172 exhaust fitting kit (manifold to cat)- DIY?

[Andyl20]

Is this a job that can be done solo without anything as drastic (to me) as dropping the subframe, or am I better taking it to an exhaust garage? Just done steering rack bushes and they were horrendous, so not fancying epic battle 😊 if a garage is my best bet does anyone have recommendations in the West Midlands? Thanks again all.

btw reason I’m thinking to do it is because I am getting a smell of fumes in the car and sure I can hear a blow. There was one on the cat to midpipe but I’ve had that welded and repaired so again process of elimination has me thinking the manifold to cat join is the next target

 

[Bluebeard]

172 cat to manifold joint is a massive MASSIVE pain in the ass. Do not want.

 

[frayz]

Lol. Cat fitting kit is a piece of piss.
2 nuts/bolts/springs/washers and a fibre doughnut.
Be prepared to cut the old fasteners off if need be.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I made my own fitting kit 3 1/2 years ago and still going strong .

Cat /Manifold DIY fitting kit

Having owned my 182 for 10 and half years and going through God knows how many fitting kits because they rust away within minutes I thought I'd have a go at making an alternative using all Stainless parts . I don't know if anybodys interested , but there are the parts I used M8 x 75mm...

cliosport.net

 

[Andyl20]

I made my own fitting kit 3 1/2 years ago and still going strong .

Cat /Manifold DIY fitting kit

Having owned my 182 for 10 and half years and going through God knows how many fitting kits because they rust away within minutes I thought I'd have a go at making an alternative using all Stainless parts . I don't know if anybodys interested , but there are the parts I used M8 x 75mm...

cliosport.net

Thanks very much for this. Would you be able to advise if the end cups are available anywhere or could I come to arrangement to purchase some from yourself?

Thinking to have a crack at fitting this myself now after a nights sleep post steering rack bushes torture [emoji23]

...Just checking is the fitting the same for 172 and 182?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Thanks very much for this. Would you be able to advise if the end cups are available anywhere or could I come to arrangement to purchase some from yourself?

Thinking to have a crack at fitting this myself now after a nights sleep post steering rack bushes torture [emoji23]

...Just checking is the fitting the same for 172 and 182?

I don't have any of those stainless end caps left i had made and I don't work there anymore.
All the other parts can be bought from eBay from the links I posted. You should be able to re-use the springs as they seem to be the part that don't rust.

 

[Andyl20]

I don't have any of those stainless end caps left i had made and I don't work there anymore.
All the other parts can be bought from eBay from the links I posted. You should be able to re-use the springs as they seem to be the part that don't rust.

Great. I’ll buy an original parts set to get the fibre donut, end caps & springs and upgrade all the other parts for those you listed [emoji1303] will be a job for next weekend.

 

[hipwell]

It's easy.

I found it useful to have somebody in the engine bay with a socket on the other side of the bolt as it's quite awkward from underneath.

Other than that it's no problem

I found a universal joint attachment and a load of extensions worthwhile

 

[M90SR]

Down Pipe Fitting Kit:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Or the Gasket itself:

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Andyl20]

Down Pipe Fitting Kit:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Or the Gasket itself:

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

Nice one! I did have the official Renault fitting kit in basket as read some threads suggesting third party ones could be a bit iffy? This one do the job? Tbh I only need the springs, gasket and end pieces as I’ll replace the other bits with stainless as suggested by mrbillyuk.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Andyl20]

Got one of the sides off on a solo attempt tonight, but couldn’t get the spanner to hold on at the engine side whilst trying to remove the other so will rope in a mate to shove his hand down there next weekend. Ordered all the new bits today. Seems a lot less hassle than the steering bushes so far [emoji23]

 

[Andyl20]

[mention]MRBILLYUK [/mention] - just checking, will the cups that come with the standard kit fit the stainless M8 bolt from the kit you posted up or will they need drilling? If so what size drill bit would be required? Cheers

 

[MRBILLYUK]

[mention]MRBILLYUK [/mention] - just checking, will the cups that come with the standard kit fit the stainless M8 bolt from the kit you posted up or will they need drilling? If so what size drill bit would be required? Cheers

The standard cups will definitely need drilling to make the holes a bit bigger. I'm not sure off the top of my head what size.
If you have any small engineering firm locally it might be worth asking if they could make you a couple out of stainless.
I'm sure they wouldn't charge you much.

 

[M90SR]

Pardon our interruption...

www.ebay.co.uk

Don't recommend the 65mm one as the pipe diameter measured 65.75mm when I measured. 66mm is the safer bet. @Andyl20

 

[Andyl20]

Don't recommend the 65mm one as the pipe diameter measured 65.75mm when I measured. 66mm is the safer bet. @Andyl20

I’ve gone for the kit you referenced:

Renault Clio 2.0 Sport 182 & 172 Exhaust Down Pipe clamp seal Fitting KIT | eBay

Renault Clio Sport 182 - 2004 - 2006 2.0. Manifold to Catalytic Converter. Exhaust Fitting Kit. Exhaust Front Section Fitting Kit. exp:163 - 163.

m.ebay.co.uk

Assuming the gasket from the is the right size.

I will (attempt) to retrofit the better stainless nuts, bolts and washers along with opening up the standard cups with a drill (will practise on my old ones first!).

So plan is to use the gasket and springs from the kit, modify the cups and replace everything else for stainless items.

 

[Andyl20]

I got it’s on both sides off tonight which was a good start but now having an issue getting the existing fibre gasket off. It’s really wedges onto the down pipe from the manifold. Starting pulling at it with pliers and it’s slowly breaking down, but had to abandon works tonight to go have dinner [emoji4] another observation I made though was that there isn’t much wiggle room between the cat and the down pipe, so not sure how tricky it will be fitting the new gasket. Would I need to unbolt the cat from the midpipe in the worst case? How have others got on with this bit? Am I missing a trick? Cheers all.

 

[Andyl20]

Any pearls of wisdom before I head back out to try and rip this fibre gasket apart? [emoji1]

 

[hipwell]

Can't help with the fibre washer other than just keep chipping away at it, I never had that issue, maybe a drip of wd40 might help free it.

The entire exhaust is hung on rubber so there should be plenty of movement to get the new dohnut in, but if you really do struggle then the cat to centre section joint is only 2 bolts, easy enough to undoo.

 

[Andyl20]

Can't help with the fibre washer other than just keep chipping away at it, I never had that issue, maybe a drip of wd40 might help free it.

The entire exhaust is hung on rubber so there should be plenty of movement to get the new dohnut in, but if you really do struggle then the cat to centre section joint is only 2 bolts, easy enough to undoo.

Thanks mate. You’re right about the cat bolts it’s just they look a bit of a state. Might prime with some WD40 in case they need to come off[emoji1303]

 

[Andyl20]

Got the old cr4p off after a lot of messing about and swearing. Had to unbolt the cat from the midpipe to get the gasket back on then fitted the new kit. Blow is completely gone so fixed a treat. Didn’t get after photos as I forgot. Not nearly as fiddly as the steering rack bushes but still not fun [emoji4] now onto more (hopefully) more enjoyable tasks of stripping the interior to further ready for a maiden track day outing if we ever get back to normality! Thanks again to all for the advice with this one[emoji1303]

 

[VenomUK]

Perhaps I was doing something wrong but trying to fit my decat and new fitting kit I found I couldn’t get the pipe on enough over the fire ring. Once the bolt was through with gasket / spring it was at the end of the bolt. There was no way I was getting any compression to then fit the washer / end cap & nut.

If I’m missing a trick here the. Please someone advise me??