Topic: exhaust holes.... fix it ???? updated with PICs

[xsmooth69x]

ok so i bought this cb550 that was well seen better days.....

anyways its not a super sport but it has a nice 4 to 1 exhaust on it. i think its a mac or something but the name plate on the exhaust tip was taken off because there is a small screw hole that i guess held it on. this makes me conclude its some uber expensive after market exhaust.

took the bike home and removed the exhaust..... there a whole in the headers after the 4 pipes come into one big pipe



so i have some ideas but i also want some input.......

should i weld some patches over the holes?

plate patch > epoxi > weld > rust hole

or should i just use one of those exhaust patch kits?

it does not matter how horrible it looks because im wrapping the whole exhaust with exhaust wrap.

im wondering if this will hold up of will something that i cant think about happen?

i want to avoid buying new headers because there expensive!!!!!!!!!! and even getting them from a junk yard there still going to be and easy benjamin

[xsmooth69x]

bump..... any ideas or to ghetto for this classy forum

[jay_m]

well, i think the issue isn't only the the hole you can see, but the overall condition of the pipe interior. in other words, there are probably areas of the pipe that are almost rotted through all around there.

i just had a friend, who is an expert metalworker, patch the holes in my pipes. i watched him do it, and the metal all around the holes was so #$%*ty behind the chrome (impregnated with rust and oils), that he had a hard time getting a clean weld.

if you are going to weld, i'd say do what he did, which is use stainless sheet and bronze rod. after a bunch of work, the end result does look great, wont rust instantaneously (mile steel will), and will probably outlast the pipe itself.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

pop rivet a piece of beer can over it and wrap.  I have seen worse.

[Hannibal Smith]

pop rivet a piece of beer can over it and wrap.  I have seen worse.

That works, and looks cool.
King is our resident "Wild Man", and just assumed you had beer cans and cigarette butts all over the place.

Unless you are 21 years old, may I suggest a soda can, and something without caffeine (it goes over better when the Police pull you over). The chicks dig it because they know you are a "do it yourselfer".

[xsmooth69x]

thanks for all the help guys the pop rivits sound pretty good 

i will check my budget i just might find some headers.....

[Stev-o]

If the holes aren't too large, try jb weld.

Ps. Nice drawing!

[anubis]

My experience?

Never - NEVER! - use secondhand exhaust components, particularly those which have been off the bike in some wrecker's yard for a considerable time.





 

[xsmooth69x]

ow ya im a paint pro lol usually all my posts have some art work

so why cant i use exhausts from a yard? there all hanging under roofs.... its sportwheels they only do vintage bike parts and i have a friend so i know all the secret places with all the NOS parts

but even still why cant u? i can always return it if its messed up

[Spanner 1]

JV Veld vorks vell there, even small holes vill cause vackfires... clean vell and apply the JB veld, vill last the 'season' at least , gut luck.

[anubis]

Hi, smooth69x...

I spent many years working in and around wrecking yards, and we made it a rule earlier on - after several dissatisfied customers returned faulty items - never to sell second hand exhaust components.

They are more trouble than they are worth, unless you have removed them yourself say, from a friend's bike - and you know their history - and then bolt them up straight away to your own bike.

After all, exhaust heat tends to cause rust to form quickly inside header pipes and mufflers, and if these 'removed' items sit around in varying degrees of humidity and temperature extremes for an indeterminate amount of time, the rust will spread quickly. This means that you will be bolting up an exhaust system that is already worn out, and this is what causes the problems.

The way I see it, if you are gonna go to all the trouble of removing an old, worn out system, why would you re- fit one that was already on its last legs?

Three things not to mess with on ANY vehicle...... brakes, steering and exhausts!


Just the opinions of an old bloke.







 

[Stev-o]

So you'd put a $800 exhaust on a $300 project bike? I think not.

