Hey. I have a customized pocketbike expansion chamber on my engine. Pipe works great, but here is the deal. I have no welding knowledge or equipment, so I cut the pipe apart, glassed it back together, and painted it with high temp barbecue paint. Had the pipe since last summer and its still together, so the glass isnt cracking or falling apart. Issue is it leaks at one spot on the head pipe. I have tried 3 different methods. The first was exhaust repair putty. What a joke. Every time I put it on, it cracks and falls apart. tried permatex rtv the red stuff, but when i ran the engine on idle, the red stuff smoked and i figured it would probably melt and fall off eventually. went to the local parts store and got permatex exhaust sealant, but its not much stronger than the repair putty and is really meant for sealing joints, not sealing leaks from the outside. bike runs ok even when the pipe leaks, but have a feeling my air/fuel mix is at stake with a leaky pipe. my next thought is exhaust wrap, but at a lowest cost of around $20 i dont have right now, looking for cheaper suggestions unless there are none. if I tried the red rtv again, would it eventually stop smoking, or is exhaust header wrap my only option? and tearing the pipe apart to take it to a shop and have it welded is defo not an option here.
Best way to seal exhaust leaks?
- Thread starter motor_bike_fanatic
- Start date
Think i got it. put a layer of rtv outside the muffler, and a layer of pipe sealant outside of that. the idea is that the rtv will seal the pipe, and the pipe sealant will stick to the rtv, insulating and protecting it.
did you clean the pipe before you used the exhaust putty? because i have used it many many many times on some really ratted out plow truck exhausts and it worked every time for me.
I dont use the exhaust putty anymore. its cheap and cracks easy. a dirty pipe dont make the putty crack, heat does. I used pipe sealer, and I put it over top of red rtv. I put the pipe sealer on right after I put the rtv on.
i used it on a nickle sized hole right behind the left side exhaust manifold of my 78 f250 with a 460. still hasnt cracked or fall off in the last 3 years i had the truck.
ok thats good for you. i used the stuff i dont know how many times. gone through tubes of it. not using it anymore. thank you.
the red exhaust tape works decent too, but it sucks to put on becaause the pipe has to be hot before hand to seal it on, and its kind of ugly when cured.
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-80331-Muffler-Tailpipe-Bandage/dp/B000BXKZ6K/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1
they sell it at almost every autoparts store, its pretty much aluminum tape with a heat activated high temp epoxy on one side.
they sell it at almost every autoparts store, its pretty much aluminum tape with a heat activated high temp epoxy on one side.
TBH, I wish someone had a foot or two of exhaust wrap or tape they could just give me. Im broke and I got problems right now. I know I probably sound like im begging for charity, but im not. just have a lot going on right now.
let me dig around in my tool box and see what i can find,i got some left some where, but im not the most organized person.
hey, man, I would really appreciate that a lot! My wife is having some health issues and our car is done for thanks to a bad head gasket, so if I could make my bike 100% reliable, that would be so great. at least one less thing to worry about.
depending on the car head gaskets are not that bad to change, unless you got a fancy car with dual overhead cams or a fwd v6 and its the rear head gasket that went out. and i dont think a china doll smoker can ever be 100% reliable, maybe 95%. they seem prone to attacks from gremlins.
also for an emergency fix you can pick up head gasket repair stuff at autoparts stores, ive never used it, but its a liquid you pour into your coolant and let it seal. kinda like radiator stopleak but with out the nasty pellets that clog up your heater core.
I tried a couple of those 'pocket bike' X-chambers, with the mod time involved they aren't worth the money in my book.
But...
This may sound like a Homer Simpson 'Duoooh' moment, but have you rode your bike to an independent local muffler or welding shop?
I have a few times and use both near me.
Try to catch them at a 'not so busy' time, then do the grunt work yourself.
In your case break the pipe back apart at your initial cut, bolt the intake piece on, then have the guy weld your other end of the pipe exactly where you want it.
Typically they just put a couple of spot welds to hold it in place, then pull the whole pipe off and weld it up.
$5 to $10 is all I've ever had to pay for a quick real weld and that beats the heck out of any patching.
But...
This may sound like a Homer Simpson 'Duoooh' moment, but have you rode your bike to an independent local muffler or welding shop?
I have a few times and use both near me.
Try to catch them at a 'not so busy' time, then do the grunt work yourself.
In your case break the pipe back apart at your initial cut, bolt the intake piece on, then have the guy weld your other end of the pipe exactly where you want it.
Typically they just put a couple of spot welds to hold it in place, then pull the whole pipe off and weld it up.
$5 to $10 is all I've ever had to pay for a quick real weld and that beats the heck out of any patching.
the engine is done for. got antifreeze in the oil now. didnt know at the time, but the head gasket went bad maybe a month ago. thought it was a radiator leak and just kept putting water in. now the oil looks like chocolate milk. priced an engine for 550, but they want 1000 to install. aint got that kinda money. going to a weld shop is not an option. couldnt get the pipe off if i wanted to, since i stupidly used red loctite on one of my pipe hangers. this pipe aint coming off till the engine dies. moonerdizzle, please just pm me if you find something i can use.
As a mechanic I've done many head gaskes. Even with chocolate oil the motor could still be fine. Get it sealed, change the oil with cheap crap, run it til it warms up, then dump the oil again. it will flush it out and then fill it with the oil of your choice..
I did the same thing with a PB pipe, just needed every bend in the damn thing to go the other way. I just used JB weld, sanded level and wrapped it with header wrap worked great and sounds even better.
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