My crossover pipe on my ehaust is cracked. How do I remove it?

[AltonKen]

I have a 1987 Venture Royale.

 

My crossover pipe has a large crack in it. I want to remove it and have it welded.

 

I took the mufflers off.

 

How do I take the crossover pipe off without taking the whole exhaust off?

[Condor]

You're gonna have to loosen the front headers in order to give you enough wiggle room to get the collector off. Are you sure the leak is coming from the collector and not one of the gasket clamps being loose?

[GeorgeS]

Remove clamps from the Rear Cylinder headers.

 

Remove the front headers.

 

then, from Under the Collector, and to the front of header, Verticly, there are Two 13MM Bolts to remove. Very hard to see. Hold mirrow under the bike with light to locate them. Use 3/8 drive 13MM socket, and 6 inch extension.

 

Then it drops out. With some wiggling.

 

Also, there are 6 gaskets on the inputs and output of the collector, Most likley you will have to order new ones.

 

Its not a fun job, but not that hard.

[bongobobny]

Uhhhh, we could send Big Tom and SpankyM up there, they are real glood at taking things apart!! Oh, wait, Tom doesn't have his passport yet...

[barend]

went by the shop just yesterday, mine's popping really! nice:smilies6: They quoted $250 for Yamaha OEM seals (all) and another $150 in labor. he said only $70 if it is just the collector, didn't ask how much for parts if it's jut that.

 

Gonna have to do something though, she's been umm ... :ignore:temperamental the last few days to start.

[GeorgeS]

Thats rediculous !!! Check several dealers ON-LINE IPC. Those seals are only about 6 or 7 bucks each. You need 6 of them. ( the ones for the Canister )

 

You can price ANY part On-Line, don't let dealers rip you off for part priceing. !!!

 

The canisters come up on e-bay, often, 20 to 50 bucks usually they go for.

 

Take it to a Welder, and have the Rattleing part removed !!!

 

It takes about 45 min. to remove the Canister, at best, And thats with time off to drink 2 beers !!!

 

 

UPDATE: !!! OK, my mistake, I checked IPC on a Seattle Dealer, the 6 Seals for the canister are total $163.70.

But I bought a set 2 years ago, don't remember where, but does not seem like I paid anywhere near that much for them. ???

 

 

$250 must be his total for parts, and labor.

 

There must be a cheaper way to duplicate those Seals ??? Anybody have any ideas ?????

Edited May 31, 2009 by GeorgeS

[Condor]

But I bought a set 2 years ago, don't remember where, but does not seem like I paid anywhere near that much for them. ???

 

 

$250 must be his total for parts, and labor.

 

There must be a cheaper way to duplicate those Seals ??? Anybody have any ideas ?????

 

I've heard of some members wrapping copper wire to form a gasket. I needed one for the '83 because when I installed the MAC's I buggered one of them up, and the local independant sold me one that looked like silver 'oakum', and it's working fine. I was told that the Yamaha OEM's are now in that material. Those copper exhaust sleeve gaskets hardly ever appear on Ebay. MOF I've only seen one set on ebay....ever, and I bought them. I contacted Sirus, as they sell the other type header ring gaskets, and they didn't even know what I was talking about... If anyone on the board knows of an aftermarket source I'm sure we'd all like to know about it....

[GeorgeS]

I've heard of some members wrapping copper wire to form a gasket. I needed one for the '83 because when I installed the MAC's I buggered one of them up, and the local independant sold me one that looked like silver 'oakum', and it's working fine. I was told that the Yamaha OEM's are now in that material. Those copper exhaust sleeve gaskets hardly ever appear on Ebay. MOF I've only seen one set on ebay....ever, and I bought them. I contacted Sirus, as they sell the other type header ring gaskets, and they didn't even know what I was talking about... If anyone on the board knows of an aftermarket source I'm sure we'd all like to know about it....

 

Thats what the ones I order were made of !! Kind of a soft, Aspestos type material.

I'm thinking if a person could just find that material in bulk, and make them, then add some high temp Sealant, at the Joint, That might work.

 

Or maby some sheet copper material, would work, to Fabricate them.

[93 venture]

The last time i had off my exhaust i used that stuff that you put on the door of a wood stove,kinda like rope i found some at the hardware that was real thin and just wraped the male part of the pipe and put the muffler back on,seemed to seal it up ok.

