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Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by.
So as the title says it sounds and looks as if i have a broken exhaust. A couple of days ago i noticed a difference in how my exhaust sounded. It went from being loud and crisp, to sounding fluffy.
Finally got a chance to look around and noticed hot air coming from the rear cylinder where the exhaust pipe bolts on.
Sure enough i put a flashlight on it and noticed a missing bolt.
But on further inspection i noticed that it wasn't a missing bolt but a nut that's missing, and not because it fell off but because it broke off.
Hoping it's an easy fix, but in reality...
How screwed am i
have you tried to push the flange back on to see if there's enough thread for a new nut? It could be as easy as the nut backed off.
The good news is it appears there's plenty of stud to get a pair of vice grips on an twist it out if it is broken. When they break off flush with the head it's more involved to repair.
What he said.
If you have to use vise grips to get it out, use plenty of WD or Liquid Wrench and let it sit before you do it. You don't want to break it off again.
What he said.
If you have to use vise grips to get it out, use plenty of WD or Liquid Wrench and let it sit before you do it. You don't want to break it off again.
OK great, so i can spin it off, that's good cause i was thinking some engineer way back thought it would be a better idea to have that stud welded to the head for you know, structural integrity.
While the actual motorcycle does not seem to be noted the bolt in question does not look difficult to remove.
Base on picture it looks like removal of other nut on flange, sliding down of flange, removal of broken stud and replacement of stud/nut would be required.
The big question is why did it break?
Is the exhaust system properly supported or perhaps it is binding someplace?
For example some harley touring models have an exhaust support bracket at transmission housing that sometimes breaks over many years.
Here is a parts finder so you can look at parts of exhaust system. http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc
remove exhaust, keep hitting it with penetrating oil, a GOOD stud extractor.... attempt 1
If that fails STOP, get it to a shop, let them TIG a nut onto the stud and let them take it out.
OR
Take the head off and have a machine shop drill the stud close to the tap drill size and re-tap it....
From my experience, trying to drill a stud out in place is not worth the hassle, the studs are usually very hard to drill (heat hardened) and getting on center and staying on center line is not easy.
I have an extractor very similar to this one that I got off the very expensive rape van/tool truck that has never failed me
The big question is why did it break?
For example some harley touring models have an exhaust support bracket at transmission housing that sometimes breaks over many years.
Here is a parts finder so you can look at parts of exhaust system. http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc
This may or may not be your problem, but a good point nevertheless. This head pipe support bracket should be checked closely and regularly.
if you have an oxy acetylene torch heat the aluminum around the stud before extracting but be careful not to over heat the aluminum, just enough to expand it a bit before extracting.
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Broken Exhaust, Help!