[xsmooth69x]

ya thats my biggest problem a new mac, yoshimura, motad, or a new kerker is $300+ and my bike was only like $500....

the exhaust i have now is a kerker



i think someone on this forums posted this find on ebay a while ago. i have the exact same exhaust.... it came with the bike. the headers are deff rusted but the actual muffler part is in fairly good condition

[xsmooth69x]

i just pretty much need headers....

so i was just thinking about picking up some cb550f headers and slapping on the kerker exhaust tip.

i heard a good caustic soda soak should take out a lot of carbon and rust and crap out of the pipe.

headers are just metal pipes right? so if they are not brittle or falling apart they are still good right?

this might be an incredibly stupid question but..... why doesn't people seal the inside of there exhaust headers? they have inside gas tank sealers.... so why doesn't someone just pour high heat temperature paint on the inside of the exhaust headers?

[sopo400f]

I'm in the same boat, only worse. The #1 header on my 400f is completely rusted through.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

The sealing idea is a good one.  However, in practice, no paint or sealer I know of will hold up to the heat and vibration while bonded to a less than ideal interior surface.  Rust, oil, gas, water, carbon, all reside in there.  You do have me thinking though about possibilities with acid cleaning, powder coating, or maybe some aerospace products designed for high heat.

[jay_m]

i just pretty much need headers....

headers are just metal pipes right? so if they are not brittle or falling apart they are still good right?

true. the thing is, if you have a bad enough rust problem in there that there's a gaping hole in one place, it's likely that the interior is extremely rusty elsewhere. and even if its not rusted to the point of breaking through, the rest of the pipe is going to be pitted and porous and impregnated with oil and carbon to the point where you're basically never going to be able to coat the interior with anything thatll stick.

[Hannibal Smith]

The exhaust system on my Lotus is ceramic coated inside/out, but it was done when the pipes were new.
Once the pipes have holes and the like, just a cheap external fix like epoxy, brazing, or the beer can trick works fine.
If you have some holes at the collector, then you are fine, but holes on the headers would have me paranoid about burning a valve up...probably unjustified, but we are dealing with an air cooled motor.
I have spent a small fortune on my CB550, and it is still only 30% done.................choose your battles!

[xsmooth69x]

......... i hate picking and choosing

sooooo another question. i take it this kerker exhaust was new on my bike at one point. and the bike hasent been running since 2003. but the bike wasn't stored outside or anything really bad.

now why would the exhaust rust out like that? the outside of the exhaust was painted black but how the hole came into play came from the inside out.

so is this normal that motorcycle exhausts do this. are motorcycle exhausts sub par or something? is it it really just the fact it might be 35 years old?

i never have problems with car headers why do our bike headers exhausts rust out?

[xsmooth69x]

pics pics pics










exhaust tip is good  i think

the seat btw is not connected to the bike and is just kinda sitting on it

[jay_m]

oh man, yeah--thats pretty rough. take a punch, or a metal rod thats not to thick and tap that pipe pretty hard tup and down to see if there's any give. i suspect much of that header is simply a think film of rust waiting to break down.

[xsmooth69x]

ow ya when i took the exhaust apart a mound of black stuff fell out.

are these headers shot?

[Stev-o]

I'd say they're shot. Mine are just as old and look very good, no rust. I do have rust in the muffler, though.
Check the for sale section, there was a header for sale for $99.

[xsmooth69x]

ya im going to just find some really good condition cb550f headers and slap on the kerker tip

[That 70s Bike]

Looks to me that the rust out is at the low point where the condensation could've puddled if pipe was on a bike that had way too many short trips where condensation wasn't burned out. That pipe could've been on other bikes before yours, as the seat looks like a CB500T (twin) and tank doesn't look correct (sits oddly). Yes it pretty "worn" but you can rig it up to get by or even run it as is!(loud?) Avoid short trips, they will continue to feed the rust with water. I have bought used & very good condition Jardine slip-ons that go on the cut off original head pipes (4 into 2 style) affordable $50-$75 incl. shipping on ebay.