i am getting a used set of 3.5 inch Rinehart slip-ons tomorrow for my street glide. Can i use the existing muffler clamps or do i need to get new ones? Can't wait to hear them.

 

the stock H-D Torca clamps are made to deform when torqued.

If they are cranked down, it is hard to get a good seal the next time.( so you are at the mercy of the last Guy who wrenched on them)

I can usually get 2 or 3 uses from a new clamp by torquing to the low end of the range...and for subsequent uses going up a couple of foot pounds.
easier if you use a torque wrench.

the darn clamps are stoopid expensive- but i don't know of another source or substitute that works as well

mike

 

Get new, they're cheap. Once you use them once they deform and may not seal correctly. I know a lot of guys just reuse them but for like $7 or so it just seems too inexpensive not to do it right.

 

Torque has very little to do with how much the clamp will deform. The spacer or clevis (or whatever you want to call it) in the clamp that the bolt goes through limits the minimum circumference of the clamp. Once the clevis is seated, which it will do well below the specified torque, you can torque it until the cows come home and it's not going to change the "deformation" of the clamp.

That said, it's recommended to use new clamps but many, including me, have re-used them many times over with no ill effect. I'd re-use yours and then if (and that's a big if) there is a problem, replace it.

I've also successfully used a .005 - .010 shim between the clamp and the muffler on a problem child I had where the muffler always wanted to slide back a little over the course of hundreds of miles. Since I added the shim the muffler hasn't moved in 4,000 or 5,000 miles.