are these things prone to leaking? is it common?

i have carbon build up on every one of my v bands in my turbo kit. is this normal? if its not, what could cause this?

 

Vbands are superior to a bolt and gasket and should not be prone to leaking if straight. I'd check to make sure all of them are lined up perfectly as this can be a common problem.

 

here are some pics of the "leaks" maybe this is a normal thing?







what do you think?

 

I used to work on turboprop aircraft in the navy & we used v-band clamps on almost all our engine airflow piping.




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wow nice fact !...i guess it's true that you learn something new every day ; )... if the military uses it them it MUST be good

 

but what does that tell me? did they leak? is what i am seeing normal? more information please.

 

I was implying that v-band clamps were better than for piping than bolted flanges.


But yeah, Bggstin is absolutely correct, it is a common problem. You gotta make sure that the pipes are lined up, & flush w/one another prior to tightening down the clamps. It's a b!tch by yourself sometimes cuz it really helps when another person tightens it down while the other holds the pipes in place, flush w/one another.

 

tighten down the v-band, hit it with a rubber mallet, tighten it down, rinse, repeat

 

Make sure you tap the clamp with a rubber mallet as you tighten it down. If you dont do that what can happen is the clamp puts force unevenly and that might cause leaks.

I dont know if they are prone to leaking, but they are the preferred method.