Exhaust sealing issues

[Advwannabe]

I'm going to have to drop the exhaust to refit my shock this weekend.

It's a good time to do some other maintenance as I have a set of replacement coolant hoses to fit up as well.

The thing is,  I've had a lot of drama getting the head/header pipe junction to seal properly and always seem to finish up with slight, but annoying exhaust leaks.

I believe I'm cleaning the mating surfaces properly and haven't been under or over torquing the nuts. Is it just a bad design?

With this in mind is there any high temperature goop I can apply to help the sealing process along?

Any tips welcome

Cheers, Russell

[Mustang]

have you used new copper washer exhaust seals in the head ?

[Advwannabe]

Yep every time. I suppose one of the pipes could be slightly bent making it harder to get a seal, but with the radiator so close to the headers its hard to detect where the leak is. I've looked at the old rings when they come out but they seem to be squashed down evenly, beling the bent pipe theory. That's why the afore mentioned goop might be the go

[rf9rider]

How about using 2 copper gaskets on each?

[Bixxer Bob]

How about using 2 copper gaskets on each?

Probably would work on an exhaust, I can say with some certainty that it doesn't work on microwave waveguide carrying a couple of megawatts. (DAMHIKIJFK...)

[Chris Canning]

I'm going to have to drop the exhaust to refit my shock this weekend.

It's a good time to do some other maintenance as I have a set of replacement coolant hoses to fit up as well.

The thing is,  I've had a lot of drama getting the head/header pipe junction to seal properly and always seem to finish up with slight, but annoying exhaust leaks.

I believe I'm cleaning the mating surfaces properly and haven't been under or over torquing the nuts. Is it just a bad design?

With this in mind is there any high temperature goop I can apply to help the sealing process along?

Any tips welcome

Cheers, Russell

What on earth are you doing??,dropping the exhaust to fit the rear shock,I took my original out and replaced with an Ohlins,and took that out last winter to regrease the bottom bearing,took the silencer off but never needed to touch the headers.

Get the nut off the end off the swingram shaft with a 3/8 extension and a knuckle joint.

[Advwannabe]

On my bike there just isn't the room Chris, I've tried.

In any case it has a slight exhaust leak already so I'm trying to fix it.

Although for next time I could make a custom extention to do the job. It would probably be worth it given how often the Hagon bottom bearing needs lube

[Advwannabe]

Hi all,

For those in a similar predicament Selleys offer a flexible 300C/700F header gasket silicone that sets flexibly.

When I got my header pipes off I could see the dealer had used some at the previous service, you know, the one where they buggered my speedo and downloaded the wrong tune? Well one header nut was missing altogether and two more were loose  

I'm sure the silicone wouldn't stand up to the full exhaust temp but seems to be holding up to any small leaks sneaking past the copper ring.

Doing my own maintenance has exposed me to all sorts of mechanical horrors as I stumble across previous atrocities committed on my bikes by these people charging $110 bucks an hour. How do they sleep at night?

On the plus side, while I have less free time it is really enjoyable getting to know the machines in a new way.

[Bixxer Bob]

....On the plus side, while I have less free time it is really enjoyable getting to know the machines in a new way.

It's called bonding....  :D

[Chris Canning]

When you have taken the silencer off,take a photo and post on here,I'd be interested to see the difference from mine,because I can't get a 3/8 extension in either but with a knuckle on the end it goes in at angle just!!

[Mustang]

Doing my own maintenance has exposed me to all sorts of mechanical horrors as I stumble across previous atrocities committed on my bikes by these people charging $110 bucks an hour. How do they sleep at night?

On the plus side, while I have less free time it is really enjoyable getting to know the machines in a new way.

while the stealer / dealer may charge you ridiculous money for service .....the poor lowly mechanic gets paid very little and is under serious time constraints .

In short they don't give a flying fuck . Most of em are just kids starting out as they are the only ones that will work for cheap money ! :shock:

[Bixxer Bob]

And... when you've built up years of experience  learning from your own shear hard work doing your own spannering, the dealer stiffs you again for not having a "stamped" service history  :roll:

[Chris Canning]

There you go.

[iansoady]

Ordinary clear silicone has worked fine for the exhausts on both my Velo Venom and current BSA A10 (which has an iron head and runs quite hot). I don't think the fancy high temp stuff is necessary.

[Advwannabe]

Tanks for posting up Chris. I'm currently out of town but will try to post up on the weekend. My initial impressions are that there is a significant difference between your and mine.