Exhaust support bracket redo

[65MK1S]

I've decided to change the support bracket to the bottom
of the exhaust giving me a little better support and a lot
better access. It's now just a couple of mm below the lowest
part of the exhaust pipe.

exhaust bracket3.jpg

exhaust bracket2.jpg

[mk1]

That looks like a much better plan. Although, the only thing I would say is that your ground clearance could be a little compromised. Remember to check before you give it any beans.

[65MK1S]

That looks like a much better plan. Although, the only thing I would say is that your ground clearance could be a little compromised. Remember to check before you give it any beans.

GREAT advice

[AndyB72]

Nice job!

[Peter Laidler]

Nice job but as had been sensibly said, fraught with dangers. If it was me, I'd be thinking of a captive/welded nut on the top part of the circular clamp and the clamp tightened by a bolt entering from below - somehow.....

But we're all bloody experts while we're sat here!

[GraemeC]

If it were me.....

I'd wait until it was on the car, establish the position of the clamp needed to hold the Y-piece to the downpipes and then fabricate a steady bar from that clamp to the remote casing. It seems pointless to ass a second clamp just for the purposes of the steady.

[Dr S]

Hmm. I run my exhaust clamps upside down for clearance. I predict an interface with a rock with your name on it. Unless it’s a trailer queen?

[minibitz]

I would still bin that bracket entirely and fit one to the downpipe linked to a diff housing bolt.....but no one want to listen.

No clearance issues and does exactly the same job.

[Peter Laidler]

The trouble with clamping to a diff housing bolt is that you've got to fit and lock into place BEFORE the engine is dropped into car. And once in place, accessibility to the bracket clamp is virtually nil.

[IslandBlue]

Just reflecting on this discussion and many happy hours spent on my back up close and personal with various y-piece and clamping arrangements - isn't it surprising that there seems to be no simple agreed solution to this eternal question?

That said I think Graeme's comment about looking at it on the car has a lot of merit - they are all slightly different and not many plans survive unscathed following contact with the enemy...

[mk1]

I have never been a fan of shouting WRONG, WRONG, WRONG when someone does something I'm a bit dubious about. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1) It is (believe it or not ) possible for someone to come up with a solution to a problem that I have never thought of & when this is the case, the natural assumption is to say it can't be done, so when it is done successfully I just look like a pillock.

2) Even if someone comes up with a solution to a problem that I suspect won't work, me shouting about it is just going to make me look like a tool & discourage the victim from ever posting again.

Always better to be constructive that destructive.

In this case, I reckon it is essential that the LCB is supported somewhere around this point. Mechanically the solution above is sound. My only concern as voiced above is that once it is in, there could be ground clearance issues. Not a great issue in the great scheme of things & I look forward to any further developments.

For what it's worth. The way I do this & have done it for years is as follows.

I use the clamp & bracket supplied with the manifold to bolt one pipe firmly to the diff housing & rarely if ever bother with clamping the actual LCB Y piece. What I do is take 4 x 1/4" UNF nuts & weld 2 onto the Y piece & 1 each onto the two down pipes. I make sure that these pairs of nuts are facing each other & are about 3/4" apart. To do this, I find it easiest to fit the engine & exhaust, get everything lined up & then weld the nuts on. Once I have done this, I put a large split pin through the pairs of nuts to hold the two parts together. If they are pushed together as far as they will go, there seems to be little or even no leakage.

Doing the above makes it easy to remove the exhaust in future as the pipes & Y piece haven't been crushed by any clamps. I also find it very difficult to get both clamps fitted in the "conventional" set up.

I know that some folks would be horrified by this approach, but it works OK for me & has done for 30 odd years. Just goes to show that there are many ways to skin a cat.

[Polarsilver]

Mark ..that sounds like a very good idea that will stop the crushing that happens on the "Y" joint.. sell the idea to Maniflow & take the Royalties

[IslandBlue]

One of the great things about this forum is that people float ideas and gain the benefit of others' knowledge and experience both practical and theoretical.

Rarely do I see any disrespectful wrong, wrong, wrong responses, generally there is indeed more than one way to skin a cat!

[65MK1S]

I have never been a fan of shouting WRONG, WRONG, WRONG when someone does something I'm a bit dubious about. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1) It is (believe it or not ) possible for someone to come up with a solution to a problem that I have never thought of & when this is the case, the natural assumption is to say it can't be done, so when it is done successfully I just look like a pillock.

2) Even if someone comes up with a solution to a problem that I suspect won't work, me shouting about it is just going to make me look like a tool & discourage the victim from ever posting again.

Always better to be constructive that destructive.

In this case, I reckon it is essential that the LCB is supported somewhere around this point. Mechanically the solution above is sound. My only concern as voiced above is that once it is in, there could be ground clearance issues. Not a great issue in the great scheme of things & I look forward to any further developments.

For what it's worth. The way I do this & have done it for years is as follows.

I use the clamp & bracket supplied with the manifold to bolt one pipe firmly to the diff housing & rarely if ever bother with clamping the actual LCB Y piece. What I do is take 4 x 1/4" UNF nuts & weld 2 onto the Y piece & 1 each onto the two down pipes. I make sure that these pairs of nuts are facing each other & are about 3/4" apart. To do this, I find it easiest to fit the engine & exhaust, get everything lined up & then weld the nuts on. Once I have done this, I put a large split pin through the pairs of nuts to hold the two parts together. If they are pushed together as far as they will go, there seems to be little or even no leakage.

Doing the above makes it easy to remove the exhaust in future as the pipes & Y piece haven't been crushed by any clamps. I also find it very difficult to get both clamps fitted in the "conventional" set up.

I know that some folks would be horrified by this approach, but it works OK for me & has done for 30 odd years. Just goes to show that there are many ways to skin a cat.

I ended up doing it this way

exhaust bracket5.jpg

exhaust bracket6.jpg

[ceejam]

Why not fit one of these
https://www.minispares.com/product/Clas ... X7526.aspx

And one of these?
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/C-AHT98.aspx

[65MK1S]

Why not fit one of these
https://www.minispares.com/product/Clas ... X7526.aspx

And one of these?
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/C-AHT98.aspx

I just wanted something that fit farther back on the y bracket and
that was easy to get to. To me farther back would mean more
support. I guess I'll find out

[Allen Brzeczek]

I agree with the general consensus, while the theory and execution looks good I too fear that the reduce ground clearance will cause problems. Positioning of even the exhaust clamps is crucial - my car is not unduly lowered but I had to have a re-think on mine after one of my clamps hit a projecting drain cover which moved the whole exhaust and then needed to be removed and refitted.

[Peter Laidler]

I agree whole heartedly with Allen there. The original bracket was WELL executed, but clearance and subsequent collateral damage would be a problem. It's that Murphys Laws of Physics thing. If something can happen, guess what......... Yep....., it will!

Another question. The screw that retains the new bracket. Did you drill and tap that hole to suit? I can't find that extra hole in mine!

[Ronnie]

That y piece can get very hot, would a spot of welding not be preferable to brazing

[65MK1S]

I agree whole heartedly with Allen there. The original bracket was WELL executed, but clearance and subsequent collateral damage would be a problem. It's that Murphys Laws of Physics thing. If something can happen, guess what......... Yep....., it will!

Another question. The screw that retains the new bracket. Did you drill and tap that hole to suit? I can't find that extra hole in mine!

Yes, I drilled and tapped the remote housing to suit