Yup, old is definitely out, new is definitely in and sat ok with grease to hold it in place. It was a nightmare just getting the front pipes to line up properly and I really can't figure out why. Now I can't get the rear bracket to push forwards, thinking of disconnecting the two front pipes and putting them on separately to make sure they go on, take them off, put on the rear section see if it will go on without the front pipes then I'll hopefully be able to see what's going on a bit better. Of course this means going back to square fucking one.

I'm so annoyed, stressed and tired right now.

Step back and take 5 mate, it should go on easy

I always put the front pipes on first then the rear section.

That front one looks pissed.

stick some grease or copaslip ont eh gasklets to get them to sit in the engine.

put the front pipes in the rears, put the fronts on the studs and then make it all fit....(assistant useful)

if you place the rear one on and over the 3 studs and stick the nuts on then you are getting somewhere.

copaslip the nuts and studs...don't do them too tight at all..snapped studs means you are going to get well pissed off.

patience and possibly a pit bitch to hold the rear system somewhere like straight might help

good luck..we've all been there...

They are usually fairly flat - My aftermarket system was a yamamoto and that was slightly curved, which made it a bit of a pain to fit.

Is yours aftemarket and can you bend the figure 8 piece flat so it fits better?

Just going to take it all apart again, I don't have any copper slip, all I have is a tub of grease.

Should all the pipes line up nicely before being bolted, or will they require a lot of tugging and fucking with? Because mine took some real maneuvering to get the front pipes on, the gaskets are like 1mm taller than the old ones if that, but that wouldn't change anything about lining the pipes up. That rear bracket is a real bitch.

Smev: my bracket WAS bent, but I had it straightened after welding on a big vice.

I'm going to go have some dinner then start taking it all back apart. Sigh.

Dan

Don't stress too much mate!!

Just take your time, come back to it when you get a chance, leave it for a day or two if its getting on top of you.

I've got an aftermarket dash which I've been trying to sort for the past year and a bit!!!

Listen to the people on here and we'll get it sorted

Thanks for the advice all, I'd be lost without this forum

Just heading to Halfrauds now to pick up some copper slip, then I'll start taking it all off again. No point bolting it together unless it's lining up properly.

Cheers,
Dan

Attained copper grease, got the entire system back off. About to re-attempt assembly.

The gaskets I have are a bit thicker than the last, say the ones that were on were about 1mm, these are closer to 2mm, would that make much difference? I know that sound stupid as obviously it'll stop the bolts from tightening as much, but on the back 3 studs I could barely get 5mm of stud to come through the bracket

iDemonix wrote:Attained copper grease, got the entire system back off. About to re-attempt assembly.

The gaskets I have are a bit thicker than the last, say the ones that were on were about 1mm, these are closer to 2mm, would that make much difference? I know that sound stupid as obviously it'll stop the bolts from tightening as much, but on the back 3 studs I could barely get 5mm of stud to come through the bracket

when you say the last the ones you removed originally?

they are usually hollow ring ring type that crush when you tighten them up.

and yes for the copper grease i did the same thing when fitting mine made it much easier!

copper slip all the nuts and bolts, dont tighten up until is fitted together and alligned right.

DONE.

Took it for a quick ride, there's a slight blowing from the back cylinders, I'll try another 1/4 turn tomorrow but I'm absolutely paranoid about shearing a bolt.

When I first started it up, I forgot to put the can on haha, LOUD. Put the can on and restarted it, smoke started pouring from the back cylinders - started shitting myself thinking somehow the manifold to the cylinder joint had broken. Then it stunk of burnt oil and grease. I forgot about that, it was just all the crap left over the back of the engine. Took it for a blast, bit better.

At the girlfriends for the night, nip to Halfords in the morning get some degreaser. Soak the engine and the fairings in degreaser, give it a wipe and whip it all back together (fairings are still off). I'll give the rest a bit of a twist in the morning see how it goes.

So glad it's all back together. Was much easier once I got my dad to hold things. It was also much easier to take the can off as the lack of weight made it nicer to work with.

I also did it by lining the back up first, tightening them half up, then nudging the front in, tightening each cylinder bit by bit. Phew. DONE. So happy.

Cheers,
Dan.