Exhaust Cat to Resonator flanges

[tgrandahl]

So i'm pretty much down to just getting the exhaust back on before i can drive my car again. The bolts that went through the flanges no longer exist, it was just a blob of rust.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2790441389_08a5f9c169.jpg?v=0

So i needed to cut a relief into the side of the flange and spray some pb in there to get the cut off blob to slide out.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/2790439605_076517fbdb.jpg?v=0

One of the flanges even cracked when i was hammering the "bolt" out, im pretty sure there actually still usable with some washers and galvanised or stainless hardware this time. I also need to pick up the gasket rings so i have some time to wonder. Has anyone used any other methods for clamping the exhaust together.

[Jr ///M5]

With the cat out of the car, take it to your local muffler shop, they should be able to match up a set of steel flanges, split 'em open with a torch, bend them around the cat pipe and weld the ends back together. Then vioila, new flanges.

I did this on my M5 and used a larger washer to help spread the tension across the new steel flange so it wouldn't distort upon tightening.

Hope this helps,
JR

[Sam-Son]

pics of the whole car please
is your car a 95 with a narrow grille??!!

[dennyg]

I have lots of 535 parts but don't know if the flanges or pipe sizes are the same. Since I just cut off the cat to sell you are welcome to the pipes for only shipping charge. Just have to make sure they will fit

[tgrandahl]

With the cat out of the car, take it to your local muffler shop, they should be able to match up a set of steel flanges, split 'em open with a torch, bend them around the cat pipe and weld the ends back together. Then vioila, new flanges.

I did this on my M5 and used a larger washer to help spread the tension across the new steel flange so it wouldn't distort upon tightening.

Hope this helps,
JR

This sounds like it could be a good option, how much did you pay to have that done?. I wonder if they would have the gasket rings too, i will be calling my local stealer tomorrow morning to see if they have them in stock.


pics of the whole car please
is your car a 95 with a narrow grille??!!

Ill post some pics when i get my car out of the garage and all cleaned up again, i converted it to a narrow grille when i painted it two years ago.

[Sam-Son]

Ill post some pics when i get my car out of the garage and all cleaned up again, i converted it to a narrow grille when i painted it two years ago.

nice i bought mine with the narrow grille....despite the fact its a 95...looks a hell of a lot better in my opinion;)

[Jr ///M5]

[QUOTE=tgrandahl;308601]This sounds like it could be a good option, how much did you pay to have that done?. I wonder if they would have the gasket rings too, i will be calling my local stealer tomorrow morning to see if they have them in stock.


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/a/b/167.png

The link shows the gaskets you will need, there are two different sizes, one is a 47mm and one is a 50mm. If you do have the flanges replaced, you will need shorter bolts because of the difference of the thickness of the steel vs. cast flanges. The factory bolts won't work because of the longer shank.

The cost of replacing the flanges was like $20 and it was done in 5 minutes. Give them a call and see if they would do it for you when they aren't too busy and they'll probably take it easy on you. Remove the cat from the car and haul it down to them to make it easy on them.

Good luck,
JR