Can I glue My Exhaust Together?

[Larry S]

I'm putting a new muffler on my Super Rat MXer. The stinger is stainless and the muffler is aluminum.

The inlet pipe for the muffler slides inside the stinger very nicely, a very nice fit. If you could weld aluminum to stainless, there would not be a problem. The two pieces would overlap three inches.

I'm thinking of coating the muffler inlet pipe with JB Weld and sliding the stinger over it. What do you think?

Larry S

[Pep]

Muffler paste/putty is easy to find and made to deal with the heat - might be a better choice?
Sounds like a cool bike - share a photo sometime if you can
-Laurie

[socalhodaka]

Larry, this is what they use on a Yamaha Banshee joint. Silicone Rubber hose, other models use stuff like that also.

[Bullfrog]

Two comments:
- I'm a little worried about the ID of the silencer. Since it is aluminum, the tubing is probably somewhat thicker than would be expected on a steel silencer . . . and since it slides inside of the stinger on the pipe . . . which presumably had specifically selected stinger ID . . . you may be "plugging" the end of the pipe more than is appropriate.
- I don't think I would depend on any kind of "glue" to hold it on. I'd lean toward some sort of mechanical connection . . . and am kind of partial to a slit in the outer tube and a standard hose clamp to squeeze the outer tube tight on the inner tube. Some sort of "glue" (high temp silicone sealant) would work well to seal the joint, but I don't think I'd trust any "glue" to hold up at those temps and mechanical stresses.

Ed
PS: I was taught that 7/8" was a pretty ideal stinger ID for Hodie 125cc pipes.

[Larry S]

Well . . .

I glued it together. JB Weld will handle temps in excess of 500 degrees. I don't think the muffler gets that hot. In the BBQ community, when a Q-er breaks his Big Green Egg, it is common to repair it with JB Weld. There is a three inch overlap in the two pipes - strength isn't a problem.

If my muffler falls off in the middle of the 100cc race at Hodaka Days, you can all say, "I told you so!"

Larry S

[thirdstone]

Like Ed says , from you description it sounds like you are reducing the stinger internal ID.
Watch out for detonation and worse melted pistons. You may even get a performance boost.