from under the car using socket, extension and ratchet. While you are down there loosen off the lower downpipe mounting so that the whole exhaust system is free to move.

You dont need too much exhaust paste, just a smear. Now while jiggling the downpipes tighten up the bolts. They dont need to be uber tight. Elbow tight is good. Just snug'em up. after testing the joint by running the engine tighten up the lower mount.

Your problem is the engine has moved from the time that it was originally installed. The engine mounts or rear gearbox mounts aren't what they were. You may need to lift the engine using a trolley jack to get a fit.