Full exhaust removal and refit. Easy or Hard to do?

[Keith]

Well I have just found out yesterday that I wont be kicked off track for a backfiring exhaust just as long as it passes the noise test that is normally done. So for now I will just try some of that silicone on the joints between the silencers and exhausts even though they are new seals. Any idea of the name of that silicone stuff as I have never used it before and don't wish to get the wrong stuff as the exhausts do get pretty hot now compared to my straight through quills.

[AMCQ46]

like the boys have said, the air leak wont be at the joint with teh cyl head, so best leave alone.



BUT


if you do have to get the exhaust studs off, the best bet is not to try and unscrew them! get a nut splitter for £5 and take them off that way. then run a thread cutting Die down the stud and all will be good. Use plenty of Copaslip and a stainless nut on reassembly

[Tweety]

like the boys have said, the air leak wont be at the joint with teh cyl head, so best leave alone.



BUT


if you do have to get the exhaust studs off, the best bet is not to try and unscrew them! get a nut splitter for £5 and take them off that way. then run a thread cutting Die down the stud and all will be good. Use plenty of Copaslip and a stainless nut on reassembly

Actually, that one hadn't occurred to me... Goodie... I'll need that in a while...

[darkember]

like the boys have said, the air leak wont be at the joint with teh cyl head, so best leave alone.



BUT


if you do have to get the exhaust studs off, the best bet is not to try and unscrew them! get a nut splitter for £5 and take them off that way. then run a thread cutting Die down the stud and all will be good. Use plenty of Copaslip and a stainless nut on reassembly

Now that is a good idea what do nut splitters look like, sounds painful Seriously though I'm looking at stripping my system over the winter & that seems a far easier way of removing the front nuts.

[AMCQ46]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-2- ... 0669056398

Like this

[MacV2]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-2- ... 0669056398

Like this

I just bought me a set of these, from this seller , arrived in a couple of days...

[lloydie]

My advice when using the nut splitter is start with the dremel using a cutting disc to remove a section of the lip of the nut nearest the engine .
The nut splitter won't cut into this so you will be left with a very little bit of nut that won't shift .

[Keith]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-2- ... 0669056398

Like this

Yeah cheers for that. I will get one ordered soon. I didn't see any replies about the type of silicone sealant I need for the exhausts though. By any chance could someone give me a name or link to the correct type? Somehow I dont think bathroom silicone would be up to the job

[Wicky]

Make sure your graphite type honda seals (if required) are intact and doing their job between the headers and link pipes - (if you have aftermarket link pipes then they sometimes clamp without them)

Search ebay for hi-temperature silicone - oven door type etc.

[VTRDark]

I used the Wurth stuff last time.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KART-EXHAUST- ... 3a79f536bf

(:-})

[Keith]

@ Wicky, Yes mate I used new graphite seals and clamps when I fitted the standard silencers back on. The problem is that they are not genuine honda ones and now I am wondering about their quality. As this is all just temporary till after my track day I will just use the silicone sealant in a hope that this is where they are leaking even though I can't feel any leaks.

@ Carl, cheers for that link, ordered some and its on its way express delivery

Just coming into work today I timed it just right and bike did a real impressive backfire

[VTRDark]

hope that this is where they are leaking even though I can't feel any leaks.

You should be able to feel any leaks. When the bike/exhaust is cold, start it up and put you hand over the end of the can and you should hear any leaks. Also have a good feel around the exhaust pipes/seals. Careful not to burn yourself though as it soon gets very hot, but if your quick you can have a good feel around. Better still get someone else to hold their hand or a rag over the ends of the exhaust while you listen and have a good feel around.

Have you got a later model Storm with the PAIR system by any chance, as this will cause a bit of popping and banging?

(:-})

[sirch345]

@ Wicky, Yes mate I used new graphite seals and clamps when I fitted the standard silencers back on. The problem is that they are not genuine honda ones and now I am wondering about their quality.

You might be on to something there.
Normally you don't need silicone on those standard Honda exhaust seals, but seeing as they are after market ones, some heat resistant silicone may fix it. I would thought you could feel it blowing though as Carl says.

Chris.

[lloydie]

I always use these aftermarket ones
http://bit.ly/1aWk0Iq
I've never had a problem

[Miztaziggy]

Hi mate,

I had almost the same exact issues with my storm. When I bought it the downpipes were rusty as hell, so I took them off. The studs both broke. One came off quite easily but the other ended up having to be dremmeled out of the engine casing. It was a nightmare.

My advice would be that if you haven't taken them off already, don't. Leave them.

As for the air leaks, I had quite a few issues with this after refitting it all. I too fitted new graphite rings, but found that the seal between the rear cylinder pipe and the collector wasn't very good. No matter how tight I did the clamp, it would still blow a little and cause popping and back firing. It was quite hard to tell the leak was coming from there as the joint is right in the gap between the swing arm and the engine. It was a pain getting it all out and refitted so many times.

I bought some exhaust assembly paste from the local car parts place and put a good coating of that on the pipes before assembly. That did help but it wasn't perfect still.

Before I did that I did try to seal around the ends of the joints with some exhaust paste without taking them off and refitting first. It wasn't even worth doing to be honest, the force of the exhaust gasses just blows through it straight away.

I would advise that you also make sure that it is all fitted together properly, ie the joints are pushed all the way home. Make sure the joints between the front cylinder pipe and LHS hanger, plus back cylinder pipe and front cylinder pipe, plus the front cylinder pipe and RHS hanger are all pushed right in. Get the clamp as tight as you can without breaking it.

In the end the only way I managed to stop the air leaks entirely was to wrap the joints externally then clamp over the top. I bought some exhaust heat wrap stuff, and put a layer of paste over the joint, wrapped it in the heat wrap tape, then another thin coating of exhaust paste. Can't remember the exact make of paste, but it was the type used for car exhaust repairs. It sets hard with heat. I heated the pipes up with the engine for 20 minutes to harden the paste and then left it to cool. After that, it had no more air leaks and didn't backfire or pop at all.