Stainless Exhaust Failure

[Keith True]

I have two stainless Aries,and one plain steel.The stainless are about 20 years old,and the steel one about 15.I've worked on equipment all my life,and was shown early on to never install anything under tension.be it a hydraulic tube,fuel line,coolant tubes,air brake lines,make sure it fits properly before fastening it.If I can't fit the muffler properly,and hold it in place with my hands,I won't clamp it up.I correct either the manifold,or bend the pipe,but if it doesn't want to sit naturally where it is supposed to go I find out why.I won't use a floor jack to force the pipe flange up to the manifold flange,I bend things until it wants to go there.Then I use the jack as an adjustable jack stand to hold the pipe while I put the clamp on.All of mine are doing fine,one stainless has 54,000 miles on it.None of my rear clamps are tight though,I use a long bolt with a spring and a cotter pin.They should be rattling,but I've never noticed it.