Exhaust System Noise

[skooter]

I've got an exhaust leak somewhere on my '84 Venture. I can hear it, but can't pin down where it is coming from. With winter upon us, I'm going to remove the system and take a look.

 

My question is, what parts of the system have gaskets that will need to be replaced? Also, has anyone solved a nuissance leak like this on their Venture?

 

Thanx, Skooter

[SilvrT]

If you remove all of the exhaust, including the headers and collector (except the rear headers), you will need at the very least the gaskets going into the collector for the headers as well as possibly the gaskets for the front headers going into the head. The gaskets between the collector and the muffler quite often can be re-used and on my bike, I used some exhaust "cement" available at places like Canadian Tire or other similar stores. I used the cement at the gasket between the muffler and collector.

[skooter]

Thanks for the info, SilvrT. I'll give the cement a try........Regards, Skooter

[mother]

there are a couple of spots that leaks can develop, mainly from the exhaust collector.

my collector had rusted out pipes exiting from the collector. i started the bike while all pipes were still cold got under real quick used my hand to feel where it was leaking and sure enough i could feel exhaust blowing out.

i picked up a replacement collector from ebay which was in great condition, bought new exhaust gaskets, and replaced the collector. when removing the collector i found it easier to loosen the front exhaust pipes and remove them. a bit more work but i found it much easier to work on.

 

the collector also has a baffle inside and mine was flopping around inside the old collector when i took it off. if you have this trouble also do a search as there are posts on here on how to repair that as well.

 

i have also installed road king mufflers which i bought off ebay for ten bucks, if you are interested in that at some point, do a search and we have a few of us who have done it and there are some pics there also.

 

let us know how you make out

 

cheers, Scott

[SilvrT]

Just curious...do you get any backfiring in the exhaust when you're decelerating? If you do, it's possible that the collector has some cracks or holes in it. They generally appear on the top, near the mounting flanges.

[skooter]

As a matter of fact, yes...I had alot of backfire noise when deaccelerating. It was more annoying than the 'nuissance' exhaust noise I described earlier. Thanks for the feedback...I had been waffling on whether to take the entire system apart. I'll let you know how things go.

 

Thanx, Skooter

[SilvrT]

As a matter of fact, yes...I had alot of backfire noise when deaccelerating. It was more annoying than the 'nuissance' exhaust noise I described earlier. Thanks for the feedback...I had been waffling on whether to take the entire system apart. I'll let you know how things go.

 

Thanx, Skooter

 

yvw

 

I had this problem on my '85 .... I used to love going thru the underpass, under the Fraser river here.....speed up on the approach then back right off the throttle ... BOOM! Scare the crap outta the drivers around me!

 

 

When I removed the collector I had 2 nice sized cracks (holes) in the top. I bought a new one plus all the gaskets....wow... $450 later ..... On this bike (my '87) I had the "collector rattle" syndrome LOL... took her out, cut her open, removed the baffles, etc and had it welded back up... $45 for the welding, about $80 or so for gaskets, and about $5 for the exhaust cement.... now no leaks and no rattles....nice and quiet.

[Neil86]

Another area to check is the gaskets on the rear cylinder exhaust stubs. Look at the rear cylinders...you see a short piece (~2") exiting the cylinder and then a flange with a clamp around it. Under the clamp and between the pipe joints lies a bevelled copper gasket. Its a fairly common failure, will produce backfiring easily due to the high exhaust temp so close to exhaust port. You can try snugging the clamp, but if its been leaking very long the gasket erodes and won't seal up.

[skooter]

I have disassembled everything except the rear header to collector joints and the rear header 'stubs'. A beveled washer for one of the rear header pipes is eroded quite a bit, I'll be replacing those. I couldn't see any gaskets between the header pipes and the front cylinders. I'll take another look with a fresh set of eyes today. And I still need to get the collector off to check it out. So far this hasn't been near the cluster #$%!!!$# that I thought it would be based on experiences with automotive exhaust systems. Thanx to all for the insights.

 

Skooter

[Guest KitCarson]

Hey......stick a tater in one of those exhaust pipes........let a cager tailgate you.....speed up and down-cel.......BoooM! Tater Missle!!

[Guest Popeye]

I had a hidden exhaust leak years back...don't remember which bike it was.

After failed attempts to pinpoint leak, I got the idea to start it up, cold, & went over the system with one of those long, symmetrical, feather-dusters.

It looked like a good tool for dusting inside a cannon barrel & cost ~$1.

Found the leak within 30 seconds.

Finding the leak was the easy part, of course.