Copper slip on Exhaust Studs?

[Grahamm]

Whilst looking at somethng else on my bike I noticed that the exhaust stud bolts were somewhat(!) rusty.

Although I have no need to remove the downpipes at the moment, having seen various posts about people snapping off studs etc when trying to take them off, it occurred to me that it might be a good bit of preventative maintenance to do so before they end up corroded solid.

If I do, would applying coper slip grease to the threads before re-attaching them be a good idea?

[fazersharp]

Yes
But you have to get them off in the first place and if you didnt copper slip it 10 years ago already, then you are back to the problem of getting them off.

[darrsi]

As per a previous post and discussion on here, be careful with torque settings when using copper grease, they kind of go out the window and can take much more force before the torque wrench will click, as I found out when stripping my rear caliper thread. 

[lew600fazer]

If you do not need to remove them why tempt fate. Old saying if it ain't broke why fix it. Chances are you will only open a can of worms.

[darrsi]

There's a link in this post that makes interesting reading too.
I wouldn't agree so much as to never using it, as I still do, but I tend to nip stuff up now accordingly, unless it needs a lot of torque.

Problem with the header bolts is that they need very little torque, like my rear caliper, but mainly that they all need to be even as well.

http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,15140.msg171589.html#msg171589

[darrsi]

If you do not need to remove them why tempt fate. Old saying if it ain't broke why fix it. Chances are you will only open a can of worms.

  I would have to agree with this as well, unless you're really bored and like a possible challenge.

[Grahamm]

Hmm, thanks for the replies, guys.

I don't need to replace the downpipes, I was just thinking that if it ever came to that, doing something about the rusty bolts now would save a lot more grief later...

A couple of days ago, a friend had a puncture on her car. According to the manual it would be a simple matter of lowering the carrier the spare is stored on (under the boot), undoing the bolts on the old wheel, jacking the car up, putting the new wheel on, 15-20 minutes and sorted.

Two *hours* and a lot of WD40 later, having found the thread on the carrier was virtually rusted sold and then finding that the wheel we were trying to replace couldn't even be removed from the hub, we gave up and she joined the RAC who came out the next day and took it off with an air hammer!

What I might do is cover them in WD40 and let them soak for a few days, then see if I can get them to undo without too much force, then torque them back up again (without the copper slip). If I do that once a year, that should save trouble in the future.

[Dead Eye]

I'm with Grahamm on this... the "ain't broke, don't fix it" has limited applications

We service our vehicles at regular intervals for a reason Just make sure you are aware of the possible ramifications of undertaking this task.

Mine have deteriorated enough that I don't feel confident in removing them without snapping something so I'll wait until the exhaust rots then cut the nuts off using my dremel :P

[darrsi]

Hmm, thanks for the replies, guys.

I don't need to replace the downpipes, I was just thinking that if it ever came to that, doing something about the rusty bolts now would save a lot more grief later...

A couple of days ago, a friend had a puncture on her car. According to the manual it would be a simple matter of lowering the carrier the spare is stored on (under the boot), undoing the bolts on the old wheel, jacking the car up, putting the new wheel on, 15-20 minutes and sorted.

Two *hours* and a lot of WD40 later, having found the thread on the carrier was virtually rusted sold and then finding that the wheel we were trying to replace couldn't even be removed from the hub, we gave up and she joined the RAC who came out the next day and took it off with an air hammer!

What I might do is cover them in WD40 and let them soak for a few days, then see if I can get them to undo without too much force, then torque them back up again (without the copper slip). If I do that once a year, that should save trouble in the future.

My RAC fella sorted a problem out for me years ago, kept going on about how i should've sorted things out way before he got there.
All i kept hearing him say was "You can't touch this" and something about a motorcycle hammer?
Still not sure what he was chatting about, and he was dressed funnily too.
He left me an advisory though.

[darrsi]

I'm with Grahamm on this... the "ain't broke, don't fix it" has limited applications

We service our vehicles at regular intervals for a reason Just make sure you are aware of the possible ramifications of undertaking this task.

Mine have deteriorated enough that I don't feel confident in removing them without snapping something so I'll wait until the exhaust rots then cut the nuts off using my dremel :P

Oh man, you're gonna have a transgender bike. 

[Dead Eye]

It took me a lot longer than it should have to get that joke :P

[fazersharp]

I soaked mine in a product called kroil i used a small syringe and blunt needle to get right in and behind the clamp, did it after a ride when it was warm/hot and did it for 4 months.
Yes like you I have no reason to do it yet but my downpipes wont last forever and I will have to do it one day, and the longer its left the worse it will be.
I wasnt actually going to try and take them off - just routinely soak them but I couldnt resist the urge any longer and had a go, and SUCCESS ! they came off all ok.
I did it with the engine hot and with a 1/4 inch socket set I think the key is to not use anything bigger so not to be able to use too much force, you will need a 3 inch extension bar for one of the nuts.
Copper slipped and put the same nuts back on, I dont think you need to redo it every year though, maybe i was lucky because I dont do wet riding in the 14 years i have had the bike and so they weren't that bad.
But it is a weight off my sholders knowing that I do not have that time bomb ticking away.
I think along with checking the front sprocket nut, this should be one of the things to check when buying another fazer.   

   

[darrsi]

I soaked mine in a product called kroil i used a small syringe and blunt needle to get right in and behind the clamp, did it after a ride when it was warm/hot and did it for 4 months.
Yes like you I have no reason to do it yet but my downpipes wont last forever and I will have to do it one day, and the longer its left the worse it will be.
I wasnt actually going to try and take them off - just routinely soak them but I couldnt resist the urge any longer and had a go, and SUCCESS ! they came off all ok.
I did it with the engine hot and with a 1/4 inch socket set I think the key is to not use anything bigger so not to be able to use too much force, you will need a 3 inch extension bar for one of the nuts.
Copper slipped and put the same nuts back on, I dont think you need to redo it every year though, maybe i was lucky because I dont do wet riding in the 14 years i have had the bike and so they weren't that bad.
But it is a weight off my sholders knowing that I do not have that time bomb ticking away.
I think along with checking the front sprocket nut, this should be one of the things to check when buying another fazer.   

   

The fact you don't do wet riding is a huge reason why you didn't have any trouble!

[fazersharp]

The fact you don't do wet riding is a huge reason why you didn't have any trouble!

Yes I think that is so

But they still did not come off eaisy and it was still those inner ones that gave me sweaty palms as they were the most stuburn, I brought my bike in  2001 with 4k miles on the clock and by that time it had been through two owners and  3 winters and wet riding and by that time the usual front fork "frosting" damage had already been done as im sure also any rust in me nut studs. They were not shiny when I took them off.

[solorider]

As to the studs breaking mine were in a right state, the top clamps had rotted away, the studs were thinner than they should have been and the nuts were no longer recognisable as nuts, I had to cut the exhaust off, and all my studs came off by unscrewing, I had a few tense moments, I did apply some heat to the stud and I used a stud extractor, when I replaced the studs I got mine from a local Vauxhall dealer as they were cheaper than Yamaha and I bought dome head stainless nuts, no more hassle getting those off in the future.

[Billy Balthorpe]

When ive done the "shearing the studs" thing in the past ive replaced them with stainless studs and stainless nuts (dead cheap from FWB in Stoke). Then put another nut on the exposed thread and locked it to the first one so there is no bare thread showing, all covered in lovely copaslip of course. On all the bikes ive done this job on, my Blade was the only one I had the good fortune to remove the exhaust again, and it came off with no drama, and the full Ti/carbon Akrapovic went on and sounded lovely.