I am tired of this crappy Vband that came with the car. I tighten, it stops.....then a few days later it leaks again. Looked under the front of the car and sure enough, the DP is blackish due to the exhaust leak.

Does anyone have a link to a aftermarket replacement Vband that can actually serve its purpose? Because the stock one isn't cutting it.

Would appreciate the help, thanks.

 

Where the dp meets the exhaust? Is your gasket still there? If not, the oem part might be 18302756352. Check realoem to make sure.

 

when i replaced my stock exhaust with a milltek downpipe back system, the directions said to use a 1/2" drive rachet to tighten the vband clamp, that a 3/8" or smaller would not get it tight enough

i installed my system in may 2012 and it has not come loose yet, i used a 1/2" rachet followed by a 1/2" breaker bar and tightened it has tight as it would go

scott

 

Really? Well if the stock one worked for you then it's obvious I have to wrench on that thing harder. 1/2" just seemed to big for the job. Looks like I have something to do today ha.

Yes that little gasket is still there, I might order a new one and see if that helps, thanks for that part number, will make the search that much easier.

 

i had my eyes closed as i tightened the vband clamp with the 1/2" drive breaker bar ... it creaked and groaned but did not break and has not loosened

btw, i needed to use the 1/2" drive breaker bar to get mine loose to remove the stock exhaust ... could not loosen with the 3/8" drive breaker bar

at such high torque, i recommend a 6 point socket

scott

 

Any way to use safety wire on the bolt for the clamp to keep it from loosening on its own?

 

once the vband is tightened properly, it does not come loose

i have not touched mine since may 2012 when i installed my milltek exhaust

scott

 

To safety wire a nut, it would have to be a castle nut.....an aviation mechanic might have one, but they tend to be kinda $$ since they are FAA/PMA approved parts.....you might ne able to bring in the nut to a true-value, etc that has the nutrack to go through...they might have a castle nut....nut it it about MATAING TQ, not setting the TQ INITALLY...that appears to be the op's issue.

 

in aviation, we use vband clamps on turbo exhaust systems and they are not saftied, they are tightened to a specified torque value

the OP did not use a 1/2" drive tool to tighten, used smaller size so did not achieve initially enough torque ... there was a note on my install instructions to use 1/2" drive to tighten the vband clamp

btw, a castle nut is used with cotter pins and require a hole drilled thru the threaded bolt

to use safty wire requires a hole drilled across a corner of the nut (but not thru the thread) and something nearby to run the safty wire to

scott

 

Well...I tightened the hell out of it and so far so good haha. I was a bit a nervous going all gorilla tight on it but I survived.

Thank you for that tip! You saved me from having to buy another one.

 

Just use an impact gun on the lowest setting. Done

 

My understanding of fasteners on aircraft is that they are all safetied if they are in a location that is flight critical.

So I would expect a turbo outlet would be a lock nut of some sort (engine would lose MUCH power if it came off) - likely not a castle nut or a drilled hex nut, but a high temp safety nut - the top of the threaded portion of the nut will be oval and will stretch around the stud, providing the locking...

I admit I don't know if the piston pounders are as strict about safetying EVERYTHING as the heavy turbines, but I thought the rules were generally the same...

Cars are different in many respects, including the thread sizes and tolerances - planes are usually imperial and cars metric... If you can find an aviation high temp lock nut that will fit, let us know how it works out - and let us know the "AN" number! Many suppliers near your local airport will help, and as stated before, the nuts WILL be expensive - even compared to BMW prices!
E

 

much of the airframe hardware is saftied, but most of the piston engine hardware is not saftied

the vband clamps used on turbo installations are mostly not saftied, but are torqued to a specific value

i used a 1/2" drive breaker bar and socket to tighten the vband clamp on my cms all4 when i replaced the exhaust

it has not come loose over 6 months so far

scott