Late exhaust box wont bugde - what am i doing wrong?

[SixtySpeedTwin]

Hi Folks
The tail pipe section fell off my 2.1 exhaust so i bought a new box.

I had to grind off the nuts & bolts on the flange & got that separated ok.
the two strap bolts came out ok too.

This is where my trouble starts.......

i cant slide the exhaust sideways as the flange that runs along the box jams it. there's a cutout in the bulkhead which made me think this was the way forward.
So i tried to undo the brackets that support the box but the bolts are inacessible (for my tools) on the N/s i did managed to remove the bolt from the O/S bracket and get the nt off the lower bolt, however the bolt wont budg and neither will the bracket
I did consider trying to remove the straps but was worried i'd never get them back on.
The Haynes manual was just plain rubbish for any assistance....

Cheers
Clive

[California Dreamin]

When I removed mine last year, slackening the 'cradle mounts' gave more than enough movement to angle the silencer down by 15 - 20 degrees.
As for the flange? if it is stuck, then just give it a knock with a hammer/chisel at the olive.

Martin

[SixtySpeedTwin]

did you slacken the 'cradle mounts' that attach to the engine mount or the two straps.

The flange that bolts the exhaust sections together has separated ok.

I should have described it as the folded seam on the exhaust box which forms an extra pressed skin to the box, this is whats preventing it from sliding. The new box is a different shap being a plain cylinder shape so should be much easier to get in.

[California Dreamin]

did you slacken the 'cradle mounts' that attach to the engine mount or the two straps.

The flange that bolts the exhaust sections together has separated ok.

I should have described it as the folded seam on the exhaust box which forms an extra pressed skin to the box, this is whats preventing it from sliding. The new box is a different shap being a plain cylinder shape so should be much easier to get in.

Yup...first remove the straps that go over the top of the silencer, then slacken the 'C' shaped cradles bolted to the aluminium mountings. There is enough oversize in the mountings and cradles to allow the silencer to be tilted.

You might be experiencing a certain amount of rusting between the cradles and the old silencer, a good tap with a hammer should seperate them.

I will also add: when fitting the new silencer, don't clamp up the cradles until the feed pipe is connected and you have got the correct angle on the tailpipe. Typically you have to rotate the silencer a little to mate up the olived joint. Setting the tailpipe angle too acute may result in it catching the road going over bumps or up ramps and slopes.

Martin

[SixtySpeedTwin]

Cheers folks - it was the cradles being completely stuck that was causing the problem. Back on with plenty of copper slip.

Exhaust sorted and fresh MOT in hand