I'm brand new at dealing with the crossover exhaust, having just installed one yesterday for the first time. But I noticed that on the connector sections (the parts with the bolts) that if you don't have the exhaust tubes from the pipes and the center tube inserted far enough into the connecters, the tubes may not completely cover the slots in the connectors. A leak will result. So it's worth a quick check. That happened to me when I first mounted it - I didn't notice that the crossover tube was too far in one direction, uncovering the slot in the left-side connector.