passed the mot then took it home and broke it!!

hi there, i see in the past various peple have snapped the downpipe bolts. well me too today, after passing the mot the guy said it sounds a little like its blowing but cant see anything just tighten up the bolts they may have worked loose. anyway one snapped joy. ive got about half an inch left which way do i turn to undo the bolt? is it as normal anti clock wise? dont want to twist whats left off! i do have a easy out tool but when i tried to use it on another bolt i couldnt drill into it, not sure if it was the bit or the drill not powerful enough! ive tightened it all up and re greased, looks like i need to but new exaust port gaskets too, in the manual it states rubber yet on david silver spares they look copper, when i looked for mine there was none

The studs will undo anticlockwise otherwise they would loosen as you tighten the nut.

Half an inch should be enough to file a couple of flats on the stud to clamp a pair of mole grips to.

The exhaust gaskets are copper (rubber would melt) though I've seen ally & composite ones on the bay too.

thanks, reading back my message rubber gaskets would be silly wouldnt they
better not fit that chocolate radiator then!
i only ask about the bolts becuase i am known to be a little heavy handed ive got a new nut , bolt and pair of gaskets coming from david silver spares. strange how mine didnt have any though, last owner must not have fitted them.

What a nightmare!
To be honest if I were you I'd replace all the studs & nuts; give them a liberal spray of WD40 or Plusgas and leave overnight before attacking with the moles!
Take a very close look around the recess in the exhaust ports; you may find that the gaskets have moulded around the edges; they had on mine and looked like part of the exhaust port casting! When you get the new ones they are like a copper hoop and they crush flat when you tighten.

i will replace the others too i should have done it this time but ive had a bit of a high cost month so just got the one, bet i pay for that lol. i will re check again the port but i did scrape around to take of the carbon and couldnt see any. it does have an after market exhaust system so maybe they were missed off when replaced. I went back out last night and slightly loosend the other nuts just in case i over tightened them. I should invest in a torgue wrench!
its not blowing though so not too worried. hoping to get out to Matlock next weekend all being well!

I will soak that bolt first in wd40 overnight! thanks for the tip.

It's a grotty knuckle scraper of a job getting the studs out, glad you're back on the road!

well found the well corroded gaskets lol . just need to get that bolt out but i reckon thats going to be really difficult, does anyone have any idea how much this would cost to be removed or drilled out??

can you grab any of it with a vice grips? thats what i had to do and it turned out pretty easy, think i was fairly lucky though. snapped the same stud a couple of weeks later, only this time it was flush with the engine so i couldnt grab it,i very carefully drilled into the center of the stud with a 1mm bit, tapped a small philips screw driver into it then with a hammer and turned out the stud, annoyed about snapping it again and not wanting to wait for a new stud i got some threaded bar and cut it to size, filed off the sharp edges on the threads and it screwed right in.

I'm not sure what a garage would charge you, it does take a fair bit of disassembly to get any decent working space there.


When i got my CB i replaced all the exhaust studs. they were pretty stubborn.
I used lots of plusgas, heated around the studs with a blow torch then used these: http://images.toolstop.co.uk/product/1eab1cea86766c4ba5c0a7cedb85fc7b.jpg which i fitted onto an impact screwdriver


Got them all out fine, but wasn't a fun job!

Hario,
i spoke to a garage and he reckons he would need to heat them up cost would be between 1-2 hours labour so 30-60 quid on his rates. I bought 4 new bolts just need to do the change. I reckon a blow torch is the best thing but i dont have one and not sure if its worth buying one.
CBean, theres abut half an inch, ive tried grips but it doesnt seem to want to budge, ive put the exhaust back on and it seems and sound fine with 3 bolts but cant leave it like thst forever,if its blowing its only partial. Ive had to buy new radiator,fan and shocks this month so it may have to wait a little. I think i may try thr garage its the most expensive way and usually i like to do repairs but this one has me beat unless i buy some more needed tools.

Hario wrote:I'm not sure what a garage would charge you, it does take a fair bit of disassembly to get any decent working space there.


When i got my CB i replaced all the exhaust studs. they were pretty stubborn.
I used lots of plusgas, heated around the studs with a blow torch then used these: http://images.toolstop.co.uk/product/1eab1cea86766c4ba5c0a7cedb85fc7b.jpg which i fitted onto an impact screwdriver


Got them all out fine, but wasn't a fun job!

hi again, just seen those mini blow torches on ebay for about £10 worth getting one to try?? if so sounds silly but am i ok heating up the bolt and engine block just around it or will i blow my self up sorry never used one before on a bike/car

should be fine with the torch, you could try welding a bit to it and turning it out that way, the heat of the welder should break the bond of the threads, it may snap off altogether though

For £60 i would get the garage to do it personally, especially if you can ride there and save the hassle of a van etc.


It is doable yourself, but you will need both a blowtorch and a reliable way to grip the studs. Seems like you will be spending money anyway, and there is a lingering risk of snapping it of at the base.


The CB studs look too small to use an easy-out drill type extractor (i could be wrong) which would mean drilling out the lot and rethreading the hole if it does snap. That could mean a drill press in a machine shop, and at the very least the engine out of the frame. So the stakes are pretty high for saving yourself £50 or less.

Hario wrote:For £60 i would get the garage to do it personally, especially if you can ride there and save the hassle of a van etc.


It is doable yourself, but you will need both a blowtorch and a reliable way to grip the studs. Seems like you will be spending money anyway, and there is a lingering risk of snapping it of at the base.


The CB studs look too small to use an easy-out drill type extractor (i could be wrong) which would mean drilling out the lot and rethreading the hole if it does snap. That could mean a drill press in a machine shop, and at the very least the engine out of the frame. So the stakes are pretty high for saving yourself £50 or less.

think i agree with you there, im going to get the rest finished then take it in and hopefully if he gets one out quick ill get him to get the other out too!

Hopefully I never have to do this with my bike.
The header pipes are so corroded its unreal!
I know for a fact the studs would snap. Looks like they have done before as they look fairly new compared to the state of the rest of the headers.

for now the exhaust hold well with 3 and the one with one bolt isnt blowing so im happy for it to wait. ive pulled against the exhaust and its firm as its going to get. even when i get new bolts im not tightening them up any more than they are now. not haiving another snap!!

Mine worked for ages on three bolts after I snapped one... so I wouldn't worry too much (for now) if it isn't blowing.

eternally_troubled wrote:Mine worked for ages on three bolts after I snapped one... so I wouldn't worry too much (for now) if it isn't blowing.

very happy you said that ive spent loads recently just put on new shocks, new radiator, fan,done service,fork seals,calipers,brake pads,master cylinder kit, seat replacement, single seat cover, and even had a go at a respray just waiting to get more laquer! all since start of this year almost there!!

I hope we are going to see some good pics from you soon then

not the best pics the red looks like orange on here! i know its not to eveyones taste but its better than it was!


https://2img.net/h/i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/Glen_Wilson/2.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/Glen_Wilson/3.jpg