Muffler fell off, lost the bolts.

T

TheColbyJack

New Member
So, I lost the bolts that connected the muffler to my engine, along with the bolts.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I neglected to maintain my bike, now I'm regretting it.

I tried buying a threaded rod and cutting it down to size, but they didn't fit and ended up falling out as well. I bought some nylone threaded nuts to keep 'em from rattling loose, which helped, but they rattled loose out of the engine.

Thanks for the help.:-||
 
Welcome to the forum. We're here to help.
Most hardware stores will carry 6mm X 20 Allen head capscrews. Remove the studs and nuts, toss them in the trash and install the Allen head bolts, with lock washers. You'll need a 5mm Allen wrench too. Do not overtighten them. Snug them down until you flatten the lockwashers then give them just a little, very little, more torque. The blue locktite is not a bad idea but the heat of the exhaust will negate a lot of its holding properties. Incidently the heat was the reason your nylon lock nuts didn't work. It melted the nylon and kept it from doing its job. Something you should check is if the muffler flange is laying flat against the cylinder exhaust port. Many of the flanges come with a warp and do not allow full contact. Sandpaper on a flat surface can show you if the flange is flat or if it needs some sanding/grinding to give you a good contact surface. I flange that will not lay flush will cause premature failure of the gasket and loosening/loss/failure of the fasteners used to hold the muffler on.
Tom
 
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ace hardware normally carries the 6mm X 20 that is what I use as well on my builds. I replace all the studs with allen head caps much more secure
 
The gentleman at Menards suggest socket head capscrews. He said he also used to build motorbikes and had the same problem.

Only problem is.. I have no idea how to get off the head cap.. :\
 
I'm not sure what you mean by "head cap". Can you post a photo, or elaborate on what part you mean? If you're talking about the studs which the muffler used to mount on, visegrips can be used to turn them out. Another method is to use two nuts back to back but since you've lost the nuts there's no need to buy more just to remove the studs. Visegrips will do the trick. Turn them counter-clockwise to loosen them.
Tom
 
TheColbyJack said:
The gentleman at Menards suggest socket head capscrews. He said he also used to build motorbikes and had the same problem.

Only problem is.. I have no idea how to get off the head cap.. :\
Click to expand...

While you're at it, back out the threaded bolts that hold your carburator manifold/carburator on and replace those too, {I had a carburator dangling by one bolt once}. Then apply new 6mm bolts with lock tight and lock washers on all four bolts. good luck.bld.
 
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