| Author | Message | ||
     Jackiriah |
Guys, I have 2 quick questions and was hoping someone could shine some light on the matter. 1. I have a 02 ST3 with the Supertrapp IDS muffler. I notice that I have a slight blow-by (dark 2 inch stripes shooting out) coming out from the little splits in metal at the end of the exhaust where it connects to the header. I do not wish to over tight things and am wondering how I should seal it up. Do I use some sealant or something? Do I not have the header all far enough into the exhaust? Do I just crank the crap out of the clamp? OR... do I not worry about it...? 2. My tach stopped working temporarily tonight when I turned the handle bars really sharp pulling out of the garage... the bike ran well so I am assuming a loose wire... thoughts? | ||
| Bad_karma |
Jason To seal the exhaust leak you will need to remove the muffler, clean the inside of the muffler inlet for a couple inches. Clean the outside of the elbow. Get some Hi-temp RTV. Apply liberally slide together and tighten exhaust. Wipe off excess RTV let cure completely. The tach might be a loose wire but I lean to wards a bare wire, look where the harness goes around the steering head. Good Luck Joe | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
NO! I am pretty sure that fumes from the sealant will kill the Oxygen sensor. I suggest that it should be allowed to leak. | ||
| Blks1l |
There are oxygen sensor safe RTV sealants readily available, but that little bit of leakage shouldn't effect anything adversely. Dean | ||
| Jramsey |
All Hi-temp RTV sealants made today are O2 sensor safe, this is the kind of application its intended for. (Message edited by J.ramsey on May 13, 2008) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Which way is *your* exhaust flowing? On all the Buells I've seen, the O2 sensor is near the head, which is upstream of the muffler joint...so RTV won't even come close to the sensor. If you were RTV'ing the header where it meets the head you'd have a point... Clean/coat the joint as noted above, let it sit for about five minutes, then start the bike and let it idle for about two minutes. That will cure the RTV. There's not enough backpressure for it to blow out the RTV before it dries, you'll be fine. Me, I use UltraCopper exhaust RTV. Doesn't cook and get all crispy like a lot of the "high temp" RTVs. | ||
| Akbuell |
My tuber service manual advises sealing w/Permatex Ultra-Copper High Temp RTV Silicon Gasket material. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Exhaust gaskets! Get the Screamin Eagle style. DO NOT use any kind of sealant! | ||
| Ratbuell |
Exhaust gaskets! Get the Screamin Eagle style. DO NOT use any kind of sealant! Read the post. He's talking about the header to muffler connection. At least *I've* never seen a head connection with splits in it. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
>"Which way is *your* exhaust flowing?" It will roast it when the engine is running and the fumes will go up when the engine is stopped. I really think the best policy here is to let the damn thing leak a little. Mine has always leaked a small amount there. Big whoop. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I use the hi-temp RTV like everyone else does with the same results - no more leaking. Just a little does the trick. It makes sense to have no leaks in the exhaust system - it can't do anything but help, even if it's just at clean-up time. | ||
| Tom_b |
after a short run the rtv will heat cure, so how do the fumes travel backwards up the pipe when they cure? kinda like fiberglass resin, once cured, no fumes. never been an issue with mine or the 5 other buell owners i know | ||
| Jos51700 |
The factory doesn't use anything and neither do I. Any sensor safe sealant would be fine, but, believe it or not, exhaust reversion pulses will pull those fumes back up into the pipe 10 inches or more, depending on the muffler/aircleaner in use. I know the muffler junction is further than that, but I just thought I'd throw it out there. I've seen cracks 8 inches downstream of the O2 sensor cause off-the-chart lean readings (And massive enrichment) on FI Buells. I can understand wanting to seal it up, and sensor safe sealer should be fine. I really would stay away from Non-sensor-happy sealer, just on principles. I guess it could go back up the pipe, and I don't really understand running the bike before the sealer has set up. On HD's, I've always used plain weatherstripping silicone on the Screamin' Eagle mufflers (HD riders tend to whine more), and it's worked fine. I would NOT use the Screamin' Eagle style exhaust gaskets with a stock header. One-piece stainless headers flex quite a bit as they heat up, and the ball-socket header/gasket setup accommodates this flex well. Single pipes, or flat-flange headpipes work great with the SE gaskets. On the tach, I'm betting it's a broken wire. Look up the color codes, and trace the wire, and you'll probably find a point in the wire that bends rather sharply. Gently pulling the wire at this point will probably end up stretching the insulation considerably, and you'll see where the internal wire is broken. Usually, the wire breaks internally, and then the ends make contact, but can occasionally be pulled apart, breaking the circuit. (In most circuits, a bare wire rubbing through blows a fuse. The tach doesn't carry a lot of current, so this could still be the case). I'd look around the steering head. It could be a broken wire in the cam position sensor circuit, but I don't think so, since the bike didn't stop running. (Message edited by jos51700 on May 14, 2008) |
