Exhaust gasket replacement query

[W210Virgin]

Car: I6 3.2 S210, 2002

Problem: gasket leaks at turbo/ cat joint. Can smell the exhaust when in slow traffic and there is soot on the u/s of the air filter box heat shield.

Query: anything I need to know about replacing this? Gasket about £10 from MB and in stock but just want to be prepared. The spring clamp is about £45 and how do I know if it needs replacement too? Other than that looks like a nice easy change, for once!

 

[BlackC55]

It could be leaking due to a partially blocked CAT. It is straight forward to replace the seal. Take the cat out and wash it out with water. A hose pipe lightly squirted does the trick.

 

[W210Virgin]

Don't want to touch the cat as the mounting bolts/ studs are screwed with rust and look impossible to remove . I've looked at the gasket before and I'm sure it's stuffed.

 

[W210Virgin]

Well, I got it done anyway by moving the cat where it bolts onto the engine just below the manifold. It was still a bit smokey in there so I'm suspecting BlackC55 might have a point or there is a small blow out on the manifold too.

I'm hoping the new seal just needs a good hot run to bed it in.

I presume that if the cat was blocked or partly blocked there would be other symptoms too? Car is running really well and other than a small oil leak on a turbo seal, it's just about fault free at the moment.