Front heat exchanger leaking

[insane]

I hit a rock and cracked the front heat exchanger. The part that is cracked is under the aluminum skid plate. (bulkhead) I see that it is riveted and I was wondering what is the best way to get access to the bottom of the exchanger to hopefully weld it. Any ideas would be great.

 

[niko]

Not sure on removing it, but buy your self a bash plate so it doesn't happen again. I would think you will need to totally remove it to alloy weld it properly.
The plastic skid plates are on ebay for around $95.00.

 

[LJ 452]

Without seeing it personally, I would say you’re going to have to remove it (the exchanger) to weld it up. Welding it won't be a problem, just flush it out and make sure it's dry and clean. You should double check but I believe you’re going to need about 10 or 20 rivets and about a days worth of time to remove and reinstall. I would get the OEM or at least a few to ensure the grip range is correct. Everything on the sled ties everything else together, also too long of a rivet may rub on something, it's pretty tight in there. Either get the rivets from a Fastenal or similar or just order from dealer. They are different than the standard type and to me better quality and more durable.

 

[insane]

Well I wish that my front exchanger was all that I had to worry about. What I thought was my heat exchanger was anti-freeze running from the front and dripping at the inspection panel that gave the illusion that the exchanger was cracked. When I hit the rock at about 10 mph I hit square on the sway bar arm that drops below the a-arms and in return that bent the primary side of my motor compartment and caused my water pump to leak anti-freeze. Sooo I need to pull my motor to survey the damage. A skid plate wouldn't have helped much here but it is definately first on my new list of accessories after i get this thing back to normal. Is there a good reference for step by step w/pictures on how to pull the motor? Has anyone had this sort of accident and what was your experience in fixing the damage? Thanks.

 

[kinger]

Hey insane, I pulled a motor for the first time 2 years ago and its not that bad but takes a LOT of time. Get a service manual for reference and every bolt you remove put in a marked baggie it makes install about 10 times faster then digging through a bucket. Yamaha uses about 6 different sizes of bolts all mixed in so I label by component I am removing.

What you need is to get the steering gate (upper frame) out of the way start working your way down to that and you'll get there. Its impressive seeing how well Yamaha engineered the sled when you get it apart and then back together.

Good luck, the waterpump housing is problably cracked and its a easy fix, just hope its nothing else but you will see when you get in there.

 

[SledFreak]

Well I wish that my front exchanger was all that I had to worry about. What I thought was my heat exchanger was anti-freeze running from the front and dripping at the inspection panel that gave the illusion that the exchanger was cracked. When I hit the rock at about 10 mph I hit square on the sway bar arm that drops below the a-arms and in return that bent the primary side of my motor compartment and caused my water pump to leak anti-freeze. Sooo I need to pull my motor to survey the damage. A skid plate wouldn't have helped much here but it is definately first on my new list of accessories after i get this thing back to normal. Is there a good reference for step by step w/pictures on how to pull the motor? Has anyone had this sort of accident and what was your experience in fixing the damage? Thanks.

As far as I'm concerned, these sleds should come from the factory with skid plates. My dealer insisted and would not let me leave the store without one when I picked up my Apex.

 

[Blue Dave]

Agreed, a skid plate is cheap insurance. I have added one to every one of the 10 or so Yamaha's I have owned over the years.