I have had an issue arise on my Rinehart True Duals.
My bike just turned 5 years old ('07 Ultra Classic).
The pipes have been installed almost since day one.
I have been chasing what I thought was a front exhaust leak. I actually replaced the front exhaust gasket 3 times in an effort to fix. All for naught. I decided to check the rear pipe.
I sprayed soapy water at the flange and it did not appear to be leaking but I decided to pull it off anyway.
Look at what I discovered under the chrome cover!
Of course it is long out of warranty and they are selling me a new rear header pipe, but what the heck is going on? It may not be clear but the hole is right on the opposite side of pipe from the 02 sensor. I would really like to know what caused this to happen. 5 years doesn't seem very long to me to be replacing pipes. Since the hole is on the top side condensation or water would not appear to be a problem that I can see.
Anybody have any great words of wisdom??

Don

 

Ive seen pin holes & cracks in various pipes but nothing like that one. The only time Ive seen that is when someone had the pipes wrapped in exhaust tape, which hold the heat in & raise temps = burnt pipes. A genereral suggestion, check your tune on your motor because a very lean cylinder can eventually cause that.

Disclaimer: I could also be a bad pipe from Rinehart ...

 

looks like the pipe could have been under stress, like pressure was on it and in time cracked. When putting on new pipes put everything together and leave the clamps loose to make sure nothing is under pressure, then tighten.

Or when the O2 plug was put in the welder got the pipe to hot causing it to become brittle and crack over time.

 

I also have Rainharts true duals on my 08 ultra Classic, out them on after the first oil change. Two months ago I found a bolt missing off the end rear pipe, dealer had did some work on the tranny, so I thought they forgot to put it back on. When I took it in they found a hole in the rear pipe just below the heat shield. It looked like a piece 1" x 2" had just fallen out of the pipe. I had the power commander tuned by a pro. Rainhart sells a replacement pipe and heat shield. Cannot use the old heat shield, the new pipe is bent different. $250 US for the new pipe and HS.

 

Looks to me from the photo that it very well could be metal fatigue. Seen it on steam and sea water pipes. If you're interested, I found this article explaining how repeated applied loads contribute to metal fatigue.

http://www.epi-eng.com/mechanical_en..._in_metals.htm

 

Yes, fwb35, I have a new header pipe and shield on the way that should be here today.
They said they changed the design. Wonder what that means? Why did they change?

Anyway, let's assume stress is the cause. How to avoid this time? Fit everything together and tighten from the flange and work out or bacK?

Thanks!
Don

 

yes, put everything together making sure nothing is stressing or bound up, then tighten, any exhaust system should be done this way, if not, in time the stressed metal gets brittle from getting hot and cold over and over then cracks. Sounds like that pipe had design flaws and they should replace the defective parts.

 

Oh they replaced it alright, to the tune of $257 including tax and shipping.
I think it's a little funny (not laughing) that they sell the rear header pipe as a stand alone item. Apparently I am not the first one to have to replace that part.

 

sounds like these guys have you on the right track, good luck!

 

I have same thing happened on 07 UC at about 60K V&H headers exactly same place big burn hole and I replaced em with my stock headers bike runs stronger and also sounds better.