The prior owner of my 1988 740 turbo wagon had the exhaust system replaced from the cat back at a local Meineke muffler shop. The joint where the connection was made is leaking badly. Is it a good idea to try to tighten the clamp there or by doing so am I likely to break the pipe? Has anyone tried using any of the various tubes of goo and bandages for sale at the parts stores for this type of problem? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You don't say how old this exhaust system is.

If it is old, check all sides of all the pipes and mufflers. I have found that the sides of the pipe that goes over the rear axle seems to rot out first. You may have to replace the whole system.

If it is new, you might try to install a second clamp at a right angle to the first clamp and right next to it. You could even add a third on the other side of the original.

While this might not work, it's inexpensive, and the extra clamps can be reused if it doesn't work.

A good welding shop can tell you if they think that they can fix it.
--
2 8s & 2 7s 600,000 miles total

thanks for the advice. the right angle trick seems to have done the trick. Now I am on to bigger and better things, like trying to decide if I want to tackle the head gasket replacement myself. The wife is voting against it, and I am undecided. This is a project car, so I will need to wait until next weekend to do the compression test. Thanks again.

I just got the old clamp off. The pipes seem fairly decent the one that fits over the pipe coming off of the cat looks almost new, but it is bigger than the other one. Should I squirts some exhaust sealer in the opening and then clamp it down tight? How tight is the clamp supposed to be. Is there any risk from over tightening. The new clamp that I bought is 2 1/2" od. Do you think this is the right size? Thanks for the help.

You can try to tighten the clamp, but I'd have a spare ready in case that one breaks while you tighten.

Usually the tubes of muffler goo are good for one thing: Fattening the coffers of the companies that sell them. The best fix is to re-seal the connection, or replace the system.
--
chris herbst, five volvos.

Having worked on a few exhaust systems over the years I've come to the conclusion that when one part starts to go, replace it all from the cat back. Just my opinion.

I believe that you can get a 2.5" high performance stainless exhaust from IPD for about $300 -on sale till April 15th. Or you can get the standard (non stainless) replacement from GAPA for about $160.

www.ipdusa.com
www.gapa.com

I'll be going stainless and not messing with it for a LONG time.

Good luck
Peter Haakonson

Tightening the clamp, unless it was just put on a few days ago is likely to worsen the problem. Those bandages and goops work sometimes, but are short term solutions. I have spent many hours piecing together exhaust systems and am now of the opinion that, unless you can weld, fixing the problem properly with good quality parts is the way to go. Next time my exhaust goes
I'm going stainless front to back so I can forget about it. I have had those bandages last a few months. They work better the further away from the engine they are.