[frankd]

The proceedure that George wrote is correct except it takes a 12MM socket to remove the two nuts. Don't forget to loosen the 2 clamps where the rear ports on the collector meet the rear cylinder header pipes (also 12 mm heads). As I remember you reach up through the rear suspension linkage at an angle to get to these, and you need an extension about 10-12" long.

 

I've re-used my gaskets several times with no problems. They're too expensive to replace if the old ones are still good.

 

When you put the collector back on, leave the mounting nuts and rear header pipe clamps loose until you get the front header pipes installed. I also used my floor jack with a rubber pad to hold the collector in place while you are starting the nuts.

 

Frank

[Dano]

If you have a thinning gasket, wrap a piece of solid #14 copper wire around the pipe with the gasket. If it's shot, pull it off, make a new one out of solid #10 copper wire and re-install. Might have to snug them up a couple times, as the wire will soften and mold itself to the shape of the clamp after a few heat soak sessions. I've got a couple of new ones left from my rebuild, probably worth their weight in gold now, as I think I only paid about 10 bucks each for them.

 

Dan

[GeorgeS]

Its also a good time to Remove the Starter motor, Dissassemble it, and clean it inside, The Commutator section,

 

And inspect the Brushes, for wear. And check the bearing.

Also, clean up the End of RED battery cable, and resolder the end stud.

After replaceing, Seal the cable end with Silastic, to keep it dry.

 

And inspect all the Rubber Radiator Hoses that you now have easy access to.

[Dano]

Wow George, if he does all that, he'll never get to ride this summer!

 

LOL

 

Dan

[barend]

If you have a thinning gasket, wrap a piece of solid #14 copper wire around the pipe with the gasket. If it's shot, pull it off, make a new one out of solid #10 copper wire and re-install. Might have to snug them up a couple times, as the wire will soften and mold itself to the shape of the clamp after a few heat soak sessions. I've got a couple of new ones left from my rebuild, probably worth their weight in gold now, as I think I only paid about 10 bucks each for them.

 

Dan

 

How many wraps do you make? ones around, twice, trice??

Also, I've only got 24K on my bike, shouldn't these things last longer?

Thanks

[Dano]

Only take one wrap around, try to get the ends as close together as possible. maybe just a tad bigger than the pipe, as the clamp will compress the copper as it tightens. The original gaskets are what we call "sacrificial", meaning they will decompose in the presence of the corrosive exhaust gasses over time. Mileage is a part of it, but so is age.

Give it a try and see what happens.

 

Dan

[CrazyHorse]

Only take one wrap around, try to get the ends as close together as possible. maybe just a tad bigger than the pipe, as the clamp will compress the copper as it tightens. The original gaskets are what we call "sacrificial", meaning they will decompose in the presence of the corrosive exhaust gasses over time. Mileage is a part of it, but so is age.

Give it a try and see what happens.

 

Dan

I assume you remove the plastic coating on the wires?

[Smitty161]

For what it is worth.....I removed my exhaust and shredded my gaskets. It caught me late at night and wanting to get the job done. I looked around the house and came across some silver HVAC tape I had left over from a basement refinish. You know...the tape you use to seal your ductwork. It was too wide so I split it down the middle and wrapped it to the thickness of the original gasket. 1000+ miles and still holding.

Worked for me...good luck!

[barend]

I think the baffle in the collector is loose, as in rattling around like peas in a pot!.

1. Can i pull the mufflers and re-install them with the old seals or do i need to replace them (24K miles)?

2. Could i possibly pull the offending piece out without removing the collector and cutting it open?

3. How much damage can this piece of metal do inside the collector (over time) if it stays in?

 

Thanks

[jasonm.]

I have pulled my mufflers of at least 7 times for various reasons. Only once did I change the exhaust sleeves in the mufflers at time 3, and never changed them in the collector which I remove 3 times. The old copper/white ones are quite good. After time #3 I changed the muffler clamps, I use a special H-D clamps(old sportster "head pipe" I think). It simply is a clamp you see on sport bikes for their aftermarket mufflers. I think mine is ~ 1.5" size. This circular clamp puts very even pressure on the sleeve. I am sure you can find them at D-K web site . In fact I have to pull the mufflers again to check my rear wheel bearings.