Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Rusted exhaust header

When I got the TBA out of storage I was surprised to find that the exhaust header studs and nuts are very badly rusted. Maybe they have a hard life because of hi temp and exposure but this is really quite bad. The faux push-rod tube (breather) in between them is also showing surface rust.

The breather I'm sure I'll just polish and regret but the studs and nuts are a concern as well as an eyesore.

Anybody else?

Mine have been rusted as long as I can remember. It's just ugly, isn't it? Not sure if it's a problem or not, but you are not the only one. I've cleaned them up before and they just go right back to being rusty so I stopped worrying about it.

same here studs and nuts rusted as you describe and the chrome "push rod" tube has some very minor surface rust. That is the same for both mine and Wendys bike.

Mine are rusty and look bad too. The header pipe to jug nuts will loosen up over time. Good Idea to put a socket on them every oil change or so.

Well the Harley's are just as bad to the point the shop is going to get to charge you for the broken stud that they broke when removing the header. Here is a tip from an old motor head, when cleaning the bike spray a small amount of PB rust buster on these, let set for 30 min then go ride. My theroy is this, it eats rust and when you temper bolts w/heat and an oil product it prevents rust looking ugly Try it and let me know I have been doing this since the Money hawg daze trying to correct the old HD blues.

Your welcome, great to finally be on the site interacting not just looking

I went looking for replacement bolts awhile back at the local hardware stores, but came up empty. Anybody know a source for these...ones that won't rust?

My suggestion is not to be overly concerned w/ the nuts or studs. They get that way because of the eliments and conditions to which they are exposed. They are (carbon steel) because the specified material has the requires tinsel strength to meet the torque and expansion/contraction requirerments. I do NOT reccommend replacement unless you replace 'in-kind' - in which case, the same situation will repeat. What you can do is clean and lube the protruding stud and nut, and possibly cover with a stainless or chrome acorn nut. This will protect the threads, hide the un-shinny metal, comfort your heart, and provide you with countless ours of chrome adiction happiness. Personally, I use a drop of 3-in-1 oil from time to time - I'm not addicted.

Stainless will work. Ace Hardware carries a pretty good selection here and is close to me so it's cinvienient. I think I may try some of those since I think I will have to remove my header pipes soon because I want to remove the crossover. I suggest stainless because they use them on boats. They hold up very well. My brother in law is a marine (boats) mechanic.

The old Minis used steel studs with brass nuts on their manifolds (or headers to you lot) but I'm not sure they'd take the torque required for these bikes. SRS wire-brushed his clean and sprayed them with black hi-temp paint. I ignore mine and they haven't fallen off yet.

I'm not saying ss studs WON'T work, and the torque required is minimal - Just saying that all metal expands/contracts and all metals and grades react according to their inherent composition. These studs manage to loosen on their own accord as it is. Changing unnecessarilly may result in more tinkering than is required. Also - but highly unlikely to occur in this application - I have seen fasteners with less than required specifications literally explode when overloaded. As a result, I personally avoid pissing with fasteners when possible. It's just my opinion and there is little doubt you'll disagree.
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Most readily available grades of stainless are rust resistant, not rust proof.

I've never seen the full length of a Hinckley exhaust stud, but IMO, the best exhaust studs have a heavier non-threaded section at the center point, which is the break point, subject to the highest loads and stress. A straight through 100% threaded exhaust stud is prone to breakage at this key point.

I wasn't thinking of changing the stud just the nut and thats only if I get a bug up my butt about it.I like sandmann just ignore it. I was making a suggestion in respose to a question. Stainless is not rust proof only resistant this I know. How ever some types are extremely rust resistant the type I used for the brackets I made were out of a home made pond and were partly submerged for years and not a spot of rust. They were lilly pad supports. I do not know what type it was. I normally use 304 since it is easy to machine , polishes nice , and is fairly rust resistant. I wouldn't suggest trying to replace and exhaust stud unless you had to since most people wouldn't have a good way to extract the broken piece. But the nut yes. It would look somewhat better and shoildn't rust as quickly if at all and when you did need to mess with it chances are good there would still be something for the wrench to grab not a rusty blob.

noticed today mine are rusting also.

We sometimes replace exhaust studs with stainless studs in the diesel engine industry. They are available for various diesel engines an are used to mount the turbo to the exhaust manifold. The stainless studs don't rust up and seize as badly as the standard studs. They do tend to strip out more easily and will break a bit more easily when over torqued.

Didn't notice until after reading this thread that mine are rusting too. Anyone with a new bike, I would suggest spraying with a rust inhibitor anytime you're doing other stuff on the bike - might keep it from happening. I'm hoping it will keep mine from getting worse.

Titanium may be a viable option for corrosion resistant studs. They'd look kinda cool too.

Or exotics http://www.stbf.com/products.htm?kc=7uWHot24D2uBc5iXFXoPkmZ4f1NbYGY6dTUV8eXw

A buddy has a mil spec / issue titanium extension ladder. I believe it's Air Force issue? Talk about the ultimate light weight ladder.

No matter what you do with stock studs they will rust. Spraying them may turn it into a sort of browning like they used to use on guns before blueing. But it's still rust. The oil you spray will burn off in a matter of minutes.