Welding stainless exhausts

[John Armstrong]

Exhaust header pipe has a 1/2 inch crack in it where the pipe changes direction after coming out of the exhaust port

New one is £80.74 is it a weldable bit of pipe? Crack is on the underside so not too much of an appearance issue.

http://www.motorworks.co.uk/bmw/products/large_image.php?p=EXA52399B&desc=

 

[Timpo]

That will TIG fine.


Timpo.

 

[John Armstrong]

That will TIG fine.

Ta Wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been giving them a good wonder wheels job off the bike

 

[FUTURE]

Having welded stainless with a TIG welder that should be an easy fix. Just make sure you get someone who is used to welding exhaust pipes. The carbon residue can boil up inside the pipe as it is welded and blow a hole in the weld.

 

[Vern]

Pop around with it and I'll glue it up for you.I'm just outside Chester,so not a million miles away.

01829 771040 that's the workshop

 

[John Armstrong]

PM sent Vern.

 

[Sylvester]

John, are you sure its a crack and not just where the pipe has been held while bent?
Have you dye pen tested it? Should be able to get hold of a kit in the hangar downstairs. Sorry forgot your QA now and don't go in the hangar

 

[John Armstrong]

John, are you sure its a crack and not just where the pipe has been held while bent?
Have you dye pen tested it? Should be able to get hold of a kit in the hangar downstairs. Sorry forgot your QA now and don't go in the hangar

When I first started cleaning I thought, that's a crack so cleaned and polished the area up some more, and it's still there I know the picture is pretty pants, but looking close up you can still see some muck in it. So, if it's not cracked it's a bad join which needs sorting out.

Don't have a hangar to go to downstairs, in the same office block as the CAA, NB, same office block not in the CAA Although from the latest intake of surveyors even I might haave stood a chance if I'd wanted to go that route.

 

[Sylvester]

When I first started cleaning I thought, that's a crack so cleaned and polished the area up some more, and it's still there I know the picture is pretty pants, but looking close up you can still see some muck in it. So, if it's not cracked it's a bad join which needs sorting out.

I had a similar mark on the Stainless headers I bought in France for an XR 250 and that was a tooling mark.
I've not met any of the new batch of Gremlins so I can't comment.

 

[John Armstrong]

The rest of the circumference of the pipe looks ok with a minimal step in the material. It's IMO an obvious fail point as it is where the pipe changes direction and looks like it was formed and not welded.

Just glad I found it before it going away to the Dolomites next summer

 

[Sylvester]

Nah, it would just add to the adventure.
Bound to fail at night in the rain on a sunday, miles from anywhere!

 

[John Armstrong]

At least it wouldn't be a hidden fault, you'd be able to hear it and see it if it let go at night

No one could say I didn't hear / see you either

Don't know about you, but I find cleaning a bike / plane is the easiest way of finding physical problems with them.

 

[Sylvester]

At least it wouldn't be a hidden fault, you'd be able to hear it and see it if it let go at night

No one could say I didn't hear / see you either

Don't know about you, but I find cleaning a bike / plane is the easiest way of finding physical problems with them.

And cleaning is strangely therapeutic!!!!

 

[John Armstrong]

Had a visit to http://www.projectvnd.com/ and saw all the panniers under construction. Even saw Kenny's Mono as well, waht a clean bike

Initial thoughts with the "crack" was it wasn't one, but after a weld just to make sure, Vern found it was a crack after all

Thanks for your time and effort Vern