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After badly mangling my exhaust can during the Classic, I decided to attempt a repair and hacked it to pieces. I have a few questions about the finished product. Pics to come later.
1. The end-cap piece on the mid-pipe end of the can assembly was bent such that the inlet tube of the can assembly (which connects to the mid pipe) enters the can assembly at about a 45 degree angle. I banged away at this thing for over an hour with all sorts of tools, heat, a pry bar, etc, and could not get this to budge even a little. Just dented up the end-cap more. Will the sharp 45 degree bend entering the exhaust can cause problems or rob power?
2. Due to dents and other damage to the side wall portion of the exhaust, the end caps did not fit back into my shortened can perfectly. Especially on the mid-pipe side, there is definitely some space between the end-cap and the side wall piece, even after riveting. From the factory, there was some kind of silicone sealant looking stuff in this area. I did not apply new silicone, although it is not too late to go back as I want to use shorter rivets anyway. Will an open gap here cause problems? I know exhaust leaks are supposed to be bad and all, but I dont really understand why, and this is pretty far back in the stream (in the can).
3. I took all the packing out in order to inspect the baffle. Should I put it back in? The thing is definitely too loud now (although very amusing to rev), but is there a performance reason to replace the packing? I will just stuff the old packing back in, if so. It is probably just going to be used as a spare now, anyway.
Edit: Pictures added. First one shows un-fixable bend, second one shows gap around front end cap, third one shows what it will look like when done.