Following on from the last post, I have had an email from those nice people at M&P Accessories. Apparently, the exhaust headers that they said they had in stock are not in stock at all, not even slightly in stock, and I will have to wait another couple of weeks for them to order them in.
Blamn and Dast. I was looking forward to doing that bit of work this weekend, and no longer having to arrive at work like a small, parti-coloured Panzer division (ka-boom, pop-pop, ka-bang, ect ect). They'll have to put up with me for a while longer.
And it gives me a few more days to decide what to do with the studs.
There is some special compound to use on the studs so they do not sieze. My rudimentary knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy advises that stainless steel and cast aluminium alloy react chemically. I don't think a copper based paste works well: I can't recall what this stuff is called but I wished that the clown who owned my bike before had used "something" as I have wrecked the lugs on my Beemer's cylinder head that the protectors are supposed to be bolted too. Not a complete show stopper but really annoying!
ReplyDeleteSteel/ally's a bad combination as it can do both cold and hot chemical welding.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely recall that it's either nickel-based or exotic silicate compounds for ultra-high temperatures - jet engines and similar. However, ordinary copper-based anti-seize should be acceptable for exhaust or brake temperatures on a bike.
My experience of M&P has all too often been "out of stock". (When they've got it, I must say the service is fantastic, however). One particular occasion I spoke to one of the Gareths (it seems a prerequisite that all M&P staff are called Gareth), and ended up suggesting it might be easier if he just told me what they had in the warehouse and I'd tell him if I wanted any of it...
Good work on the studs, though. I have a can of that very stuff in my garage, and it seems even better than previous favourite PlusGas at shifting truly stubborn fastenings.
I intend to use stainless nuts and copper grease. I know that there will be some reaction, but it's not really significant, as long as I remember to work the nuts free every couple of months.
ReplyDeleteI looked for Plus Gas (I liked the old blue tins with that weird alloy nozzle) but couldn't find any. I have to say I think the 3 in 1 did a better job, though.
I have ordered four new studs from the local Yamaha dealer. If I get the tuits, I'll fit all four. More likely, I will replace the broken one and keep the other three 'just in case'. My toolbox is full of 'just in cases' from cars I sold 15 years ago. Heh.