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Workshop => Carburetor, Intake, and Exhaust => Topic started by: wilkin250r on February 13, 2018, 12:58:37 PM

Title: Sealing the pipe
Post by: wilkin250r on February 13, 2018, 12:58:37 PM

Anybody ever find a really good way to seal the pipe?

I've got an O-ring exhaust flange, new silicone O-rings, they just end up burnt, brittle, and eventually break and leak.  Same at the pipe joint.

I've had good luck (once) with copper sealant, but I disassembled that pipe years ago, and every time I've tried the copper sealant since, it too has leaked.

Anybody ever have 100% success with something?  Like, actual, multiple successes, not just once?

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: jcs003 on February 13, 2018, 01:22:47 PM

copper RTV

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: hickwheeler on February 13, 2018, 01:35:20 PM

At the flange. Get KTM orings for 250 300. They are thicker and will make a tight fit. Use grease to help getting head pipe over them

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: The norm on February 13, 2018, 01:58:37 PM

I gave up on o-rings and use copper or red rtv.

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: wilkin250r on February 13, 2018, 02:24:57 PM

Maybe that's the key.  Forget the O-rings, just fill the whole thing up with copper RTV, and let it work into the O-ring grooves.  Disassembly might be more difficult, but maybe that's a small price to pay.

It's kinda hard to compare specs, because Silicone o-rings just have a temperature rating of 400F.  Copper RTV has 700F intermittent temperature rating, they're not speaking the same language, I'm not sure how to translate.

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: jwraymond6 on February 13, 2018, 04:08:46 PM

High temp copper rtv is what I use and let it set up over night

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: wilkin250r on February 13, 2018, 05:32:32 PM

I'm also not ruling out that I might just be an idiot.

I used copper RTV and silicone o-rings, but I also used a set of FMF springs, I didn't realize they were absolute garbage.  I should have known, because I had an FMF spring break on me about ten years ago, but I thought it was a fluke.  This time around, I used FMF springs almost exclusively (I think I had 1 oem spring on there), and they all broke, so that probably let the pipe move around a bit too much, causing my leaks.

The pipe never actually came off, so I just replace the springs with new OEM, but I didn't pull it off and re-assemble with new RTV.    Now it's leaking all over the place.

I figured I'd ask before I pulled it off again.  I'm thinking the REAL answer is less about RTV, and more about "Don't be a stupid, lazy piece of crap.  Pull the pipe and do it correctly."

Title: Re: Sealing the pipe
Post by: rk88r on February 13, 2018, 10:03:49 PM

I dream of v-band clamps at every  connection.