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Exhaust Donuts & Y Pipes....Step by step

So....sad I don't ride as much as I used to...with our lousy winter so far in New York, it's not getting better...but I replaced the donuts on my 06 Apex rtx three years ago, and not sure what is loose or vibrating now...at idle. If I plug the exhaust, the motor slows and wants to stall..no apparent leaks, but something sounds nasty mid sled..again, only at idle/low rpm..not noticeable riding it....any ideas before I go tearing it apart? It doesn't sound like it did when the donuts went bad...naturally, tomorrow is our first ride. The good thing is it gets better with rpm, and heat....just hate to stop and have it sound like one (yeah, I had more than one...lol) of my old chevy vegas...
 

I've changed them twice on my 2007 Apex and you usually get about 5,000 miles out of a stock set so on my last donut ring change I went to a new style of copper donut ring that's suppose to last longer so I'll be sure to find out if that's the case by keeping in touch with a buddy of mine that I sold the sled to after putting 12,000 miles on it and I still had it looking like new. I've also changed them on my Nytro and it's alot easier on the 3 cylinder than it is on the 4 cylinder, I'll actually be changing them for a buddy this Friday 02/06/15 on his Nytro XTX. I do not remove the flex pipes off the cylinders because I can loosen the exhaust pipe just enough to slide out the old donut rings and put in the new ones by slightly compressing the flex pipes gaining plenty of space to make the change. I personally think everyone should be able to do this along with your other routine maintenence items, it definately allows you to better underwstand how your sled goes together and truly apprciate the quality of the Yamaha snowmobiles.
 
I hate to disappoint you SumpBuster but I can almost assure you that with the noise only being heard at idle and nothing while riding it I would be willing to bet that it's one or two of your donut rings that are making the noise. After starting your sled and especialy while cold stand next to it without a helmet on and give it a small quick burst of the throttle (not enough to make it move) and listen closely for the rattle noise, it's something to do with the exhaust system and if it's not the donut rings than maybe a cracked y pipe. That 06 Apex is now almost 9 years old and if you have the stock exhaust system that's never had any part of the pipes replaced than it's a good chance you have a cracked pipe, a buddy of mine just replaced his cracked y pipe on his 06. Let me know what you find out and how it goes for you.........
 
You're right, ydog....but I'm used to disappointment. I used to ride Skiroules....back in the day!!! Great look, but keep parts nearby. Anyway, it was the throttle side that was bad..the other three looked perfect. I was just surprised they or it only lasted 2000 miles, but I do kind of pound it a little...lol....in any case, I did grind about .030" off the clamps so they were tight..no real reason one should go, but the clamp was able to spin. The pipes look fine..no cracks or damage. It's all quiet now again!
 
Well I'm glad you got it fixed, it makes a huge difference in how they sound when the exhaust rings are in good shape. The only thing I would of done is probably replaced all 4 beings I got into it that deep. If your going to keep the Apex for some time than I would change the rings to copper next time you have to change them but maybe you'll have a new one by than with power steering and the new x-up exhaust system. I'll probably just end up buying a left over 2014 Apex (blue) if Yamaha doesn't show me something really new and exciting with the 2016 line-up.........
 
Ydog..I did replace all four, but kept the three since they fit the other four strokes and I have friends with them....plus I already have four more new ones. The new gaskets came with new socket head bolts, but I replaced them with coated grade 8 hex head screws....hey, why not??LOL...but it sounds great now once again. My problem is since I had it all apart, I took out the suspension and readjusted my spring tension, front shocks, and with all the new bushings and scags and curve skis..well, lets just say it's kinda tight!!! But above 60 mph, it really settles in and handles flat and fast....which is fun!!
 
SumpBuster sounds like you have it set up and ready to ride now.......we just need more new snow here due to the warm temps and a little rain last Sun. and they're calling for colder temps and off and on snow this week and coming weekend so time will tell
 
Honestly, listen to Joe Bastardi from Weatherbell...right on the money...upstate New York...well, no open water anywhere, snow depths pretty much knee deep in the woods, and almost all trails are excellent...best in years, and below zero again near the end of the week, after another 8 inches today....awesome riding!!! I actually think the lakes might start to freeze...not much lake effect except for the massive Buffalo storm back in Nov.....
 
Going to finish my donut job tonight
What about grinding the clamp spacers?
Do most grind a bit off?
 
Thanks for the quick reply
Are we talking 1/16"?
Do they need to be torqued or just damn tight?
 
I actually changed from installing the Yamaha stock lead type rings and went to copper rings, they cost more but are suppose to last alot longer. On the 2007 Apex that I sold when I had 12,000 miles on it I sold to a friend so I'll be sure to see how long those copper rings last for him. I'm sure he'll never need to change them because he just doesn't put on the miles I typically do. I now own a 2014 Apex XTX and I'll be using copper rings on this sled for sure.
 
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