Exhaust Donut Replacement Procedure

[blue er]

Would this be the best time to change your steering gate bushings as well?

when i do my apex donuts i always change those bushings since i am in there for the added 16 bux

 

[grumpysanta]

i have done the same on rx1 o5 but never remove the handlebars , all else is the same.. When will we get exhaust thats is not a high maintance high repair cost ???

 

[ViperTurboPete]

What is the timeline on this job? One beer, two beer? Buddy and I tore his 05 Warrior down to the exhaust last night. Thanks to this great sticky post! Friday is when we'll start on the donuts.

 

[grizztracks]

I just did an aftermarket copper donut replacement in a Nytro and it took me less than an hour. I've done a few of these jobs so I'm probably faster than most but I'd say you should be able to replace them in a couple of hours as long as everything comes apart without a fight.

 

[ViperTurboPete]

Got the donuts replaced last night! Gives me the incentive to tear down my RXM this winter or sooner. Thanks grizz for posting the step by step....it worked out exactly as described. A little heat from a propane torch loosened up all the bolts otherwise forget about it.

I will definitely go copper.

 

[up.mi.man]

exaust donuts

I just bought a motor with 1964 miles and the donuts are shot is this possible? are should i assume this motor has more miles then i was told.
Thanks Dale

 

[up.mi.man]

donuts

just found out there from the old motor however that motor only had 2500 miles.
Thanks Dale

 

[grizztracks]

My Nytro donuts were completely gone with approximately the same miles. I've heard of them failing with less than 2000 miles but I think most are replacing them around 3000 miles.

 

[yam429]

What rivets need to be removed for easier installation of exhaust donuts?Would flex pipe removal be an option? What are the torque specs on the flex pipe bolts?

kind of has me thinking that a person might want to remove the seat and replace those 2 hanger bolts when they take delivery of there new sled with SS bolts or at least coat them with anti sieze or the like

BTW.....drilling out the 8 hanger bracket rivets is much faster than messing with the rust welded allen head bolts IMO.......and the channel locks won't be needed .
good luck!

If I have to do this again I'll drill out the rivets and try it that way. The hangar bolt method works but holding the exhaust bellows (??) open with a c-lock pliers is a bit tricky, especially when the only helper available isn't very mechanically inclined. It's much too easy to ding up the new donuts and the hangar bolt method leaves you barely enough clearance to slide them on.

 

[Grimm]

I just tried the channel lock method, but found it to be too difficult to avoid damaging the gaskets. I ended up drilling out 10 rivets on my Nytro to drop out the bracket. It's pretty obvious which ones you drill out to accomplish this. It made the job a lot simpler.

Thanks for the write up Grizz.

 

[yam429]

I figured out it's eight rivets that need to be drilled out on an 08 Vector LTX. I wish I would've taken pics.

 

[caper7]

I did mine about a year ago when i first had sled 1400 km and two of donuts were pretty well shot.. At the time i took almost a 1/4 inch off each clamp and rode rest of the season .. I changed the other two and left the one i shaved down on and its was fine 6000 km later

 

[Jfet]

I am posting here as well as the main cam tensioner thread since this is specifically an exhaust issue. I think the information is too good to miss. Thanks in advance for any help!

I do have maybe a slight problem when I get to the reassembly part. My rear muffler came out a bit more than an inch...it came all the way out (see picture).

I guess that clamp wasn't very tight :-(

What would you do to get it back together? Just cram it back in there and fish for the end of the mating pipe, or drill out the 5 rivets in the panel near the back of the snowmobile so I can reclamp the muffler...maybe replace the rivets with captive screws or something?

 

[SXVectorMax1]

Great description and pics Grizz. I've "Copy" and Saved this into a MS Word file to ensure I also always have it as reference for when I do my Vector. (just incase the post disappears or I can't find it)

 

[aca31]

Awesome! Worked perfect on my wife's 08 vector ltx gt. Hanger bolts were a B! One broke free and the other striped. I drilled it a little then immediately used a screw extractor and it broke free. Everything else went smooth, Thanks