Exhaust spring bolts

[remcafee]

Are the spring bolts needed in our exhaust setup? for 07 hatch my dc sport header, magnaflow catalytic converter pipe and fujitsubo muffler all wont work with spring bolts and need longer threads, is it ok to put staright bolts with nuts? or are the springs necessary? anyone let me know what your solution was with aftermarket exhaust will be much appreciated, thank you.

[WeeYari]

Spring bolts serve two purposes. The first is to draw the flanges in to create a perfect seal as the gasket slightly melts itself into place. The second is to keep the joint drawn tight as the gasket slowly corrodes with age.

[Zedicus]

a lot of times you can just get different length bolts and still use the OEM springs and washes, due to the flange thickness on aftermarket exhausts.

other things i have done include:

using springs from a motorcycle clutch.

cutting the factory sprint in half and using half on each side (severe clearance issues from a knockoff exhaust kit)

cutting the factory flange off and welding it to the new exhaust.

changing out the OEM manifold to a header that used a flat flange or a V-band clamp.

[remcafee]

a lot of times you can just get different length bolts and still use the OEM springs and washes, due to the flange thickness on aftermarket exhausts.

other things i have done include:

using springs from a motorcycle clutch.

cutting the factory sprint in half and using half on each side (severe clearance issues from a knockoff exhaust kit)

cutting the factory flange off and welding it to the new exhaust.

changing out the OEM manifold to a header that used a flat flange or a V-band clamp.
ok so what if i cut the thread in half on the oem bolt so it clears the primary o2 sensor? but then that would leave the spring all the way compressed and not really do anything right?

[WeeYari]

How much more thread do you need? You could purchase the aftermarket spring bolts that use a spacer sleeve rather than integrated shoulders. Just cut the sleeve to a shorter length, or use the sleeve and spring on separately purchased longer bolts. A fully compressed spring is still applying pressure which is what you want. A spring that is not, or minimally compressed is doing nothing.