Arrow Slip on issue - stock gasket didn’t fit

[Ddawg1144_imp]

Hi,

So after reading some of the threads here when I removed the stock muffler I made sure to find the gasket (silver colored ring that was wedged in the end of the tube that meets the header) and mangled it pretty bad with some pliers trying to get it out as it wasn’t coming out easily. When I went to try to fit the Arrow around it there was no way it was going in - upon closer inspection, the stock muffler pipe is noticeably wider than the Arrow pipe. I was pretty much shredding it trying to get to fit. Now the stock gasket is unusable, but I saw many had put their Arrow on without using the stock gasket with no issue, however after trying it twice it’s still leaking air from that joint. What am I missing here? Arrow didn’t include a different gasket to use, stock one wasn’t going in, but it’s leaking without it. I’m now trying to make my own gasket with material bought at an auto parts store. Any help would be appreciated!

[1985CB450_imp]

I found the same thing when I mounted my Arrow slip on a few months ago. I had even bought a spare stock crush gasket just in case I needed one only to find out it was not necessary.

The Arrow system uses its own smaller exhaust clamp with no gasket. It’s a tight slip fit and mine fit perfectly with no leaks or other issues

[Mixagon_imp]

Most aftermarket slip on's don't need a gasket so none is supplied but some do add a tube of exhaust putty to seal any leaks.
My Arrows fit very tight with no leaks but no leaks also has the negative effect of holding water causing white smoke on start up for a while, I was thinking of drilling drain holes as in the stock mufflers.
My cb500 after market can isn't a tight fit and water drips out of the gap so no white smoke.

[Ddawg1144_imp]

Thanks guys, bummer mine wasn’t a perfect fit. Well I slathered the joint with permanex and then stripped the bolt on the clamp while tightening it, but at least the leak now is barely perceivable, to the point where I can’t really tell it’s still leaking or just the heat I’m feeling. Good enough, right? In typical fashion I took a straightforward job that should have taken 20 minutes and created an all day fiasco.

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

Don't beat yourself up, Dawg, it happens to the best of us.