Header-Downpipe gasket & Stillen CBE Allignment
 

This is two parts;

1. Apprently I didnt have gaskets for the Berk test pipes section to where they mate to the header, is this something I can pick up or even make my own using a gasket kit? I am getting such horrible rasp its crazy. I know the stock downpipe has a ring style attachment in the center so it does not use a gasket but is this triangle style gasket very unique or can I purchase this somewhere today!

2. I did the hose clamp trick to those rubber bushings to clear the brace but then I noticed the right side of the exhaust tip seems to be lower than the left (I am a freak about the little things and I expect perfection on an exhaust system like this) and in adjusting that part, the center section is now hitting the brace again and I really cannot adjust this anymore.

Now, is Stillen planning on at least replacing that middle section for those of us who have these issues? Because I really dont get it, there is 2-3 inchs of clearence above the exhaust that I cannot understand why they bent the piping right before the X to bring it lower. There is just so much room above the exhaust.

Anyway - I know I'm in a bad mood today. But I need to get these issues resolved. There is so much rasping, claking, and vibrating under the car that it makes me not want to drive the car.

P.S. I took it to a VERY VERY well known audi/vw shop that do all their work on my friends RS4 and this car is cake compared to the audi's so we did all the right things.

Have you contacted Stillen?

No, I probably will today but I know they're very active on these forums so I'm sure they'll chime in.

Test pipes will rasp a lot, this is normal, learn to love it ;)

Mine is a little off kilter just like yours. Do this: go to any exhaust shop in your area. Have them heat up the center of the >< section (right around the welds that are towards the front of the car) and while that is going on, take a floor jack and push the area directly over the cross member upwards. Once you have enough clearance, let it cool and take out the jack. Done. 5 minute job.

I can't speak for stillen, but honestly man, it takes 5 minutes to fix. Think about how long its gonna take you to get a new one and install it.

Everytime something like this happens to me, I hate driving the car so much haha.

RS4's are meh.

I dont know man, the rasp isnt just any rasp, almost sounds like a heat shield rattle - thin metal against thin metal under different engine loads...definitly not the way the catless is supposed to sound. I had all 3 cats on my scooby removed and never had any sound remotely close to that. It might very well be the gasket because with out it maybe its a leak ? I just dont know because I have never heard a leak sound like that. Any idea where I can pick one up quick ?

I will try the heat trick today/tomorrow - i just ran out of time yesturday. But still I know you can see the clearance above the X...there is just so much room :(

I would give Berk a call on the gaskets. They should be able to send you out some since they should have been supplied with the kit.

Danny if you're close to south jersey I can recommend the exhaust shop that got my exhaust off the cross hanger.

How far south?

Hopefully stillen makes changes to their exhaust. The question is when they will fix the problem. I wouldn't buy it knowing that I have to heat it and bend it to get it to fit. But that won't fix the problem of one side of the exhaust sitting lower than the other side. I plan to install this myself. When they fix everything I'm looking forward to getting their intake too.

I know the sound you're talking about, I've had it off and on and puzzled over whether it's normal or not (but probably not as bad as yours, at least I *have* gaskets in place).

The stock copper gaskets from the original manifold<->cat interface should work on your new setup, if you wanted to use those at least temporarily.

I'm going to replace all of my gaskets soon (well, except header<->engine, because it's a bitch, I think they're fine, and they were never re-loosened after initial install). I know at least one is leaking from all the times it was messed with trying to get the fitment right (loosen, adjust flanges, retighten, a few times over the course of a week), so I don't trust any of them now since they were all abused. So now that I know the metal all sits right (fixed via torch as above), I just need to swap out the gaskets again throughout.

Hopefully that will clear up the ugly parts of my exhaust sound, and then I'll do another video.

I'm going to get my headers wrapped...even though its already coated.

You and semtex are making me wish I wrapped mine now :p No way I'm taking those things back out though, and it would be incredibly painful to try to wrap them in-place.

Its all good, maybe you can find a spray coating and do as much as you can in place?

I'm planning to put some heat-shield blankets over them eventually, mostly just to cut more heat rising off of them into the bay and onto the intake tubes. I've just been waiting till I'm sure I'm done mucking around in the area. I donno, maybe when I pull the cats to redo all the gaskets, I might peek at how easy it would be to do something in-place.

But the top of the stock downpipe (triangle flange) did not have a gasket. It had an O-Ring type of adapter around the center of the pipe that portruded out from inside creating a lip of sort to stick into the end of the headers...Not sure if I am describing it correctly.

Anyway, I should have some time tomorrow if not, 100% on saturday to get this all sorted out. Will update everyone...