my coated pipes are Fubar.

Yamidude59

Yamidude59

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Feb 19, 2008
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Jackson Wi
I got my pipes coated last summer.... and have about 1500 miles on em so far this season... It dawned on me not too long ago that i have a spring missing on the middly cyl at the manifold going to the pipe... :o| and it was already to late to notice that oil res was shooting out of the loose end around the donut seal and making grey blotches around that area the pipe... Is there a way to get this crap off without damaging the pipes? i hope i don't have to resort to hi temp paint to make it look good again... i was thinkin about using engine degreaser to see if that helps... but don't know if thats gonna F up my coating more then it seems to be

This really pisses me off.
 

Yamidude59 said:
I got my pipes coated last summer.... and have about 1500 miles on em so far this season... It dawned on me not too long ago that i have a spring missing on the middly cyl at the manifold going to the pipe... :o| and it was already to late to notice that oil res was shooting out of the loose end around the donut seal and making grey blotches around that area the pipe... Is there a way to get this crap off without damaging the pipes? i hope i don't have to resort to hi temp paint to make it look good again... i was thinkin about using engine degreaser to see if that helps... but don't know if thats gonna F up my coating more then it seems to be

This really pisses me off.
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I would try acetone in an area that isn't seen scrubbing with a soft rag like you'll have to to get the burned on residue off to see how the finish holds up. If no damage to the finish, take the acetone to the dirty spot and see how it works. I don't think you'll find anything stronger than acetone to break down the stain other than abrasives.

The coating should hold up to any kind of non-abrasive cleaner but won't like abrasives. You could also try to scrape it off with a plastic scraper or gingerly with something harder.

Oh, btw. I was playing around on my sled the other day and noticed that not only did I reposition the hood cable spring but I also put a couple of twists to the cable before hooking the clevis hook to the pipe. This kind of shortens the cable when it's relaxed (hood closed) which helps it get sucked up to the hood and away from the pipes.

JJS
 
Brake cleaner, and then Flitz polish is what some Coating companies recommend. It takes a lot of polishing, but they can look good again.

I put an extra hood spring on at a opposing angle to the stock one. This causes the hood cable to be completely off the pipe when the hood is closed. It does not affect the open position at all.
 
yea, i repositioned my hood cable over the weekend... Thats taken care of... I was curious to know what your guys thoughts are on Wraping my pipes with Heat tape/wrap... I currently have the heat shields on the pipes and plan on taking those off and wrapping the pipes with black wrap and clamping the wrap on... I think it will add a better look while be replaceable if i get wear from certain areas....

will i be safe with jetting? i know i will be packing alot of heat in the pipes along with the coating and wondered if this will make me cooler or hotter on top end (leaner or richer)
 
Yamidude59 said:
yea, i repositioned my hood cable over the weekend... Thats taken care of... I was curious to know what your guys thoughts are on Wraping my pipes with Heat tape/wrap... I currently have the heat shields on the pipes and plan on taking those off and wrapping the pipes with black wrap and clamping the wrap on... I think it will add a better look while be replaceable if i get wear from certain areas....

will i be safe with jetting? i know i will be packing alot of heat in the pipes along with the coating and wondered if this will make me cooler or hotter on top end (leaner or richer)
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If you're talking header wrap (usually brown in color but I've seen black and white) I think it'll hold up but you'd need a lot of it if your going to do the whole pipe X3. It may loosen up easier due to the larger diameter of the chamber. I would also be a bit concerned about salt ladden moisture getting between the wrap and pipe and it's abrasive/corosive effects. May not be a big deal since most shielded stock pipes have glass packing under the heat shield and I haven't seen many holes rubbed through stock pipes.

Sure would be a shame to sink hard earned cash on them perdy pipes just to cover them up.

As you may have found, the coating does keep the heat in but I don't think it insulates as well as wrap and a shield.

You didn't have any luck cleaning the stains? I was thinking the only thing I put on the coated pipes I had was wax. How about a cleaner wax or polishing compound?
 
i have yet to get out to the garage and take the pipes off and clean them yet... I will try what you said... we have some acetone at my work and i will try a little of that to see if it damages anything... i have a metal polishing compound safe for all types of metal... should i try that?

The only reason i am thinking about wraping my pipes is... they look bad *** when its done nice and it insulates well... and i don't ahve to worry about my nice pipes getting damaged from stupid little problems.

if i cant get the stains off.. then what snomofo? hi temp black grill paint? only concern there is paint matching... but the areas are not huge... i got a few marks on the pto pipe and the middle pipe... and i'm sure where the cable was rubbing is not gonna come off... i had a freakin clamp rattle loose off my heat shield too and it slid onto the black ceramic and was rubbing for a whole day i came to find i made sure every clamp was real tight when i put the clamps on... just gotta get rid of the heat shields... and wrap em.
 
wow! If i need 25 feet per pipe then i'm gonna be spending some serious money on that stuff... its like 50 bucks for 25 feet.
 
Yamidude59 said:
i have yet to get out to the garage and take the pipes off and clean them yet... I will try what you said... we have some acetone at my work and i will try a little of that to see if it damages anything... i have a metal polishing compound safe for all types of metal... should i try that?

I would try an automotive polishing compound (paint finish) first. Probably not as abrasive as a metal polish (i.e. jewler's polish), but try them all in a hidden spot first. If you still can't get them clean, try a color matching Sharpie pen. If it doesn't hold up or doesn't cover the stain, at least you won't have to strip it like you would paint and I suspect any paint wouldn't adhear well to the ceramic anyhow.

