Seized exhaust clamp

[wayne]

Have one exhaust pipe with a seized exhaust clamp that I'm having no luck in removing.

Have upended the pipe in a bucket of diesel for weeks, applied a handheld blow torch to the clamp, made a tool to give me extra leverage on the clamp.

Won't budge.

Any ideas ?

Wayne

[pmcburney]

Hmmm...


I've heard a 50/50 mixture of acetone and ATF is a very good penetrant - better than the commercial stuff.

I know this might be a bit drastic, but have you tried immobilising the clamp and turning the pipe?

This of course would mean that you could damage the pipe in the process, so if it were me, I'd be mighty careful - there's no way to know how strong the pipe is compared to how seized the clamp is.


Good luck
Paul McB

[wayne]

Okay, I have acetone and ATF.......worth a try. And no I haven't tried immobilising the clamp as yet. Have been relying on my home made tool to give me greater leverage on the clamp itself. I'll try the ATF first.

Thanks,
Wayne

[suzukiclub]

what ever you do dont use the exhaust as a lever ,it can crease the pipe .You could always carefully cut it of and purchase a new one

[mike500]

you could try immersing it in brake fluid,when i ran a vehicle dismantlers we used to use it a lot to release exhaust clamps etc regards mike

[suzsmokeyallan]

Wayne if you applied heat and it would not budge, anything else will more than likely not work either.
You will probably have to cut through the clamp till its near to the threads, then drive a chisel into the cut to open it to expand the clamps hold on the threads.
These pipes see a lot of heat in use so its going to be well fused on there.

[ziggystardust]

Yes I agree that it's best to cut the clamp off, I tried to remove one with massive heat but only ended up twisting the exhaust neck, such a waste.

[wayne]

Okay, I'm duly warned............there's a limit to how much pressure should be put on the clamp, the pipes are not indesctrutable........I'd hate to twist the pipe trying to free a clamp.

I'll try both the acetone and brake fluid and if it won't release with reasonable force, it'll have to be hacksaw and chisel.

Thanks all.............

Wayne

[Jess]

Wayne,

What are you using for heat?

You will have to a long time with a propane/benzomatic torch to really get it hot enough.

I wasted much time with the hand held, bottle type units. Now I don't even mess with them and go directly to oxy/acetaline. The drawback is too much heat...

Get it hot, then use a wooden or leather mallet and give it a couple of good whacks...

Be careful...

Using the pipe for leverage is a bad idea. The outer pipe is so thin that you will tear the metal.

Good luck, keep us posted mate.

Best,

[wayne]

I've only been using a hand held so there we have it. You've been down this road before and it's not enough heat.

I'll try the release agents and then get a mate who is a trained welder to use his oxy on it as I'll probably end up with a dripping globule of molten casting. I'll cut and chisel as the last resort.

This is Luis's pipe, always more difficult when it's not your own.

Will post final result.

Thanks

[suzsmokeyallan]

Wayne, remember whatever heat source you use, be careful you do not discolour the chrome on the headpipe.
I'd forget the torch and go straight to cutting the clamp, it will actually save you time and be less problematic.
If the threads on the pipe are even slightly compromised by the torch you will have another issue to deal with.

[kettle738]

Hi Wayne, take the advice to cut the clamp, I have a very solid pair of silencers that would have been perfect for re chroming, but they both have twisted necks. (wish I'd just cut the clamps)

I thought the first one must have been exceptionally stuck and the second one would probably move ok with enough heat...it didn't.

That double skinned section is nothing like as strong as the downpipe of a GT750 for instance and will twist very easily.

Mick........kettle738

[wayne]

That's starting to sound like sage advice from Mick and Allen. Jess has infinitely more experience than I have with heat and RE5 pipes. I've had it soaking in brake fluid for the last 2 or 3 days (I figured that with the volatility of acetone, most of it would evaporate out of the ATF/Acetone mix if I left it soak for days). I'll give it go trying to release one more time after the brake fluid and then I'll cut and chisel.

Thanks...............

Wayne

[wayne]

Okay, about 3 days in the brake fluid and couldn't budge it (albeit with hand held torch). No luck with the acetone and ATF. Despite Jess' advice, I'm not going to push my luck with heat, while he may be able to do it, I'm more likely to end up twisting the pipe and like Ziggy I'll be shaking my head and thinking "what a waste".

It's hacksaw and cold chisel for me.

Thanks for the input guys, probably saved me wrecking a pipe.

Wayne

[suzsmokeyallan]

And the final verdict is??? how did you make out on cutting the clamp Wayne.