Step-by-Step Photos of Slip On Muffler Install
#1
10-01-2011, 08:32 AM
Step-by-Step Photos of Slip On Muffler Install
I am no mechanic and had cold feet about swapping out my mufflers, even though they are called "slip ons" and the descriptions of what to do sounded pretty simple. But I couldn't find any photos to illustrate the descriptions. So when I did mine 2 days ago, I decided I would take step-by-step photos and post them here for other members who may not have done something like this before. Based on advice from members of this forum, I did not do every step that some suggest. What I did was easy and fast. Including letting the WD-40 sit on the torca clamp nuts and muffler/headpipe connection for 10 minutes, the whole process took right around an hour, moving slowly (and taking pictures). Here is the link to the photo album that shows what I did.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/membe...sportster.html
Here is a step by step description of what I did. Although the photos are captioned, some steps, like the WD-40 step can't be illustrated.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...r-install.html
I hope this helps others that are wondering if they can do this easy job. You can.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/membe...sportster.html
Here is a step by step description of what I did. Although the photos are captioned, some steps, like the WD-40 step can't be illustrated.
1. Removed the lower worm clamps and loosened the upper ones on the heat shields to pivot them out of the way.
2. Sprayed WD-40 on the torca clamp nut and the connection between the stock muffler and the header pipe.
3. Removed the flanged bolts securing the old mufflers to the interconnect bracket.
4. Loosened the torca clamps and slipped them off the end of the muffler onto the header pipe.
5. I did NOT loosen the bolts at the header flange. It was not necessary. My parts guy at the dealer had confirmed that I should not do it. He said doing so risks damaging the flange gasket, which isn't expensive to replace, but just an unnecessary risk.
6. Wiggled, twisted and pulled the old mufflers off the header pipe. They didn't have to move far to clear the interconnect bracket nipple. They moved very slowly (a millimeter at a time), but steadily. No real force was necessary, just steady pulling pressure with the wiggles.
7. Removed old torca clamps from header pipe and slipped on new ones. Wiped WD-40 off of header pipes. (new pipes slip on easily)
8. Installed the new mufflers by doing the above steps in reverse.
9. Wiped all chrome surfaces down with Windex and then a microfiber towel to get all of the oil from my hands off the new pipes.
The only thing that I did that I would be more careful about next time is the worm clamps on the front heat shield were stiff and creaky so I lubricated them with WD-40 which made them work like new. The problem is, there's no real way to clean the WD-40 out of the inside of them after you do that. So when I started the bike up they smoked a bit while the WD-40 burned off the clamps (as someone mentioned that it would). But that was a temporary problem.
Here is a link to the thread where I got all of the good advice and encouragement.2. Sprayed WD-40 on the torca clamp nut and the connection between the stock muffler and the header pipe.
3. Removed the flanged bolts securing the old mufflers to the interconnect bracket.
4. Loosened the torca clamps and slipped them off the end of the muffler onto the header pipe.
5. I did NOT loosen the bolts at the header flange. It was not necessary. My parts guy at the dealer had confirmed that I should not do it. He said doing so risks damaging the flange gasket, which isn't expensive to replace, but just an unnecessary risk.
6. Wiggled, twisted and pulled the old mufflers off the header pipe. They didn't have to move far to clear the interconnect bracket nipple. They moved very slowly (a millimeter at a time), but steadily. No real force was necessary, just steady pulling pressure with the wiggles.
7. Removed old torca clamps from header pipe and slipped on new ones. Wiped WD-40 off of header pipes. (new pipes slip on easily)
8. Installed the new mufflers by doing the above steps in reverse.
9. Wiped all chrome surfaces down with Windex and then a microfiber towel to get all of the oil from my hands off the new pipes.
The only thing that I did that I would be more careful about next time is the worm clamps on the front heat shield were stiff and creaky so I lubricated them with WD-40 which made them work like new. The problem is, there's no real way to clean the WD-40 out of the inside of them after you do that. So when I started the bike up they smoked a bit while the WD-40 burned off the clamps (as someone mentioned that it would). But that was a temporary problem.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...r-install.html
I hope this helps others that are wondering if they can do this easy job. You can.
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