| Author | Message | ||
     Spacecapsule1 |
.........that's not normal, correct? These are supposed to be stainless as I understand. I've owned my bike for 7 months now (bought it new), 2 of which it sat in the dealer. About 10k miles on it now. Why are my headers rusting? Does anyone know if that's a warranty issue? | ||
| Jaimec |
The HEADERS are rusting?? I've had the mufflers rust out almost immediately, but the headers? That's not right. They will turn a brown color from the heat, but that isn't rust. | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
Yes, headers. Right where the two pipes merge into one, right above the weld, 360 degrees around. I'm p.oed. Nothin but trouble with this bike..... and it's leaking oil AGAIN after its 2 month stay at the dealer. Yeah, my muffler looks like it came from the junk yard. its horrible. (Message edited by spacecapsule1 on October 14, 2008) | ||
| Sloppy |
Rusting as in pitting of the stainless? Can the rust be wiped off? Loose rust or discoloration? On the virgin material or isolated around the welds? Did anyone use a metal brush to clean them? Pictures would help. | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
I'm at work right now.... i go to the parking garage and check for you.... to the naked eye it looks like its pitted. i'll see if i can wipe it off. no one has used a wire brush on the pipes. there are no abrasion marks at all.... | ||
| Jaimec |
The answer to your second question: "Is this a warranty issue?" is "YES." I've seen others get mufflers replaced under warranty due to rust, so certainly the STAINLESS STEEL headers should get the same consideration. | ||
| Moosestang |
Why are the mufflers not made out of stainless steel? Even Ford put stainless steel mufflers on my car, Ford! | ||
| Jaimec |
Moosetang, this is a question I've asked till I'm blue in the face. All I've gotten in response were (in my opinion) excuses. This is the 21st century. There IS no rationale for a modern vehicle to have an exhaust that rusts so quickly and so easily. I live in a very humid location not far from the sea. It doesn't take long for my bike's muffler to look like a castoff from a salvage yard. I consider that inexcusable. The only options are to buy an illegally loud aftermarket exhaust from an American company, or pay through the NOSE to get a legally silent exhaust from Europe. I don't like either of those choices. Right now I seem to be having better luck when I painted my muffler with Rustoleum high temperature grill paint than I did with the original factory coating. Others have reported good luck with ceramic coating. But why should we have to pay EXTRA to get a muffler that looks good as long as the mufflers from the competition?? The muffler on my 1999 K1200LT looks as good as it did the day I bought the bike, and the bike now has 121,000 miles on the odometer!! | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
alright, so I just went to see if it would wipe off. It doesn't, then i recalled trying to wash it off (with soft cotton rag) during previous washing and it didin't come off then either. The rust is above, on and below the weld, 360 degree around. Here's an unclear cell phone pic, best I can do for now: you can vaguely see the rust just above and below the weld.... i can post a better pic tonight when i get home.  | ||
| Moosestang |
I'm not sure what grade stainless is used in the header pipe, but with 409 on my car exhaust, I get surface rust around the welds just like that. I think I recall mine having some rust there before I sanded/polished it. Even stainless steel can rust, but it won't rust through like plain steel. Most exhaust tips are made from 304 stainless and resist rust/stains more better. | ||
| Sloppy |
A few things can cause pitting around a weld, but a primary cause of rust pitting in general with stainless is chloride (salt). If you ride in an area with high salt levels (sea, sandy dirt, etc, and not rinse it off with clean water it can result in pitting). I've seen it with fresh ground water tanks built out of stainless steel. It can pit through 18 gauge steel in a matter of days with just simple ground water. Another reason could be too high of a welding temperature which can drive off the Chromium that wold normally protect the Iron. I would "assume" that these are mass produced on a MIG machine with exact welding parameters so likely it is not that -- but still a possibility. To remove this rusting you'll need to look at getting phosphoric acid (aka Naval Jelly) which will remove the top layer of stainless oxide. After that you need to rinse off with water (distilled water is best) and let dry to the open air. The pitting will remain but it will be "protected" with a new stainless oxide layer. Try warranty, but you will run into similar problems if you wash your bike with high chloride water or drive through sea water. Different grades of stainless will be more or less immune to this type of pitting. Good luck -- let us know how it turns out. | ||
| Spacecapsule1 |
Thanks for the info. I'll post back with details. This will likely be another multi-month battle like my first go-around with the dealer and buell CS, so I'll post back with details later on..... | ||
| Teddagreek |
They changed the headers in 07 to a different to a different metal.. If a magnet sticks to your header you have the new style pipe.. My 05 won't hold a Magnet.. |
