a/c exhaust brackets - help!

[Alfons1972]

oh yes! tell us, whether it worked or not!  [-/

[gsxr126]

be careful when trying this method on the wifey. we all know what happens when you take a lighter to a human exhaust

[ypsilon_lancar]

Mine developed a strange rattle on high revs that has got worse. I thought it was the heat shield but today noticed the manifold bolts (that hold the exaust on) have vanished! Can the half moon bolts be replaced with standard ones? 

[edsaysyes]

Heating the wife usually increases tension so make sure the 126 is fired up and ready to go before you try it.

[bis13]

you will need to grind one side of the bolt head off to get it to fit.

[ypsilon_lancar]

Cheers BIS13, will sort it tomorrow subject to the rain stopping!!

[ypsilon_lancar]

Sorted the exhaust bolts (15p each with locking nuts!) 

And then today the 3 month old exhaust breaks!  Same place as last time where the manifold bolts on, mine i cant expect the quality to be there when the exhaust cost £15!!!

[Darrell]

I keep having one of my exhast manifolds come-off the head. Fortunately it's the one closest to the lid.

I think it's stripped the threads

I was thinking out of the box and wondered if there are any other options to helicoils.

Would a stainless rawlbolt be too heathen like to work?

[Rusty's Uncle]

Darrell , I can't believe you have suggested that . That sounds like a sure fire way of writing off an otherwise good head. 
I now fit studs and or helicoils if required so they do not need to be removed again. Then protect the thread with a stainless dome nut. There are alternatives to helicoils , one is Keenserts that are used on many race / rally cars and will cost you a lot more dosh 

[Darrell]

hmmm yes was a bit of a heathen suggestion however I'm loosing the will with this head of mine.

I'll look-up those fancy inserts and try some as I'm not overly confident with helicoils.

Does a 'dynamically balanced' engine rattle exhausts to bits etc etc?

I thought mine wasnt too bad, but then on a trip to Devon one of the exhaust manifold bolts worked loose. That was a fairly sedate trip maxing about 60-65mph so confused the hell out of me as she'd been good as gold till then. Even hairing down hills foot flat. Got to the point I was thinking I could drive to Naples! - NOT
I managed to sort out a replacement bolt on the side of the road but i think the damage had been done to the thread and since then it's just been getting worse and worse
It gave no more trouble, even down to retro rides etc, but just recently on a trip back from Lymington it worked loose again and now the thread is properly knackered, luckily doesnt leak enough to fail MOT 

But if I dont sort it out it'll end in tears 

[Pete126]

Hi Darrell,

I had two hellicoils put in the head, not had any problems since they were done [-/

[gsxr126]

Hey Darrell,

Have you tried thread locking compound for a quik fix? I once had the problem of an engine mount thread not being able to be fixed with a helicoil because the thread hole had flogged out too much. I ended up using max bond to hold the helicoil in place and it worked for ages.

[Darrell]

I been thinking about this exhaust problem alot, one of the possibilities is to cut stubs to bolt onto the head (when I get something to bolt it to) Then use the system of a spring to attach the exhaust piping to this like they do on bike end cans.

This way nearly no stress is put on the bolts on the head as the spring will allow some movement....but then I guess the exhaust pipe will self-distruct

never mind, booked it in to get a hellicoil see how it goes

[bis13]

i have a helicoil set that i bought to repair my head i suggest that you get one as they are worth there weight in gold the problem with the exhausts are that once a bolt has come undone/off it transfers all the vibration to another part of the system which is usually the weakest or most flexible part being the bolts and once they have loosened enough then the fissures will appear due to all the shaking around and as i know to well the exhaust then sheers off and bounces off down the road!   

[Rusty's Uncle]

Bis 13 of no fixed abode , M6 , M8 & M10 helicoil kits are a great investment to keep the car on the road. As for fixing heads I reckon that you & I might be a bit too far down the the road for a complete cure 
As for cylinder heads they are one of the Achilles Heels on the aircooled engines & have to be treated with the greatest of respect . I have seen so many heads that have been wrecked by bodges that make the problem worse. Properly fitted helicoils are in fact an upgrade on the original spec.
READ MY LIPSIf you are given the chance fit studs into the head & use nuts to remove the exhaust elbows when required. When fitting a new exhaust , slacken the elbow to head nuts or bolts , tighten the exhaust flanges to elbows , fit exhaust box mounts then nip up the elbow to head fixings. Just refitted mine today so it will probably fall off shortly but the ones that get busted generally have not been fitted correctly