repairing mufflers?

i wanted to repair my stock mufflers back to original shape. any ideas? one muffler was starting to rust through towards the end where the exhaust exits. any idea for repairing that problem?

I had two holes in my muffler. In order to repair them I obtained some stainless steel sheetmetal, a few very large hose clamps, JB Weld, and alcohol or other degreaser.

Take a dremel and sand out the holes in the muffler until you hit good metal.



Take some stainless steel sheetmetal, thin gage, about 20-22 gage and made rectangular patches large enough to cover the holes by 3/4 to 1 inch around. Deburr the edges smooth.

Take the patch and a plastic hammer and pounded the patch on a 2x4, gently bending it into shape to fit the curve of the muffler. You mostly use the edges of the 2x4 for this. When the patch fits well over the muffler take a file and grinder and rough up the back of the patch, and all around the hole on the muffler. Make sure you do this part. Roughing it up gives the epoxy something to bite into. Before glueing the patches on, clean them and do your best to polish or buff them. They will shine like the chrome muffler when done this way.

Now clean up the patches and muffler with some alcohol or other degreaser. Mix up some JB Weld epoxy. Apply the epoxy to the patch and the muffler, press the two together. Before you apply the hose clamp, take a rag soaked in alcohol and wipe clean the excess around the edges. Let the epoxy set for 24 hours before running the engine.



When I first put the patches on I did not rough them up. One blew off in 3000 miles, and the other lasted 8000 miles. So far the replacement "roughed up" patches have held up well.

Post edited by: OKC_Kent, at: 2006/10/29 20:42

Any good with a TIG welder?

i have no access to a welder

OKC_Kent wrote:

.......So far the replacement "roughed up" patches have held up well.

Great tip! Seriously. This should go in the filebase. Nice low-buck tip for non-welding losers like me.

del

JMKZHI wrote:

OKC... Is there more than one type of JBWeld? I've tried the stuff in various applications without much luck - the kind used came in two small tubes & required mixing. JMK.

That's the kind I have. I don't know if they make different types. What I had claimed to be good for high temperature use, I figured that's good for a muffler. I used equal lengths mixed up on a piece of cardboard.

I'm sure other types of adhesive could be used too. There is some type of hi-temp red RTV. I saw on the internet some guy repair his rusted exhaust with a welded steel patch, the welding was not very good, it leaked. He sealed the leaks with the red RTV. It looked pretty bad, but somehow he got it too pass the inspection in his area. I'm sure that stuff would also hold on a patch, but can't say for how long.

I guess the bottom line in deciding what to use is do you need this repair in order to pass a state inspection? And how strict is that inspection? My state doesn't inspect bikes except to match VIN # to paperwork. You may very well need to replace an exhaust system or repair it by welding, it all depends on your area.

You also can use any metal patch, it doesn't need to be stainless, just rust resistant. You can use chimney flashing, an old cookie sheet, thin wall vent pipe from the hardware store, etc.

Biquetoast, I will put this up in the filebase, thanks for bringing it up.

Post edited by: OKC_Kent, at: 2006/10/27 09:46

OKC...and it looks pretty good too.

very cool. nice job.