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

[ben apexgt]

jobs is done on my side speciel thanks to rockerdan for the info and may be two little thing is to use high temp antiseize for exhaust bolt related and i buffed all the edge of those clamps wich are very very sharps and this would prevent some crack on flange in the future kep up the good work TY forums

 

[RacerDave]

Dan, it's almost a year later. Just wondering if you can say if the RTV orange/copper has helped or hurt the donuts?

 

[gotta-b-blue]

backordered

Skidud, have you thought of going with aftermarket headers, like Excell or Hauck? They might be in stock and you will gain some horsepower.

 

[dave_dj1]

Well i just fired mine up in the garage to get ready to load it in my truck and i ran inside to grab my ins card and when i came out the pitch/tone of the sled had changed, i could tell right away that there was something wrong, i rode it the other night for the first time this year. I think we did about 40 miles. I have about 3200 miles on it.
does anybody know if the parts are in stock now?
i'm going to ride it tomorrow then tear it down sat morning and see if i can get the dounuts , hopefully that's all i will need.
the sucky part is i just had it apart to do oil and filter preseason...

 

[renegadeoffunk]

Great Post!! Just printed out all the step by step directions. Heading to my buddies shop at noon for a day of wrenching instead of enjoying a gorgeous day riding!! Just started back firing the other day. 4000 miles. Now wish I had all the parts to be running by this evening

 

[renegadeoffunk]

Well that was a piece of cake!! Not even a 1/2 hour to tear down. Only thanks to a very well put how to instructions by rockerdan!!

It was a fun little project, beer time in the garage with friends is always a good time! Man those donuts were toast, unreal.

 

[rsmiller17]

Nice job this with pic. I know alot of us need this info. thanks to yamahas y-pipes, got my new excell y-pipes today, had to refresh, where has rockerdan been no post for almost year ?

 

[patonattack]

Be very careful on step 15

Those allen bolts on step 15 striped on me what a nightmare......

Thanks for the post great job it helped a lot.

 

[Iceman57]

Re: Be very careful on step 15

Those allen bolts on step 15 striped on me what a nightmare......

Thanks for the post great job it helped a lot.

The best thing to prevent them from stripping is to take a torch and adjust it to a small flame and heat up the allen bolt and that should loosen it enough to prevent it from stripping.

 

[Coach]

I have an 06 Apex with 9500 km and just recently found out about the donut issue, about the same time as the sled started to sound different. It was easy to diagnose the problem given that I had ben following the issue in this forum.

Great info guys, I just got mine completely apart have found that the left Y pipe will need replaced or repaired. It has a hole behind the flange, the flange is not broken yet. Does anyone know of a way to repair these, or is there an aftermarket supply yet. The dealer wants about $350 CDN for one side.
A couple of additional notes. I drillied out the rivets that hold the bracket for the Y pipes in place. I am tempted to bolt this back in place as it will make this project much simpler in future.( I intend on having the sled for a while). No need to remove the flex pipes if done this way. Also the allen head bolts that hold the Y pipes from moving were both seized and I strppied the head out and had to drill them out. I will be replacing them with cap screws when I put this back together.
All in all,this is not a complicated job, just takes a bit of time and patience.

 

[Iceman57]

Excell Motor Sports sells a Stainless Steel Header that is more durable and provides better exhaust flow for $550. Below is link to their web site.

http://www.excellmotorsports.com/

 

[apltx08]

I drillied out the rivets that hold the bracket for the Y pipes in place. I am tempted to bolt this back in place as it will make this project much simpler in future.( I intend on having the sled for a while). No need to remove the flex pipes if done this way.

Ditto did the same on my buddy's '05 RX1 and works like a charm

Use stainless steel 10/24 machine bolts...

 

[Blue Oval]

Since my 3 year warranty is up this November, I had my dealer order the donuts. I don't believe they are leaking yet so should I wait till the end of our riding season and have them go thru the machine in the summer, or do them now? The only way to truly see if they are toast is to tear it apart and inspect them correct? I usually go with the notion of, if it ain't broke....... If I wait I'm sure the dealer will hold them for me, I hope.

 

[journeyman]

So what's the deal with these donuts on the Apex? Is it the norm for donut failure on all model year Apex's at a certain mileage? Why are they failing?

 

[apltx08]

The only way to truly see if they are toast is to tear it apart and inspect them correct? .

I call it the RAG test, start her up and let it idle then use rags any type and go to the rear of the sled while its still idling and PLUG both exhaust to the point of stalling...if you have plenty of back pressure and tends to stall everything is good!...if she DOESN'T and you cant get her to stall and hear some leakage going on in the tunnel or under tank area check for cracks in the exhaust & header junction, noise under gas tank your due for a DONUT job!!! its quick and easy and won't harm anything, for best result try doing it when motor is cold.