The economic and easy-fit solution to a broken outlet flange on your ‘crossbox’ silencer (and a sensible addition to your in-car spares-kit).
This repair sleeve replaces the weakest part of the 2cv exhaust system, using stronger thicker steel than the original.
Whether it’s at home, in the workshop, or an emergency ‘breakdown’ miles from anywhere, why not fix it with our repair sleeve (at less than 1/8 the cost of a replacement silencer).
Can either be welded or clamped (clamp supplied) for a repair that could outlast the rest of the exhaust system.
Suitable for 2cvs and derivatives with either the 602cc M28 engine or the 435cc engine, (so that’s late sixties Ami & AK plus almost all variants produced during the 1970s and 1980s).
During development of this product, we tested the fit on numerous crossboxes from various manufacturers; standard and stainless steel and found that the diameter of the tube below the bell-mouth flange varies slightly. Also, the position of the reinforcing bracket that bridges the outlet and left-hand inlet pipes varies. We have produced our repair sleeve to fit all of the crossboxes that we have checked but the variations do mean that sometimes it may be necessary to make some simple slight changes to the sleeve before fitting. (Details can be seen in the information/instruction sheet).
Why does the exhaust ‘crossbox’ fracture at the outlet pipe flange?:
There are a few reasons that this happens:
- Alignment is very important on the 2cv exhaust system. If the whole system has not been assembled with every part properly aligned, it can put a strain on the joints and mountings. The flanged joint between the crossbox and the swan-neck intermediate pipe is the weakest point and it is also potentially under the most stain.
- If this joint is not perfect aligned and a solid cast type of clamp is used to pull the misaligned parts together, this can bend the flange towards to close the gap. Even a slight bending of this weakest part can lead to it fracturing. The much cheaper standard (Citroen type but wider) 47mm clamps work perfectly well with good alignment and are more forgiving than the solid cast ones where alignment is slightly out, as they will flex, rather than forcing the exhaust flange to flex.
- If a short tailpipe has been fitted without the appropriate AK/AZU/Mehari bracket that restricts the sideways movement of the torpedo silencer, the flanged joint will be under even greater strain.
Not many people will carry a spare £80 crossbox in their car, so how easy would it be to find one in a hurry? In the whole of the UK, there are probably only 2 parts suppliers that normally keep them in stock, (plus maybe some of the 2cv repair specialists). If you’re in mainland Europe in a right-hand drive car, you are even less likely to find a right-hand drive crossbox.
The alternative is this repair kit for about 1/8 of the cost of a new crossbox. You will need the hacksaw in your in-car toolkit to remove any remaining parts of the broken flange and then you can slide the new flanged sleeve down over the remaining lower part of the outlet pipe and clamp (or weld) it in place. (See fitting instructions for more details).
Our flanged sleeve is of thicker metal than the original exhaust, so can be considered a permanent repair.