Having fun yet?
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yea, these pipes are delacate... and get this, i'm getting weld on egts for my pipes too, maybe shoulda down that before i got em coated...it wont chip though i'm just gonna take my time with it. then i plan on wrapping each pipe with heat wrap.. and get rid of those heat shields...
 
Yamidude59 said:
yea, these pipes are delacate... and get this, i'm getting weld on egts for my pipes too, maybe shoulda down that before i got em coated...it wont chip though i'm just gonna take my time with it. then i plan on wrapping each pipe with heat wrap.. and get rid of those heat shields...
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I tig'd some bungs on to my pipes before having them coated. It is real easy to chip the coating as I found out when chasing the holes before installing the probes. I would suggest lightly scribing a line around the perimeter (trace a circle larger than bung your using) of the area you are going to install them to avoid chipping where you don't want it to. Similar to scribing plywood before ripping it.

I'm wondering why you are using any kind of heatshield though. Are these stock pipes/shields or aftermarket?

Not recommending against it, and if I had some that fit my coated pipes at the time I might have used them too, just wondering why you'd want to cover them up?

Also, for a clean look under the hood and if the probe length allows, install the probes on the bottom side of the pipe. If you haven't bought the probes yet, get pre-bent ones. The 90 degree Stingers on my SRX are plenty long enough and the bend in them helps with clearances.
 
using the heat shield to insulate as much heat as possible, but they look like total *** and are hard to keep clean....

"I tig'd some bungs on to my pipes before having them coated. It is real easy to chip the coating as I found out when chasing the holes before installing the probes. I would suggest lightly scribing a line around the perimeter (trace a circle larger than bung your using) of the area you are going to install them to avoid chipping where you don't want it to. Similar to scribing plywood before ripping it. "

Not sure i understand what you mean by this exactly....
 
sorry, edit::: i copy and pasted the wrong section of your post, i understand the scribing part, What are the stingers you are referring to? I'm lookin at getting the westach 3 inch gauge from SLP, with the high speed probes.

i am concerned with how hot teh pipes get, the gauge only goes up to 1400 deg. and does really show much in between, has 500deg increment marks... Do they make triple digital ones? only ones i can find are almost 500 bucks.
 
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Yamidude59 said:
snomofo, heres another one that i found, its dif then the one i sent u in the pm.

http://www.exhaustgas.com/ProductDe...DepartmentID=1&CategoryID=54&RepID=&BasketID=

a little spendy but it comes with everything i'd need, i dont know if i like that triple from SLP doesn't seem like its accurate down to a certain degree, goes in 500deg increments.
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Yeah, the Stingers are the fast response probes. I also have a Digitron unit (three EGT and one RPM display) and notice the fancy flamed one in the link only has three displays, but lists - EGT,EGT,EGT,RPM. Make sure you are ordering the unit with four displays. Also, depending on the sled you're installing it on (SRX), the tach wiring will be different than let's say a Polaris or Cat so make sure you tell them what you're installing it on. It should make a difference (12v DC vs. 12v AC).

My buddy installed his on his Doo into the handle bar pad. Looks cool but watch for chaffing issues with the always moving handle bars.

I installed mine on the dash panel in front of the tach. It isn't in the best spot for seeing all three EGTs at 90 mph but the rpm display is all I'm looking at then. I mainly installed it there because it is lower than the gauge pod so in the event of a roll-over, I'm not looking for the ripped out Digitron in the snow. Plus setting the max. temp. alarm will cause the EGT displays to flash when the max is reached which will catch your eye. I think I have mine set around 1300 which is near the limit you'd want combustion temps to reach, but wash and plug color seem to warrant this high of alarm.

When I had them on my XCR, the alarm was set much lower (around 1260 based on wash and plug) which has mostly to due with the location of the probe.

Most install instructions say 6"-8" from the piston skirt. Just do a good plug/wash reading after a good WOT run and play back the temp max than set the alarm to that number or 20-30 degrees cooler as a buffer.

Remember, no probe will act fast enough to avoid a burn down so don't get too reliant on them.

To be honest, if I hadn't had them from my XCR, I wouldn't have spent the money on the EGTs. I would have spent less and just got a good playback tach.

JJS
 
Yamidude59 said:
That egt in the link i showed you says its a triple egt, is that the one i want?

thanks
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Well, I'm a bit confused. There was no link in your PM so I assume your talking about the link that shows the flamed out Digitron and not the Westach. I think the Westach is analog which has three pointers within the three inch gauge. Not easy to read at speed and no playback. Had one on my old 500 Indy and it was pretty useless and that was just two pointers in a two inch gauge.

The link shows two EGT and one RPM display but above the pic spells out EGT,EGT,EGT and RPM. If the pic is wrong and it truly is four display, that is the one you want. I like the larger RPM display but my guess is that there isn't enough room for 1 large RPM display and three EGTs. My four diplay (I think the model number is D-34 or something close) has three EGT and one RPM and they're all the same size.
 
Ding said:
Brake cleaner, and then Flitz polish is what some Coating companies recommend. It takes a lot of polishing, but they can look good again.

I put an extra hood spring on at a opposing angle to the stock one. This causes the hood cable to be completely off the pipe when the hood is closed. It does not affect the open position at all.
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X2. I use brake cleaner (aerosl can). It makes my ceramic coated pipes look new and shiny again. Doesn't hurt anything. I've even sprayed down the engine a tad with it (not rubber or clutch faces). I do use brake cleaner into the clutches tho for period cleaning.
 
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