trouble connecting muffler and cat, '96 850
 

I can't be the only person who has painstakingly rigged up an exhaust system on one of these things to be met with
what passes for the primary clamp connecting the two major parts of the system. It seems wholly inadequate.
I tightened the clamp only to have the sections come apart as I was hanging the tailpipe. Any suggestions?
I'm at a temporary standstill, which is frustrating since the car is nearly road-ready.

not all that uncommon that after-market exhaust parts don't fit quite right. you may want to loosen all the connection points to give yourself some wiggle-room to align the pipes as best you can. If the pipe is really off you may need to give it a bit of a bend on the bench then try installing again. last alternative is to get it close then have a shop weld the pipes.

Thanks, appreciate it. I really felt like the OE clamp was sub-par, I ordered a couple split flanges from Bear River Converters to pull the ball-and-cup together (recommended on the FCP euro site in the reviews for the factory clamp–apparently I'm not the only one :-)
*and of course, you are correct–everything after the manifold is aftermarket
-JP