| Author | Message | ||
     Lrholy06 |
So I'm in Moab and just noticed the front exhaust collar dangling and the exhaust stud broken off flush and no nut on the other side. I still have to make it to Durango Colorado tomorrow to be in Santa Fe on Sunday. Can I just ride it out? Or do I put a nut on the other side and wait for that side to snap off then ride with it hanging? This is the second time this has happened. I had a heck of a time drilling it out last time and there is no way I could do it here on the road in time. | ||
| Nillaice |
if I were in your scenario, i'd double nut the other stud (just barely tight enough not to loosen itself) and ride it the heck out of there and get it fixed at my destination and then go buy a torque wrench  | ||
| Paint_shaker |
If it were me, I'd try and get the one side fastened and ride it out. I certainly would not ride it hard though. But that's just me. Others may or may not agree. Bottom line is the decision is yours. Also, if this is a reoccuring concern, you may want to consider safety wiring it. (Message edited by Paint shaker on June 28, 2013) | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Hope your ride gets better Rhett. Post up in the Storm Fronts too next time you have a breakdown and we'll see if we can get to you. I'm working this weekend, but have a rotating schedule so there's a 50/50 chance I could jump in the truck with some tools and the ramp if problems arise in the future. edit: I'll be off work this next week with no plans besides finishing the sale of my STT on Friday, so if you have more trouble heading back post up and I'll do what I can to help out. (Message edited by littlebuggles on June 30, 2013) | ||
| Reepicheep |
Let us know how it turned out. Probably not well. Once the first goes, the second generally isn't long for this world. | ||
| Lrholy06 |
Hey, littlebuggles! Been a while since I have heard from any of you guys. Thanks for the offer but I made it to Santa Fe. The whole point of this trip was to bring grandma over to utah for the 4th. We are back here now and I will leave with her on Saturday to go back then ride the buell back to Utah. To anybody who has access to the million dollar Highway I would highly recommend it. It really was an awesome way to go.  I ended up just putting a bolt on the one side and watching it. I had to re-tighten it at the beginning of each day even though I bought those nylon locking nuts. I bought some wire just in case but have not used it. I thought about double nutting it but these studs and I have a bad history. This same thing happened to me last year. The bike was down for months while I learned how to rotate the engine and remove the heads. After that the head spent about two months in three different machine shops trying to drill the old stud/easyout and retap the hole. Two of which said there was noting to be done. The third was a friend of Squidbuell. He was kind enough to do it for free but unfortunately the helicoil broke and came loose before I even tightened to spec. I found a guy here locally that put in a timecert and we put in a bigger size grade 8 bolt. I rode it for a few months like that and never had any problems. Until Friday when I got into the heat. Moab was really warm and that higher grade bolt snapped before i had gone 100 miles. So besides what i have tried already does anybody have any other suggestions to prevent these studs breaking off again? Everything has been torqued to spec but I guess it is still vibrating enough to break them when it gets hot? | ||
| Nillaice |
Check your muffler mounts and header clamp ? Something sounds amiss that you are having repeated issues with this header stud. ... | ||
| Littlebuggles |
I wonder if your new stud size is available in stainless rather than grade eight? While grade 8 is strong it's more brittle than stainless (and much harder to drill out). A little elasticity in the the metal might help out if you've got some alignment issues that are putting load on the studs. Like the tubers, you can tighten the mounting straps a bit then jiggle/shake/jostle the muffler and header, then tighten some more prior to snugging up the muffler to header connection you can make sure the system is free of impingement that may be loading the studs up and causing them to snap on you. Nyloc nuts are probably not the best choice for securing your header. That plastic, er, nylon will get hot and start slipping. NAPA sells an interference type locknut I picked up a few when my M2's front header hardware shook loose in St. George a few years ago. | ||
| Sifo |
Million dollar highway? I had to Google that one. I drove that in the van years ago while on a mountain biking trip and kept thinking how killer it would be on a motorcycle. That was during a time when I wasn't motorcycling. Fast forward about a dozen years, I'm back on the motorcycle and got a chance to take it on the bike. Actually the wife liked it so much that we took the time to ride it again as an out and back, so I got three passes at it. Great road! About the studs, make sure the entire exhaust is put together just snug, then get the muffler clamped in place before tightening everything else down to make sure there's not stress in the header pipes. Over 50K on my bike and no problems with those studs. Something must be putting stress on them. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Little, I think you have that backwards. Stainless is brittle and weaker, grade 8 is much stronger and less likely to snap. I was "helping" a friend replace a transmission in an old 911, and we pretty much turned a 10mm grade 8 stud into a U. I was impressed, both with the scope of my stupidity, and the ability of a grade 8 stud to withstand it.  | ||
| Lrholy06 |
Ya like I said I followed all directions when putting the muffler and headers back on and everything is torqued to spec but I upgraded to a drummer exhaust and it vibrates a lot more now. I will have to look at those others fasteners. The nyloc ones will have to work until I can ride it home from Santa Fe | ||
| Andersonhdj |
Stainless has the tendency to "work harden" meaning it becomes harder and more brittle due to vibration, not the best idea for exhaust studs. Also is prone to seizure if you get a bum grade (Chinese). Once had to cut some m12's i had temporarily installed the nuts on, on a trailer i was building. Was not impressed! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Something else is wrong if it keeps snapping studs. On the tubers it was the front exhaust hanger (original) chewing through bushings, and the Y mount fixed it. On an XB it's generally the result of mis-installation, a lost front bolt that holds the exhaust hanger bracket to the motor, a broken strap that holds the exhaust to the hanger bracket (front or rear). I suppose it could also be broken motor mount somewhere, but given the exhaust moves with the motor that seems less likely. The fact that it's a drummer shouldn't matter, that's still a stock exhaust shell with the stock straps, unless the inlet was somehow not lined up and putting stress on the header. Are you following the torque spec on the stud nuts? It's insanely low. | ||
| Lrholy06 |
I agree that it is really low but after I broke both a heli coil and a time cert out trying to even get them to the minimum torque I wasn't much inclined to push them past what the manual said. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed... they should be torques low, just as the manual states. It's easy to over do it, it feels just barely more than finger tight. 72 inch pounds... I looked it up. So 6 foot pounds. I have a special "inch pound" torque wrench so it can read that low accurately. That front exhaust hanger under the bike, the one that the big front strap goes around, is held to the motor with a bolt up at the top that is hard to see and hard to get too. I lost that once after pulling the exhaust can to repaint it, and the result was a broken stud. Hard to spot unless you are looking for it... is that still there and unbroken? | ||
| Lrholy06 |
Yes, that is it. I have a 1/4 inch torque wrench that reads inches as well. And a big half inch one for the bigger stuff. Last time I checked that bolt was still there. I am back in utah and the bike is still in Santa Fe. (Well los Alamos) But I am taking Grandma back on Saturday so i will double check everything again. |
