Hi guys, my original ford focus exhaust is now blowing in various places so today we decided to buy a new aftermarket one to replace it.

The original was in one piece up to the cat (tailpipe, back box and middle box as one), however, the new one is sold in 3 parts.

We have taken the old one out, put new rubbers in place, put the sealant on the cat and gasket and connected both the cat and middle box together with the 2 nuts and bolts.

We have then put the back box in and joined it to the middle box with the u clamp and also joined the tailpipe to the back box with the 2nd u clamp.

The trouble we are now having is the joint between the middle box and back box keeps coming open and is leaking exhaust fumes. When we get it all in place the rubber on the tailpipe also looks like it is being pulled towards the front of the car.

Does anybody know if there are different size middle boxes? Something doesn't seem right like as if something is too short. Im phoning carspares up in the morning to find out as I've known them to sell wrong parts before, just thought I would check here to see if any of you have any experience with fitting a new exhaust?

Did you have any trouble when changing your exhaust?

Update: the exhaust is on but keeps catching on the heat shield when accelerating and the mounts are being pulled towards the front of the car

Should the exhaust mounts sit downwards or have they been known to be pulled towards the front of the car?

It really feels like there is a part missing or I've been sold a wrong part. Has anyone had any experiences with changing an entire exhaust to a 3 piece system? Did it fit ok first time?

You should visit perhaps an exhaust workshop that have experience on changing exhaust. When changing exhaust such problems should not be.